Skip to content 
On November 18, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the list of winning clusters in the 2024 Advanced Manufacturing Cluster Competition. The Southern Jiangsu Special Steel Material Cluster, which was led by Nanjing City, and the Yangtze River Delta (including Jiangxi) Large Aircraft Cluster, which participated in the application, were shortlisted. Together with the previously shortlisted software and information services and new power (smart grid) equipment clusters,
Nanjing now has four national advanced manufacturing clusters.
Advanced manufacturing clusters are industrial ecosystems formed by the high concentration of advanced manufacturing enterprises and related entities in a certain area, which gather resources from all parties of production, education, research and application, upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, and various public service platforms. Different from traditional industrial clusters, advanced manufacturing clusters have advantages such as complete industrial ecology and strong radiation and driving capabilities, and can play an important role in enhancing innovation capabilities, expanding brand effects, and improving market competitiveness.
The National Advanced Manufacturing Cluster Competition launched by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is an important measure to cultivate world advanced manufacturing clusters and promote China’s industries to move towards the middle and high end of the global value chain. This competition is regarded as a “national team selection competition” and the selected clusters will join the “national team”.
As the cradle of China’s modern industry,Eastern manufacturing centerNanjing has a strong industrial foundationDemonstrated strong core competitiveness
0 1Special steel material industry
High value-added, high-tech products
Growing
As a prominent representative in the field of new materials, special steel undertakes the important mission of providing high-precision materials for the development of national defense, military industry and high-end manufacturing. The five cities in southern Jiangsu, namely Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou, Changzhou and Zhenjiang, have gradually established a special steel industry system with leading scale, high-end varieties and complete supporting facilities, and the industry scale and comprehensive competitiveness rank first in the country.
As the leading city of the Southern Jiangsu Special Steel Materials Cluster, Nanjing has focused on promoting the transformation and upgrading of the special steel industry in recent years, and has taken new steps in the high-quality development of the industry. It is reported that Nanjing’s steel industry has implemented a high-end boutique development strategy, built an important high-performance special steel plate production base at home and abroad, and has continuously increased the number of high-value-added and high-tech products. More than 100 products such as thick crack arrest steel have reached the international advanced level, providing solid and reliable material support for many major national equipment and key projects.
Founded in 1958, Nangang is one of the leading enterprises in the southern Jiangsu special steel materials cluster. In recent years, it has focused on the research and development and production of high-value-added high-quality special steels, and has formed a product series including medium and thick plates, bars, high-speed wire rods, strip steel, special-shaped steel, and composite plates.
“We are the first company in China to develop the world’s thickest 100 mm crack-arrest steel and 5Ni low-temperature steel. Our ultra-low temperature (-196°C) 9% nickel steel and high-strength wear-resistant steel have both won national manufacturing championships.” A relevant person in charge of Nangang introduced that, as of now, Nangang’s products have provided indispensable key materials for more than 300 major national equipment, including China’s first luxury cruise ship, the “Blue Whale No. 1” for combustible ice mining, the “Hualong One” third-generation nuclear power demonstration project, and many other major national equipment and key projects, as well as major “Belt and Road” projects such as the Arctic Yamal natural gas project, the Qatar Football World Cup stadium, and the China-Russia Heihe Bridge.
Meigang is actively exploring the “optimal solution” for the safety of steel products used in food storage. In 2021, the company announced the global launch of its “double green” (green process, green product) electroplated tin products with “ultra-low lead + chromium-free passivation”. Beverage packaging cans such as Wangzai Milk and Red Bull, milk powder cans such as Wyeth and Nestle, and food packaging cans such as Wahaha Eight Treasure Porridge and Meilin Luncheon Meat all use Meigang products.
In recent years, Nanjing’s steel industry has been deeply promoting the “intelligent transformation, digital transformation and networking” action, and the CNC rate of key processes in the cluster has reached 90%. Leading enterprise Nanjing Iron and Steel has successfully created a national-level smart factory and built the industry’s first integrated smart operation center.
The Smart Operation Center is known as the “strongest brain” of Nanjing Iron and Steel. When you enter the Smart Operation Center, you will see a 42-meter-long and 6-meter-high display screen. The digital twin screen shows the whole process of small ore growing into large steel in real time. From the real-time flow of raw materials, key parameters of sintering machines, to every key point of the desulfurization and denitrification process, it ensures that environmental protection standards and production efficiency are given equal importance, and every process is under control.
“We explore the deep integration of digital technology and steel business, use innovative technology to drive the reshaping of steel production and operation mode, develop new quality productivity, and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises.” Xu Faxi, deputy director of Nangang Digital Application Research Institute (Artificial Intelligence Research Institute), introduced that the smart operation center uses technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and digital twins to realize real-time visual dynamic prediction and early warning of the company’s production and operation, which can help improve the operating efficiency of the entire enterprise, reduce production and operation costs, and realize the high-end and green development of Nangang products.
According to the relevant person in charge of Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Nanjing’s leading steel enterprises have all completed ultra-low emission transformation, and the emissions of major pollutants have dropped by about 50% in the past three years. “Our city’s steel industry is at the forefront of digital intelligence empowerment. Relying on the advantages of digital intelligence development, Nanjing is actively creating the ‘AI+Steel’ National Artificial Intelligence Industry Application Demonstration Base.” The relevant person in charge of the Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology revealed.
