Gitane Company Exhibition: Shougang Gitane - Digital "SPARK" Blossom in New Forms, Forging Long Boards at the Right Time
The fiery red molten steel flows precisely under intelligent control, and the torrent of data jumps in an orderly manner on the centralized control screen. When the "feel" and experience of the old master are redefined by algorithms, a deep integration of steel new materials and digital technology is happening at Shougang Gitane New Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shougang Gitane").
As a leading enterprise in the field of electric heating alloy materials in China, Shougang Gitane takes AI big models as the engine and full process digitization as the wings. It not only reshapes the production and management mode, but also forges the advantage of digital intelligence empowerment in the new material industry. Numbers are making traditional "steel flower" shine brightly.
Build a secure foundation
Building a 'smart brain' in the factory area
Previously, to search for a key process document, one had to go to the archive room for a long time. Now, all one needs to do is say a sentence to the system and push it accurately within three seconds, "said Jiang Haihong, director of the Welding Technology Research Office at Shougang Gitane Electric Heating Research Institute, standing in the clean and bright central control center, describing the change.
As he said, Shougang Gitane and Beijing University of Information Science and Technology jointly developed and implemented the "Knowledge Management and Application System Based on AI Large Model" at the end of 2024, which has powerful exclusive functions. The system builds a solid "secure digital island" with two high-performance servers, incorporating tens of thousands of core data accumulated by the enterprise over decades, including top secret process formulas and confidential production data, into closed-loop management.
For us, process parameters and customer data are the lifeline, "said Tao Ke, Deputy General Manager and Head of Digital Transformation at Shougang Gitane." The system achieves' on-demand visibility 'of data through fine classification and permission control. "R&D personnel can adjust their design plans for years, and customer service personnel can query orders and after-sales records in real time. The core process formula is only open to the Dean of the Electric Heating Research Institute and the directors of the four research laboratories of" New Material Technology, Process Technology, User Technology, and Welding Technology ".
The deeper value lies in the system's ability to transform implicit experiences such as "feel" and "heat" that many experienced teachers have in their minds into digital models that can be called upon and passed down. For example, the subtle temperature control techniques in the electroslag remelting process and the experience of adapting molds and materials in the drawing process can now be quickly learned by young employees through intelligent retrieval. This fundamentally solves the problem of 'people walking and technology losing' in the manufacturing industry, "Tao Ke added." We have turned experience into an eternal asset for enterprises. "As the" chain owner "of the electric heating alloy industry chain, Shougang Gitane's vision transcends its own factory" walls "and breaks through the ice with a pioneering attitude, paving the way for the digital transformation of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises.
The digital economy represented by the industrial Internet shows strong growth momentum and broad development space, and is reconstructing the global industrial pattern and development paradigm. Enterprises need to leverage digital technology to connect production equipment, business data, and management systems, driving the upgrading of industrial intelligence and forming a digital technology foundation and technological basis for industrial innovation and development.
Cracking production pain points
Let the intelligent agent run on the process
Entering the Shougang Gitane three-phase electric slag furnace workshop, the mechanical operation belt is running smoothly and orderly in the scorching air. It accurately weighs chromium iron and aluminum blocks, and automatically feeds them according to the optimal ratio calculated by the algorithm model, replacing the heavy physical labor of three workers manually transporting nearly 800 kilograms of materials at high temperatures for each furnace of steel in the past.
In September 2025, this automatic feeding system independently developed by Shougang Gitane and Beixin University of Science and Technology was officially put into use. It not only reduces the labor intensity of workers by more than 60%, but also replaces it with full process automation, which can completely evacuate operators from high-risk areas and prevent accidents from happening at the root without anyone. In the past, masters had to rely on the naked eye to 'see the color of the fire' to determine temperature. Nowadays, PLC control systems collect 116 real-time temperature, current, and voltage data points and dynamically adjust process parameters, "said Liu Tian, a mentor at the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at Beijing University of Information Science and Technology and the person in charge of the school's automation project liaison."The product qualification rate has increased by nearly 3%."
This is just a microcosm of Shougang Gitane's "intelligent agent cluster". In the purification workshop, semi-automatic robotic arms are being installed and debugged intensively, which is about to achieve precise unmanned operation of material handling; In the finished product warehouse, the construction of an intelligent warehousing system is gradually being transformed into reality. In the future, it will achieve automatic product inbound and outbound, precise inventory management, and intelligent scheduling and shipping, completely revolutionizing the traditional warehousing mode; On the client side, a system called "Electric Heating Material Prediction Intelligent Agent" is undergoing intensive training, which can achieve 7 × 24 hours online response for product maintenance and technical consultation in the future. Engineer Gao Xiaoyong from the Digital Transformation Research Promotion Center said, "We adopt a small, agile and accurate software layout throughout the entire article, with multiple points of flowering, which can accelerate the process of digital transformation and help all workers in the factory quickly adapt to the pace of enterprise transformation."
We need to have 'intelligent helpers' who understand the business at every critical stage, "said Sun Haoxin, director of the Digital Transformation Research Promotion Center, while demonstrating the MES system. On the big screen, the entire process data from sales orders, raw material procurement, production scheduling to quality inspection is real-time and clear at a glance. Previously, production data was delayed by two days, but now analysis reports are generated on the same day. "The response time for urgent orders has been shortened from the original 3 days to 8 hours."
Adhering to business driven approach, focusing on operations, sales, logistics, costs, operations, and data assets, and promoting the application of key scenarios can not only reduce on-site labor intensity and completely eliminate safety hazards, but also provide a basis for process optimization through real-time data collection and analysis, promote the transformation from "experience production" to "precision control", and achieve rapid response to on-site and market changes."
Leading industry university research collaboration
Co draw the blueprint for intelligent development
The deployment of local AI models has tight deadlines and heavy tasks. The team of teachers and students from Beixin Science and Technology sacrificed their summer vacation time and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the model construction work. ”AI big model engineer Sun Shasha talked about the most impressive thing for her, "On July 31st, the project's intelligent agent module suddenly malfunctioned. Within an hour, Jia Jia, a first-year graduate student who had already purchased tickets and was preparing to visit home, rushed to the scene and worked with the company to investigate. With professional skills, the problem was efficiently solved, and in the end, she successfully caught up with the return home train."
In terms of cooperation mode, Shougang Gitane and universities have innovatively established a "joint research and development+collaborative landing" industry university research cooperation framework to ensure efficient and orderly progress of cooperation. In May 2025, Shougang Gitane, together with Beijing University of Information Science and Technology, Liaoning University of Science and Technology and other units, jointly established the "Multi disciplinary Cross disciplinary Integration Industry University Research Platform", planning to launch three industry standards and five sets of scalable digital solutions within three years.
In order to break down the barriers of school enterprise cooperation, a joint research group has been formed, holding 2-3 special meetings every month and establishing a full process collaboration mechanism. Shougang Gitane provides a fertile ground for scientific research experiments and valuable experiences for students to transform what they have learned into practice, "said Su Peng, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Dean of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at Beijing University of Information Science and Technology, with great care. The school ensures that technological achievements meet the needs of enterprises, timely solves the difficulties and bottlenecks in the process of digital transformation of enterprises, achieves efficient integration of university technology resources with enterprise industry needs, and accumulates valuable experience for the transformation of technological achievements.
Shougang Gitane is transforming from a traditional "product supplier" to a comprehensive exporter of "products+services+solutions" through the integration of industry, academia, and research. It will also launch the "Electric Heating Alloy Gene Engineering" to provide a full process AI solution from material selection to furnace integration.
The digital wave is sweeping across the globe with an unstoppable momentum, and enterprises, universities, and research institutes are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities. The technology innovation cooperation model combining industry, academia and research can efficiently promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, talent cultivation and industrial application connection, form a "research development production" collaborative system, and become an important engine for promoting the digital transformation of enterprises.
All staff co create and share
Integrating digital genes into the bloodline of enterprises
At first, I thought AI was just a 'flower rack', until it really helped me break through the bottleneck of research and development. ”Xiao Xiaofeng, the head of the wire drawing operation area at Shougang Gitane, sighed. At the beginning of 2025, he frequently encountered the problem of surface quality non-compliance when collaborating with the Electric Heating Research Institute to produce new iron chromium aluminum materials. In a moment of confusion, he attempted to retrieve historical data through an AI knowledge platform and found that a team had attempted similar processes as early as 2018. After optimizing the plan based on current conditions, the problem of crack generation during wire drawing has been completely solved, and the new product has achieved smooth and stable production.
This internal recognition and participation cannot be separated from the company's carefully designed "all staff co creation" mechanism. Shougang Gitane firmly abandons the "turnkey" outsourcing development and insists on making business departments the protagonists of digitalization. Shougang Gitane's marketing department proactively sorted out more than 20 system requirements, and Chen Yanhong, the deputy director of the marketing department, made five revisions to optimize the process; The front-line workers in the refining and rolling operation area proposed the suggestion of "adding temperature monitoring points for the rolling line", which was quickly included in the system upgrade list; Even retired teachers have been invited back to the company to transform their lifelong accumulated "tacit knowledge" into digital assets through in-depth interviews. From 'I want to use' to 'I want to use', employees have tasted the 'sweetness' of efficiency improvement and intensity reduction brought by digitalization in practice.
Digital transformation is not a 'solo show' of the information technology department, but a 'chorus' of all employees. The party committee team is responsible for' grasping the direction and building the stage 'for the change, blocking wind and rain when encountering interference, paving the way and building bridges when encountering obstacles, and making decisions when encountering risks. "Li Gang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shougang Gitane, spoke loudly about creating a favorable environment for promotion. Through the three wheel drive of "Party Committee preaching+departmental pilot+all staff training", the company has carried out four phases of digital training, and a learning group composed of 29 backbone members has put forward 71 improvement suggestions, of which 46 have been implemented and effective.
Since the "Three Innovations" Exchange Conference of Shougang Group in 2024 clearly proposed the comprehensive promotion of digital transformation strategy, Shougang Jitai An has responded quickly and laid out scientifically. Faced with multiple challenges such as the lack of mature cases to follow in the industry and unclear paths for small and medium-sized enterprises, Shougang Jitai An has adhered to the principle of "self centeredness, tailored to local conditions" and gradually transformed the blueprint into practical results in the process of promoting "customized, lightweight, and practical" digital transformation.
Only by seizing the opportunity can we seize the commanding heights of future development. The data flow that connects various business processes of an enterprise can make enterprise management more scientific, transparent, and efficient. Building a cross-border integrated digital industry ecosystem, standardizing the organic connection with e-commerce platforms, core enterprises, and upstream and downstream merchants, will promote the formation of a closely coordinated and mutually beneficial supply chain ecosystem.
Steel flowers are still brilliant, but behind them is no longer just a simple furnace and molten steel, but a digital torrent interwoven with data, algorithms, and intelligence. Realize digital twin of key processes and key links by 2026; Build an AI assisted decision-making platform by 2028; In 2030, it will become a global benchmark for intelligent manufacturing of electric heating materials... By integrating the spirit of craftsmen into the algorithm and integrating the production site into the cloud, Jitai An of Shougang will play a key role in the narrative of transformation and upgrading of traditional small and medium-sized manufacturing industries, outlining a clear and wonderful scene of Chinese path to modernization Shougang.
The digital 'SPARK' is blooming in a new form; Forging long plates is just the right time.