Perspective on the quality development of China's

Perspective on the quality development of China's power transformer industry recently, abb, the world's leading power and automation technology group, announced that it would cooperate with China Southern Power Co., Ltd. to design, manufacture, install and commission 800 kV high-voltage DC converter equipment for a converter station of the Yunnan Nuozhadu Guangdong UHV DC transmission project it is responsible for

as an internationally renowned power transformer enterprise ranking among the world's top 500, this is not the first time ABB has launched the power transformer Market in China. ABB even said that only China has its most complete product line, and other countries have not achieved market coverage from products, components to services

behind the strong participation of such international giants in domestic market competition, on the one hand, they are interested in the huge potential of China's power equipment market; On the other hand, it also reflects the considerable progress of Chinese enterprises. Especially in terms of quality, domestic power transformers have become closer and closer to the international level, making international giants have to show "housekeeping skills" to compete in the Chinese market

the quality level is equivalent to that of foreign products

power transformer, a static electrical equipment, is used to change the AC voltage (current) of a certain value into another voltage (current) with the same frequency or several different values. The results of supervision and random inspection in the third quarter of last year released by the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine showed that among the 29 kinds of power transformer products produced by 29 enterprises in 12 provinces and municipalities directly under the central government, 6 kinds of products were found not to meet the requirements of relevant standards, with a pass rate of 80%. "This result basically reflects the current quality level of the domestic power transformer industry. It should be said that after so many years of development, the overall level of the domestic transformer industry has basically reached the world-class level, and the quality level is almost the same as that of foreign products." The relevant person in charge of the transformer branch of China Electrical Appliance Industry Association said

it is understood that the transformer industry, which occupies the world's technological commanding heights, mainly depends on two figures, product capacity and voltage level. As early as the beginning of the "Eleventh Five Year Plan", China has been a large country in the production and application of power transformers in the world, but it is not a strong country. At that time, only a few domestic enterprises could produce 500 kV UHV transformers, and the market share of UHV transformers was basically monopolized by foreign giants. With the launch of the first UHV test demonstration project in China, domestic transformer enterprises have ushered in a development opportunity. The voltage grade and capacity of their products have leapt to the first in the world, occupying the technological commanding height of the development of the industry. At the same time, it has promoted the continuous maturity and improvement of low-voltage transformer technology

"at present, China has been able to manufacture the world's leading power transformers. As a part of China's power transformer industry, abb transformers produced in China have been exported to Europe, Oceania, Africa, Asia and other countries, which fully reflects that made in China has been widely recognized in the world." Jiangshuwei, manager of the power distribution engineering department of Hefei ABB Transformer Co., Ltd., told abb that abb has implemented a unified "surface" composite material technology platform, production process and standard in the world, which can make the interior of vehicles look more attractive. As a part of China's power transformer industry, abb has introduced the most advanced public technology design platform to China more than 10 years ago, both for power and distribution transformers

the relevant person in charge of the transformer branch of China Electrical Industry Association said that in the future, the development direction of transformers in China will still be energy-saving, low noise, fire and explosion-proof, and high reliability. There are two main development directions: first, high voltage and ultra-high voltage, especially 750 kV and 1100 KV. The second is to develop towards energy conservation and miniaturization. The former is mainly used in long-distance power transmission and transformation lines, while the latter is mainly used in urban power transmission and transformation lines

there is still a certain gap in details

according to the introduction, the transformer cannot adopt Brinell hardness test but use Rockwell hardness measurement. The development of manufacturing process mainly combines the characteristics of new products and new structures to develop appropriate processes, and focuses on the development and application of new materials and new equipment, so as to continuously improve the quality and reliability of products, However, the research and development of these new processes requires a lot of capital investment and the increase of production costs

as the main part of electricity, power transformer is an industry of heavy material and light industry, and the material cost accounts for more than 60% of the cost price of the whole product. As the main raw material of transformer, the output of domestic silicon steel sheet is very limited, and it has been dependent on import for a long time. Transformer enterprises suffered from the shortage of silicon steel sheets. The soaring price of silicon steel sheets made many enterprises' survival a problem. In addition, copper price fluctuation is also a serious problem faced by the transformer industry. Due to the long production cycle of transformer, the copper price changes frequently in the production process, and the price set when signing the contract is often inconsistent with the price actually produced. This is indeed a challenge for an industry in which raw materials account for a large proportion

it is understood that the shortage of raw materials and components that restrict the development of transformers has been basically solved, which provides conditions for the better development of the transformer industry. However, there is still a certain gap in details. "The main limiting factor of some distribution transformer production equipment in China is the low degree of automation and process assurance of key equipment related to transformer manufacturing. Although most production equipment can be localized, there is a lack of constant tension domestic winding equipment related to the mechanical strength of the body/coil. In addition, some distribution transformer manufacturers have room for further improvement in efficiency, reliability and stability. These deficiencies will It has an impact on the reliability of power operation, and has a very negative impact on the economic development of the location and even the daily life of residents. At the same time, the time and cost of power maintenance have increased significantly. " Jiang Shuwei pointed out

prevent overcapacity in the industry

with the rapid development of China's national economy, the demand for electricity is also increasing. As the main equipment in the power transmission and transformation system, transformers have also been developed by leaps and bounds, and transformer manufacturers and transformer trading businesses have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a rain. Therefore, according to the popular rule, the movement limit of materials is taken according to the light and cheap movement limit, and the movement limit of low carbon steel is obtained by dividing the load value corresponding to the point by the original cross-sectional area of the test piece

"at present, the transformer industry has serious overcapacity, and I hereby appeal not to add transformer manufacturers." The relevant person in charge of the transformer branch of China Electrical Appliance Industry Association solemnly reminded, "At present, the total capacity of the three local brands of TBEA, baobian substation and xibian substation alone in China is more than 500 million KVA. With the manufacturing strength of 500 kV, 220 kV and 110 kV transformers and the production capacity of product manufacturers below 110 kV, the total capacity of China's transformer industry is about 3 billion KVA, and the annual market demand will not exceed 1.3 billion KVA at present."

the evil result of the production capacity exceeding the market demand by more than twice leads to the market disordered competition becoming more and more intense. On the one hand, the profits of enterprises have been declining - in the 1970s and 1980s, the average profit margin of the transformer industry was about 20%, about 8% two or three years ago, and last year, the average profit margin of products below 500 kV was only 2%~3%. Many enterprises entered the era of negative interest rates; On the other hand, there are hidden dangers for the stability of product quality. At present, China's transformer supply exceeds demand, and the price competition is extremely fierce. The user's preferred condition in the bidding activities is the price factor. Therefore, it is difficult for manufacturers to make a large amount of investment, so that the production process cannot be developed, the product quality cannot go up, the quality cannot go up, the price will not be high, and there is no profit, which leads to a vicious circle

according to the analysis of the current situation, experts predict that there may be a reshuffle in the transformer industry this year. In the next few years, enterprises that are unqualified or unable to get orders will be eliminated due to the continuous improvement of market requirements