Practice the "hard skills" of the ceramic industry (production and sales observation, strengthening and improving the real economy ②)

The picture shows the production workshop of Jingdezhen ceramic intelligent workshop, where workers work on the automatic glazing line. People's vision

From rice bowls and teacups on the dining table, to indoor decoration, to floor tiles on the floor, thermal insulation materials posted on the wall, ceramic products are closely related to people's daily life. As a big pottery-making country, the number of ceramic products and enterprises in China has been among the highest in the world for many years, and the consumer demand of residents has been accelerated, so the ceramic industry has ushered in new development opportunities.

The "appearance" is getting better, the quality is getting better, and the efficiency is improving.

Intelligent Manufacturing Helps the Sustainable Development of Ceramic Industry

"After the intelligent upgrade, one device can produce at least 300 products in one hour, which is equivalent to the output of semi-automatic equipment in the past day." Yin Zhongwei, deputy general manager of Yishan Porcelain Industry, said that intelligent transformation not only greatly improved the production efficiency, but also effectively alleviated the problem of easy deformation of ceramic products. "The deformation rate decreased from 15% to about 5%. The' selling' is good, the quality is excellent, and the sales are more emboldened! "

Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, where Yishan Porcelain Industry is located, is a famous "porcelain capital" in China, which is rich in daily-use ceramics. In its heyday, there were more than 200,000 porcelain makers. In the 1990s, the ceramic industry was in a downturn.

"To revitalize the ceramic industry, we must take the road of intelligence!" A few years ago, Yin Zhongwei found that many buyers rushed to Jingdezhen from all directions, but they were struggling to find suppliers with sufficient capacity.

In addition to daily-use ceramics, the intelligent trend is also reshaping the building ceramics industry. The three-layer drying kiln is equipped with sensors, which can transmit the raw material ratio in real time, automatically eliminate the machine faults and intelligently adjust the gas consumption ... In Zibo, Shandong Province, the newly transformed second production line of Uni-President Ceramics Technology Co., Ltd. has officially discharged bricks recently, attracting many people in the industry to visit.

"After the transformation, the cost is reduced by more than 15% through energy saving, and the product quality rate is increased by 3 percentage points, thus improving the enterprise profit rate 10%." For the transformation effect, Chen Shiwei, general manager of Uni-President Ceramics, is a few treasures. "Recently, we just signed a contract with Haier kaos platform, uploaded the data to the cloud, and obtained the downstream customer demand data in real time, so as to realize on-demand customization. In this way, the inventory pressure will be greatly reduced and the cost will be further reduced. "

"At present, nearly 20 green smart factories have been put into production in the ceramic industry, and many enterprises are implementing intelligent and digital transformation." Fan Ruixin, deputy secretary-general of China Ceramic Industry Association, said that in the short term, intelligent manufacturing will help ceramic enterprises to speed up the resumption of production and restore production order. In the long run, the efficiency improvement it brings will help enterprises overcome the rising cost caused by environmental protection, labor and other factors and achieve sustainable development.

Waste porcelain becomes "baby", and tiles can prevent slipping.

Increasing added value to win market space for enterprises

"High energy consumption, high pollution and low added value" is the impression left by the traditional ceramic industry. Enterprises have found a "good prescription" to solve high energy consumption and high pollution through intelligent transformation, so how to improve the added value of products?

On the one hand, introduce cutting-edge technology and optimize production technology.

High-strength ceramic water pipe joints, rust-proof ceramic nuts that can be used in military industry, ceramic beads that can purify water, crystal clear ceramic jewelry ... In the exhibition hall of Jingdezhen Porcelain Company, various ceramic products are dazzling. What is even more incredible is that they are all made of waste porcelain.

Similarly, relying on unique skills, ceramic intelligent workshop stood out from the fierce competition and successfully won the order to supply porcelain products for a chain hotel. "With the help of 3D modeling system and 3D printing equipment, it took only half a month from design, proofing to manufacturing, which was twice as fast as other enterprises." Yin Zhongwei introduced that the production cycle of ceramic products is long, and the manufacturing process is relatively complicated. It is easy to have color and shape deviations due to temperature changes, which makes it difficult to transform the design into the final product. "With the help of digital technology and new technology, the conversion rate from design to product has increased from 30% to 80%, production is more secure, and the design space has been greatly expanded, which can help products move from low-end to high-end."

On the other hand, launch innovative products and expand application scenarios.

Adding anti-slip dry particles into ceramic tiles can turn traditional ceramic tiles into "anti-slip quartz bricks". "Stone-like ceramics have high simulation and strong frost resistance. In addition, the price of stone has risen in recent years, and the use cost of ceramics is relatively low, which broadens the market for ceramics to turn to the outdoor market. " Chen Shiwei said.

Relying on self-developed anti-static tiles, Shandong Electric Shield Technology has also found a new way. "At present, anti-static tiles have been widely used in medicine, chemical industry, subway transportation and other fields." Yuan, the person in charge of the company, said that during the epidemic prevention and control period, people's demand for safety and health was further enhanced, which also provided new opportunities for product innovation. "We developed antibacterial ceramic tiles, which sold well after being put on the market."

"At present, residents' consumption is upgrading, and the market demand for high-end ceramic products is also growing, which has brought huge room for growth for the ceramic industry in China." Fan Ruixin believes that in the next step, ceramic enterprises should continue to make efforts in scientific and technological innovation and product structure optimization, and actively adapt to changes in demand.

Change marketing methods, cultivate independent brands and break technical bottlenecks.

In the future, we should transform to customized and green production.

"In recent years, the operation of the ceramic industry has been generally stable, and the income and profits of many enterprises have maintained a certain growth, but the future development task is still arduous." Looking forward to the future, Fan Ruixin analyzed that on the one hand, new changes have taken place in the consumer market, and many enterprises have not been able to adapt to the new marketing model; On the other hand, affected by the epidemic, the market demand is sluggish, making it more difficult for enterprises to operate. "To withstand various impacts and challenges, ceramic enterprises must persist in accelerating transformation and upgrading."

-adapt to the changes in marketing methods and let good products get a good market.

"Before supporting others, the channels were in the hands of downstream enterprises, and their lives were better than ours." Zhang Jun said that the shrinking orders affected by the epidemic this year forced enterprises to actively explore sales channels and directly face consumers. Determination is easy, but due to the lack of market resources and related talents, it was once slow to advance. Zhang Jun said that enterprises hope to get relevant guidance and support in talent introduction and market docking, so that technological advantages can be transformed into market advantages as soon as possible.

Fan Ruixin believes that the rise of new marketing models such as the Internet is subverting the traditional marketing model. "In the next step, we will help enterprises explore the market by supporting the cooperation between enterprises and e-commerce platforms and conducting online and offline trade fairs. At the same time, we will encourage enterprises to accelerate brand awareness, cultivate independent brands and improve market competitiveness. "

-We should promote the autonomy of equipment manufacturing and help more enterprises move towards intelligence.

Compared with building ceramics, China's daily-use ceramics market is relatively small, and the manufacturing capacity of corresponding automation equipment is weak. "At present, our core automation equipment and accessories mainly rely on imports, and the domestic production level is still relatively low, which is not enough to support the automation transformation needs of ceramic enterprises. I hope there will be changes in the future. " Yin Zhongwei said. The relevant person in charge of China National Light Industry Federation also said that in the long run, promoting the research and technical transformation of key parts of high-end special equipment is the key to the intelligent development of the whole light industry.

In the survey and interview, many practitioners are optimistic about the development prospects of the ceramic industry-"Ceramics are closely related to people's production and life and are irreplaceable materials." "Unlike other industries, ceramics are extremely malleable and have great potential for tapping." Fan Ruixin believes that with the more high-end and diversified consumer demand, the standardized and large-scale production of ceramics will gradually transform into customized and green production. Domestic ceramics should strive to improve the cultural taste and added value of products, while building ceramics should pay attention to the research and development of multi-function and energy-saving technologies. "In short, the domestic ceramic market demand will grow steadily. Enterprises should seize the opportunity, take advantage of the situation and push the industry to get rid of the' small weakness' and move towards high-quality development. "

People's Daily (September 23, 2020 18 Edition)