China's bearing industry still needs further industrial upgrading 2007-04-21 10:40 According to the latest production and operation status of major enterprises in the bearing industry and statistical data from relevant departments provided by the China Bearing Industry Association, in various sectors of the machinery industry Driven by the rapid development of the host industry, my country's bearing industry continued to maintain a rapid and steady development trend in 2004. It is particularly worth mentioning that the export of bearing products was strong in 2004, which not only achieved the export target of the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" one year ahead of schedule, but also reversed the import and export deficit of bearings in 2003. However, industry experts also pointed out that some problems exposed in the development process of the industry and uncertain factors in the market environment also need to be taken seriously.

1. Two major achievements have been achieved

1. According to relevant experts from the China Bearing Industry Association, from 1993 to 2002, my country’s bearing import and export trade not only developed rapidly, but also has always been surplus. However, the situation changed in 2003. In that year, 1.839 billion sets of bearings were exported, earning US$844 million in foreign exchange; 1.358 billion sets of bearings were imported, US$879 million in foreign exchange was used. Although the export volume continued to grow significantly, due to the faster growth of the import volume, the import and export of bearings experienced a deficit of more than 30 million US dollars for the first time in 10 years, which immediately attracted the attention of the entire industry. After a year of hard work, in 2004, the industry exported 2.27 billion sets of bearings, earning US$1.14 billion in foreign exchange; it imported 1.462 billion sets of bearings, using US$1.125 billion in foreign exchange. Not only did it achieve the bearing industry's "Tenth Five-Year Plan" export target of US$900 million to US$1 billion one year ahead of schedule, it also achieved an import and export surplus again, with a surplus of more than US$16 million.

In addition, on the basis that the sales revenue of 31 billion yuan and the output of 3 billion sets of the bearing industry's "Tenth Five-Year Plan" have been achieved two years ahead of schedule, in 2004, the national bearing industry completed another product sales revenue of 446 billion yuan. billion, an increase of 22.5% over 2003 on a comparable basis. Bearing output reached 4.93 billion sets (of which 830 million sets were from wholly foreign-owned enterprises), an increase of 28% on a comparable basis compared with 2003. The profits and taxes of enterprises have also increased significantly. According to statistics, major enterprises in the bearing industry achieved total profits and taxes of 1.7 billion yuan in 2004, a year-on-year increase of 16.85%.

2. Industry experts pointed out that in addition to the increase in economic aggregate, the pace of industry structural adjustment has also accelerated significantly, and alliances, mergers, and cooperation between enterprises of different ownerships have entered a new stage. In particular, it is obvious that some state-owned enterprises and private and private enterprises complement each other's advantages and jointly develop. For example, in recent years, Wazuo Group has cooperated with Moss Group to develop and produce miniature bearings, and has cooperated with Shandong Huatian Group to develop automotive bearings; Harbin Group has cooperated with Zhejiang Jianli Group to produce motor bearings, and Dalian Guangyang Company to produce metallurgical bearings; Renben Group merged with Hangzhou Bearing Factory; Zhejiang Tianma Bearing Co., Ltd. acquired Chengdu Bearing Factory; Greencool became the largest shareholder of Xiangyang Automobile Bearing Co., Ltd. through capital operation; Luoyang Bearing Group Company also cooperated with Henan Yongcheng Coal and Electricity (Group) Co., Ltd. jointly established Luoyang LYC Bearing Co., Ltd.

2. Facing two major problems

Although our country has entered the ranks of the world's major bearing producers, it is still far from being a world power in bearing production, especially as the domestic market is becoming increasingly internationalized and competition is also increasing. will be more intense. Therefore, experts remind us that we must keep a clear mind and face our own problems.

1. Although my country is currently able to produce bearing products of more than 50,000 specifications and varieties, overall, my country's bearing industry still lags behind the development of main engines. The production of general products required by domestic main engines There is excess capacity, but some high-quality, high-grade, and high-value-added products cannot fully meet the needs of host development and have to rely on imports. This is also the reason why my country's bearing imports have continued to rise in recent years. Although domestic bearing companies can produce some products, users cannot be completely assured of their reliability and stability because the brands are not strong enough. Slow technological progress and poor product development capabilities are still important factors restricting the faster development of my country's bearing industry.

2. Bearing companies around the world are accelerating their efforts to seize the Chinese bearing market, and Chinese companies are facing greater competitive pressure.

At present, the world's eight famous bearing companies have established joint ventures or wholly-owned factories in China, and they have also adopted new strategies in joint ventures and cooperation, from the initial joint ventures to foreign-controlled companies, and then to wholly-owned companies. . Not only has a relatively strong production capacity been initially formed, but it also occupies a good market share. From the perspective of development strategy, on the one hand, we develop new bearing products to seize the commanding heights of China's bearing technology; on the other hand, we are gradually penetrating into the host market serving China's bearing industries such as railways, automobiles, machine tools, and metallurgy. It is foreseeable that competition in China's bearing market will become more intense and the situation will become more complex.

3. Take four major countermeasures

Facing the increasingly severe situation, industry experts believe that my country's bearing industry must take corresponding countermeasures in order to remain invincible.

1. Pay attention to the construction of scientific and technological teams and the development of independent products, and accelerate the pace of technological innovation and technological progress. We should regard cultivating a strong scientific and technological team as a strategic measure for enterprise development, strengthen human resource management, do a good job in attracting, cultivating and utilizing talents, and give full play to the enthusiasm and creativity of scientific and technological personnel, especially the research and development of intellectual property rights. Products with high precision, high reliability and high added value are the only way to meet the needs of various domestic host industries and major technical equipment. This is also the basis for the continuous development and growth of enterprises.

2. Enterprises must implement "competition strategy" or strategic alliance. The scale of our country's enterprises is small. The maximum sales revenue of a single bearing enterprise is about US$300 million per year, which is far inferior to the world's eight largest companies. Therefore, only by implementing an enterprise cluster strategy and reaching a corresponding scale of competition can we compete with foreign enterprises. The "Tenth Five-Year Plan" for the bearing industry has proposed that nearly 10 enterprise groups and 20 "little giant" enterprises should be cultivated as the backbone and skeleton of the industry, thereby driving the development of the entire industry.

3. In future foreign joint ventures and cooperation, we should pay attention to summarizing the experience and lessons of past joint ventures by enterprises inside and outside the industry, pay attention to selecting cooperation partners, pay attention to the composition of the equity structure, and protect our own intellectual property rights. And brands must have preparations and strategies to deal with unexpected changes. Only by achieving a win-win situation and truly achieving the goal of exchanging market for technology can a meaningful joint venture be considered.

4. Implement brand strategy and strive to create a famous brand effect. At present, the main means of competition for large foreign bearing companies is brand expansion, and many of them have world-class well-known trademarks and brands. However, we are still in the stage of production capacity expansion, technological expansion and brand expansion are not enough, and there are still very few national-level well-known brands. , not to mention the well-known international brands. To this end, in 2005, the China Bearing Industry Association will establish two non-permanent organizations, the "Famous Brand Strategy Committee" and the "Anti-Counterfeiting Working Committee", to promote the creation of famous brands in the entire industry, vigorously implement brand strategies, and promote orderly competition. Create a good survival and development environment for famous brand products.