OREANDA-NEWS. February 24, 2011. The Eleventh Five-Year Plan period is an extraordinary period in Baosteel's reform and development. For five years, Baosteel goes along China's rapid economic development, experiences international financial crisis and the hard times of low profit in steel industry, reported the press-centre of Baosteel.

Faced with challenges, Baosteel calmly examines itself, changes the development mode with a more mature attitude and embarks on sustainable development road of "quality+ scale" and environmental management. Looking back at the five years, we see that Baosteel stands in the forefront of China's steel industry, that it not only achieves leap-forward, but gradually forms post-crisis era development mode. Starting from this edition, we will launch a series of articles focusing on Baosteel's magnificent development during the five years.

At the end of the first decade of the new century, the first rate nuclear material, nuclear evaporator 690U-tube, was developed independently by Baosteel. It breaks the monopoly of imported products in the field of key nuclear power materials in China. When foreign owned enterprises with this core technology learned the news, its price fell significantly.

There are many similar cases in Baosteel's promotion of steel material localization and improving of national industry.

In Baosteel's development of quality products strategy, many high-grade products such as auto plates, oriented silicon steel, home appliance plates come out, which reflects the upgrading of China's steel industry structure. Looking back at Baosteel's construction and development process, we see that Baosteel always takes the unusual path, pursues excellence and improves independent innovation capacity. It has a spiritual power in promoting quality products, achieving sustainable development and leading the national steel industry.

With the construction and puting into production of Baosteel Eleventh Five-Year Plan projects, the proportion of double high products such as cold rolled plates, non-oriented silicon steel and tin plates which have market shortage and which substitute imports is expanded. Currently, 80% of the iron and steel products have the ability to participate in international competition in terms of physical quality and product grades, fundamentally changing the situation of China's long-term dependence on imports in the majority of plate and pipe products.

Baosteel has always believed that innovation is the source for sustainable competitive advantage in the fierce market competition. Only through innovation can we gain differential advantage and occupy new ground in future competition. Based upon importation, assimilation and acceptance, Baosteel achieves the second innovation and independent integration, promotes technological progress and propels the implementation of quality products strategy.

During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, Baosteel optimizes technology resource integration, forms the basic technological innovation system with Baosteel characteristics of trinity of research and development, engineering integration, continuous improvement and with collaboration and becomes the first batch of innovative enterprises in China.

Through years of unremitting efforts, Baosteel creates a number of products with core competitiveness and technology: The 10 years 'R&D in oriented silicon steel changes  the situation of China's reliance on imported products for Three Gorges Project large transformer material and for the first time China achieves full coverage of different specifications of high-grade oriented silicon steel and the product is popular in domestic and foreign markets. For the first time in China, Baosteel produces 100 thousand and 150 thousand-cubic-meter large oil storage tank steel, high-grade nickel alloy OCTG,  high-strength auto steel which are widely used in downstream industries. It also has the capability to build ultra high strength auto plate steel.

During Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, Baosteel's got 6456 patent applications, among which 2,338 invention patents, 4236 licenses and 12,395 technical secrets. "The research on variety, production and application of Baosteel high grade auto plate" wins first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. Baosteel's six important economic and technical indicators, comprehensive energy consumption per ton steel, blast furnace fuel ratio, pulverized coal injection ratio maintains a leading position in the world. Key technologies such as steel purity control has reached the international advanced level.

Baosteel's fundamental experience in improving quality products manufacturing capabilities and competitive advantage is as follows: sticking to the notion "development is the last word", always firmly grasping the general trend of economic development, promoting scientific development of enterprise and gaining a firm foothold in the tide of the market economy.

During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, China's economic development is quite extraordinary. Steel industry enters the homogenized competition stage, with the conflict between industrial structure and product structure becoming increasingly prominent. Baosteel assesses the situation and resolutely implements the  policy decisions made by central authorities, takes the initiative to adapt to changing requirements of the external environment and actively responds to challenges. Especially during the international financial crisis, Baosteel shows a remarkable ability.

In 2007, Baosteel changed from "quality products strategy" to "quality+ scale" and promoted the product structure adjustment and optimization. Customer-oriented, market-driven, Baosteel develops exclusive and leading products with strong market competitiveness and profitability and unique advantage and gradually phases out homogenized products.

Through enhanced customer service Baosteel adds new meanings to "quality products strategy". For five years, the proportion of high value-added products continues to increase. By the end of 2010, the market share of Baosteel cold-rolled auto plate, home appliance plate, steel pipeline, and OTCG reached 50%, 31%, 30% and 21% respectively, with high-grade products continuing to maintain the leading position in the domestic market. National key projects such as Su Tong Bridge, Beijing Olympic venues, the Shanghai World Expo venues all use Baosteel quality steel products and Baosteel brand is growing in popularity.