November 20, Shagang Group and Primetals Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Primetals) Strategic Cooperation Agreement signing ceremony held in Shagang Hotel. Chairman of the Board of Directors Shen Wenrong, Chief Executive Officer of Primetals Technology Co., Ltd. Satoru Lijima signed a strategic cooperation agreement on behalf of the two sides respectively.

Primetals Technology Co., Ltd. Chief Sales Officer Gupta, Primetals Technology (China) Co., Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Schneider, Primetals Technology (Austria) Co., Ltd. Meng Ke, Primetals Technology (China) Co., Ltd. Chief Operating Officer Song Jialluo, Shagang Group Co., Ltd. General Manager Shi Yixin, Deputy General Manager Ma Yi, Zhou Shanliang, Chief Engineer Zhang Xiaobing, as well as the relevant functional departments and branches of the main leaders jointly witnessed the signing ceremony.

Shi Yixin delivered a speech. He said that since its inception, Shagang Group has always adhered to the international leading level of positioning, building first-class iron and steel enterprises, vigorously promoting scientific and technological innovation, management innovation and mechanism innovation, until now, our enterprises had achieve sustained, efficient and steady development. At present, the group has a total assets of more than 170 billion Yuan, more than 30,000 employees, the China's largest private steel enterprises, national innovative enterprises,  and shortlisted in the World's Top 500 consecutive 10 years.

Shi Yixin pointed out that in the development process, Shagang Group always adhere to the concept of "Science and technology guidance, science and technology is inexhaustible resources", combines the enterprise's market competitiveness with scientific and technological progress, closely follow the international steel frontier technology, high standards of positioning, adhere to introduce, digest, absorpt, implement large-scale technological progress and technical reform projects, So that the main equipment and technology of Shagang has reached the international advanced level, forming a professional, large-scale and intensive production advantages.

Shi Yixin said that every advance of Shagang, every step of innovation and development, can not be separated from Primetals’ strong support and efforts, the signing of this strategic cooperation agreement would once again push the cooperation between the two sides to a completely new height. At present, both sides face the situations as the energy saving of whole steel industry and environmental protection, scientific and technological innovation, intelligent manufacturing and other new issues. In the future, Primetals can as always to bring more advanced concept, technology and equipment to Shagang, I believe that as long as the two sides’ unity and mutual assistance, sincere cooperation, we will certainly go to a win-win fruitful results.

In his speech, Satoru Lijima said that in order to meet the key challenges of the industry, the traditional customer-one supplier model is transforming into a strategic partnership between customers and suppliers throughout the life cycle, while Shagang Group and Primetals are at the forefront of this transformation, Shagang is not only one of the largest private metallurgical enterprises in China, it’s also one of the most developing and innovative companies in the steel industry, and there is no better partner on this road than the Shagang Group for Primetals.

Qver the past few decades, Primetals has provided Shagang with many key technologies and world-class equipments, including arc furnaces, converters, ladle furnaces, slab continuous casting machines, heavy plate mills, hot strip mills, wire mills and bar mills etc., Lijima said. The successful cooperation between the two sides on these projects has not only laid a solid foundation for the signing of this comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement today, but also demonstrated the great potential for future cooperation between the two sides. Through signing the comprehensive strategic cooperation framework agreement, in the hope that Shagang and Primetals to expand cooperation in many fields, such as the development of high value-added products, improve the flexibility of using raw material, application of energy conservation and environmental protection technology, realizing flexible production, so as to reach maximize production efficiency, and so on. Our Primetals will make the biggest efforts and input the best resources to promote the cooperation.

Before the signing ceremony, Gupta gave a keynote speech on the future of metallurgy.

On the afternoon of the same day, the two sides also held a Primetals’ technology exchange meeting. The two sides had in-depth exchanges and discussions in the fields of environmental protection, steelmaking, continuous casting, steel rolling and intelligent manufacturing.

It is understood that the Primetals is a joint venture between the former Siemens VAI Technology Company and Mitsubishi Hitachi Iron Machinery co., LTD. Company was founded in 2015, is a metallurgical industry leading engineering, plant construction and the whole cycle cooperative enterprises, providing customers with comprehensive technology, products and services, including integration of electrical, automation and environmental solutions, covers the steel industry chain from raw material to finished product of each link, and as well as the latest non-ferrous metal rolling solution.