"Big but not strong", "low-end manufacturing" label seems to always be attached to the head of our machine tool industry. Unstable, inaccurate, manufacturers do not love to use our country's machine tools as "low-grade goods." Although China's machine tools have made remarkable achievements in recent years and there are many useful explorations in the field of high-end machine tools, the situation is embarrassing for the entire machine tool industry. We can't help but ask: In the end, what restricts the development of China's machine tool industry? Where should the machine tool industry seek breakthrough? This article analyzes several factors that restrict the development of China's machine tool industry and explains from a multi-angle perspective what exactly is the "stumbling block" that restricts the development of China's machine tools.
A stumbling block: a solid foundation
In recent years, China's manufacturing industry has grown vigorously and has achieved remarkable results. However, we must also realize that China's manufacturing industry, including the machine tool industry, has a weak foundation and its manufacturing level is still low in the middle and low range.
In fact, the label of "low-grade goods" has been plaguing China's manufacturing industry. This phenomenon is not uncommon in the industry. For example, we can export a lot of basic components and components such as low-voltage electrical appliances, fasteners, and bearings. However, high-end products have always relied on imports, and core technologies are often held by foreign large companies. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the machine tool industry. Some people even have emotions: In addition to our factory buildings, the others are imported. The facts are similar to this. The large-scale production machine tools and high-end machine tools in our factory are almost all foreign goods. And this phenomenon exists, in addition to innovation, technology and other objective reasons, the fundamental is "the foundation is not strong."
For raw materials, the most important place to save money is on raw materials. But the premise of localization is that you must use domestically produced raw materials. With one word of hurtful self-esteem: The best quality steel and aluminum products made in China are less than a few meters in distance compared to those produced in Japan. I am afraid that there are more than a dozen floors high. This is the engine that is also duplicated, and it is still not up to the same level of engine standards in terms of resilience and fatigue resistance. When doing some burning experiments, the domestic engine's lifespan can reach 70% of the same level of the engine is very good. How can such a foundation be used as a "high top"?
“The cleverest woman is hardly a straw without rice.†Without the support of high-level basic parts, basic materials, basic technologies, and basic machinery, it is difficult to change the image of “low-grade goods†of Chinese machine tools. To change this phenomenon, in addition to carrying out institutional reforms and improving management of aquatic products, the key is to grow bigger and stronger on the basis.
Stumbling Stone II: Unbalanced, Insufficient Machine Tool Industry
China's machine tool industry has made remarkable achievements in recent years. The issuance of the Shenyang Machine Tool i5 system and Dalian Guangyang's high-end precision manufacturing innovation have proved that China has the ability to develop into high-tech fields. However, at the same time, we must also see that compared with individual flash points, there are still problems with unbalanced and insufficiently developed Chinese machine tools.
First, regional development is uneven and inadequate. The level of industrialization in our country generally presents a gradient gap that gradually decreases in the eastern, central and western parts of the country. The same distribution of the machine tool industry is also uneven. China's more powerful machine tool companies include Shenyang Machine Tool, Jinan No. 2 Machine Tool, Qinchuan Machine Tool, Baoji Machine Tool, Wuzhong Machine Tool, Han's Laser, and Dalian Guangyang. From the perspective of the distribution of these machine tool companies, the overall geographical development of the industry is not balanced. Apart from the problem of white deposits in some areas, the level of development also has a clear geographical disparity.
In addition to the unbalanced geographical development, the insufficient development of the machine tool industry is also a major issue that restricts development. The specific performance is as follows: The size of machine tool companies has a great disparity in strength, and there is a big gap between the technology of foreign machine tool companies and the distance from the top of the industry. In short, China's high-end or low-end machine tools have not achieved full development. Whether it is reform or innovation, there is still a long way to go.
The second is the lack of innovation. The most intuitive manifestation of the lack of innovation capability is that, on the one hand, the proliferation of low-end machine tools has affected the prices of the industry; on the other hand, the development of high-end machine tools is not enough, and the phenomenon of dependence on imports and foreign-funded enterprises for key equipment, core components, and basic software is more serious. Lack of innovation and technological R&D have restricted China's machine tools to high-end.
Third, the supply is insufficient. With the development of industry, the industrial structure has also changed. "Intelligent Manufacturing," "Industry 4.0," and "Industrial Big Data" have become wind indicators for future economic development. At the same time, however, the overall supply quality of the machine tool industry needs to be improved urgently. The supply of high-quality, personalized, high-complexity, high-value-added products is insufficient, and high-end manufacturing is extremely scarce. Caused by low-level products no one wants, high-level products are not available, the status of serious imbalance between supply and demand.
To change this phenomenon and accelerate the development of the machine tool industry, we must first plan the layout of the industry and reduce the geographical strength gap; Second, strengthen innovation, pay attention to technology research and development, form a brand effect, master the core competitiveness; Finally, we must adjust the industrial structure and optimize the industrial layout. A more adequately developed low-end market is excellent, and the development of a high-end market that is lacking in development must be focused on and encouraged.
Stumbling Blocks III: Macroeconomic Constraints
In addition to looking for problems from the machine tool industry itself, the impact of the big environment is also very important. As we all know, the machine tool industry is a strong cycle industry, and the impact of the macroeconomic recession on the machine tool industry is often fatal. In a situation where one Rong Rong and one loss are both damaged, the machine tool industry is often alone. Let’s take a look at this set of data first.
According to statistics from insiders, since 2011, the growth rate of the total revenue and total profit of the machine tool industry has continued to fluctuate. The number of industrial loss-making enterprises increased from 359 in 2011 to 818 in 2016, and the amount of loss was from 2011. 15.99 billion yuan increased to 7.277 billion yuan in 2016. This result is inseparable from the sluggish environment of China's manufacturing industry. In addition, the disorderly market environment also constrains the development of the machine tool industry. High costs, low profits, and price wars often drag good companies into the debt vortex. This is evident from the bankruptcy of Dalian Machine Tool, the crisis in Kunming Machine Tool Market, and the reorganization of Shenyang Machine Tool Fund.
The machine tool is not an independent industry. As an “industrial mother machineâ€, it is inextricably linked with many industries and improves the status quo of the machine tool industry. A healthy and stable environment is of utmost importance.
In short, the basic manufacturing industry at the upstream of the machine tool is weak, and it is difficult to provide favorable support for the machine tool industry. The machine tool industry is not fully developed and unbalanced, and the enterprise itself lacks core competitiveness. Both innovation and technology are weak, and it is difficult to occupy the downstream market and balance supply and demand. The lack of a stable and healthy development environment is a dearth of the manufacturing environment.
"Frozen feet, not a day's cold", the lack of development in the machine tool industry is not one reason. In the same way, it is not a day's work to change the status quo of the machine tool. There is still a long way to go before the Chinese machine tool really rises. What is gratifying is that China's manufacturing industry is gradually developing. The “Industry 4.0†and “Made in China 2025†policies are good news for the entire manufacturing industry and are opportunities for the development of the machine tool industry. "Ice is drinking for 10 years, it's hard to be cool." I believe that Chinese machine tools can also be as brilliant as Nirvana.