2019 Yangnong Group's Relocation
China's chemical industry has entered a critical stage of transformation and upgrading with sustainability being the most compelling mega-trend. Sinochem International has been firm in practicing green development as its core competitiveness. In late 2019, Yangnong Group, a subsidiary of the company, took the initiative to relocate from the city of Yangzhou to a suburban industrial park, a milestone for Sinochem in implementing its sustainable development strategy.
Yangnong's Baotawan Plant shut production and exited the city of Yangzhou
The Baotawan Plant, situated on the bank of the Ancient Canal in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, is the birthplace of Yangnong Group, a 62-year-old chemical company. Since China's Reform and Opening-up, this area, once in the outskirts, is now at the center of the city in the wake of urbanization. It is increasingly not in line with urban safety requirements, cultural and ecological preservation along the Ancient Canal, and development needs of Yangnong itself.
The relocation of the Baotawan Plant marks a milestone of the safe urban development of Yangzhou. On December 20, 2019, Baotawan Plant officially ended production and withdrew from the downtown area of Yangzhou. The new plant has been put into operation in Sinochem Circular Economy Industrial Park in the harbour area of Lianyungang city.
From the Era of Canal to the Era of Ocean: A journey of Yangnong Group’s strategic relocation
Yangzhou Pesticide Factory (established in 1958), predecessor of Yangnong Group
The Baotawan Plant of Yangnong Group
After the Baotawan Plant ended production, the old site will be transformed into new headquarters, serving as the administration, marketing, finance, and R&D center of Yangnong Group. It's to be the think tank and innovative base of Yangnong, a display hall of industrial civilization and a unique landscape on the bank of the Ancient Canal.
Panorama of the Baotawan Plant of Yangnong Group (2019)
Design sketch of the new headquarters of Yangnong Group in planning
While contributing to Yangzhou's headquarters economy, Yangnong Group is devoting efforts to the transformation and upgrading of the Yangzhou Canal Bay Area Scenic Spot where the headquarters is situated. The goal is to build a modern garden headquarters combining modern civilization and ancient culture and blending in the scenery of the three-bay areas along the Ancient Canal, to add new elements to a prosperous and beautiful Yangzhou, and to help build a city famous for technological innovation.
Design sketch of planning of the Yangzhou Canal Bay Area Scenic Spot
Building a green and smart plant in Sinochem Circular Economy Industrial Park
Seizing the chance of strategic relocation, Yangnong Group takes the initiative to further implement green development. It has stepped up efforts in environmental protection and safety management while upgrades its development modes by strengthening sustainability as core competitiveness to win the first-mover advantage during the industrial transition towards greener practices.
The Sinochem Circular Economy Industrial Park in Xuwei New Area, Lianyungang is the gateway of Sinochem International to implement its strategic layout. Under collaboration and support of Sinochem International, Yangnong Group managed to complete a new modern plant, Ruiheng New Materials Co., Ltd., on the coastal area in merely two years from 2017. For Phase I, with a total investment of RMB 4.2 billion, the m-dichlorobenzene and trichlorobenzene project with an annual output of 20,000 tons, the nitrochlorobenzene project with an annual output of 80,000 tons, the storage tank farm and the auxiliary public project have been completed. Undertaking all production capacity from former Baotawan Plant, this new plant plays a crucial part in not only the strategic relocation and business upgrading of Yangnong Group but also the implementation of materials science strategy of Sinochem International.
New production base of Yangnong Group in Sinochem Circular Economy Industrial Park in Lianyungang
During the construction of the new plant, Sinochem International and Yangnong Group established a systematic and standardized safety management system. From vacuum preloading to land leveling, from civil construction to equipment installation and from solo test run to feeding and operation, every assignment went under the whole-process safety supervision. As a result, no safety or environmental accidents occurred during the 2 years of construction.
With industry-leading green processes, the new plant has made breakthroughs in extending the product chain of circular economy, resource utilization, waste reduction, recycling and in-depth stewardship. To be specific, the world’s first production facilities of epichlorohydrin by hydrogen peroxide process independently developed by Yangnong Group with an output of 150,000 tons/year is to quickly replace backward production capacity in the industry with its clean production and comprehensive competitive edge and significantly promote the sustainability of the whole industry in China.
Meanwhile, Sinochem International is promoting transformation and upgrading through the application of information technologies. It has introduced to the new plant the most advanced smart plant design philosophy and the Sinochem Fine Chemical Excellence Operation System. Cutting-edge technologies such as clouds, big data, mobile technologies and IoT have been adopted in aspects like global perception, optimization integration, autonomous prediction and collaborative sharing to create a safe, green, smart and efficient modern plant.
Eco-friendly smart plants with high HSE standards are an important carrier of sustainability and high-quality development of chemical industry. With advanced clean technologies and green processes, Sinochem International is working hard to construct an innovative and green circular economy industrial park and continue cultivating industrial clusters to boost sustainable development in the fine chemical industry in China.