Xingfa Group has always been enjoying many honorable achievements in phosphorous chemical industry--- the fine phosphorous chemical parks with the most advanced manufacturing technology, the longest industrial chain and the deepest processing varieties nationwide as well as the largest manufacturing base of fine phosphorous products in China and sodium hexametaphoshpate in the world.
But unexpectedly, visitors can neither find smoking chimneys, nor smelly and pungent industrial odor, but see fishes swimming in the sewage treatment tank. Why?
As the focus of market competition has been transferred from products and technology to business ethics and social responsibilities, according to Li Guozhang, the president of Xingfa Group, his company has taken social responsibilities as important measures to create lasting core competitiveness and improve brand value, and has blazed a new road of innovation, transition and leaping development.
From the extinguishing of “industrial sky lanterns” to the “accident anticipation” of safety——
Xingfa Group has been committed to the safety production of green chemical industry.
Baishahe plant, which is located by the riverside of Xiangxi River, is an old plant of Xingfa Group.
On the eve of Tomb-sweeping Day, reporter found in the plant a noticeable banner read as “We only have the misplaced resources instead of the absolute rubbish”. While the situation was totally different 8 years ago as 78 smokestacks of all sizes once stood in the valley and the “industrial sky lanterns” glistened day and night.
In the past, according to the traditional yellow phosphorus production way, large amounts of exhausts were burned and emitted in the air through the smokestacks, creating blazing fires, which were vividly called “industrial sky lanterns”. But after 2007, Xingfa Group made a resolution to extinguish its “industrial sky lanterns”. Therefore, it has invested more than 100 million yuan to innovate its technology in the comprehensive utilization of the yellow phosphorous furnace exhausts.
Consequently, lots of professionals soon gathered at Baisha River, designed and produced the appropriative apparatus for transforming the yellow phosphorous exhausts into the downstream products heat after numerous sleepless nights and failures. After that, Xingfa Group achieved the recovery rate of 100%, solved the difficult issue of treating yellow phosphorous exhausts and completely ended history of “burning in the air”.
After the field research, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology declared: this technology is an initiative in the industry domestically. What’s more, the extinguishing of “industrial sky lanterns” is just the epitome for Xingfa Group to achieve waste recovery by adopting the advanced technology to transform the wastes into the products, energy and raw materials.
For the past seven years, utilizing state-level enterprise technology center and national certificated scientific research innovation platform, such as laboratory, Xingfa Group has successively invested hundreds of millions of RMB to transfer those industrial wastes or by-products of old industry chain, like waste residue, waste liquid, waste gas and waste heat, into new industrial raw materials, reaching 100% at the solid waste comprehensive utilization rate, over 96% at the exhaust gas comprehensive utilization rate and 95% at the industrial water reuse rate and realizing "zero" emission.
Environmental protection and security determine the fate of enterprises. On how to achieve safe production and ensure employees’ life and enterprise’s property, Xingfa Group creatively established an accident forecast system: starting from the actual posts situation on four major security factors of people, object, environment and administration, employees set forth accident assumptions, practice preventive measures, improve contingency plan and investigate responsibilities strictly. With over 4500 items of the possible accidents foresighted by employees, and their detailed preventive measures, since 2008, Xingfa Group has encountered no serious safety accident; its loss event rate of millions of man-hours has dropped from 5.0 in 2007 to 1.5. Thus, "Accident Forecast" has been published as a sample in the whole province by the Safety and Supervision Bureau of Hubei Province.
From a missing nut to national standard and industry standard—Xingfa Group commit to improving product quality and brand reputation
In 2014, Xingfa Group, a food-grade phosphoric acid production enterprise, gained the qualified supplier qualification of Coca-Cola Company at one stroke.
Standing in front of the energy management platform of Xingfa Group, Xiong Ping, the vice minister of Quality Control Department, told us a story of an employee who had contributed to ensuring the quality of products. It was last summer that the polymerization monitor of the sodium phosphate workshop, Bashahe plant found a slight larger-discharge in the feeding mouth when inspecting. Subtle as the difference was, he cautiously made an immediate report and requested to park for further inspection. After careful checks, they found that a nut was missing in the feeding device. Theoretically, they only need to supplement another one, but what matters is whether the nut might fall into the product or not. While, considering that sodium tripolyphosphate products would be exported to Southeast Asia countries and any small mistake would undoubtedly impose negative impact on product quality and brand reputation of Xingfa Group, they made careful checks without hesitation.
According to the calculated date, two batches or 100 tons of STTP had been produced during the days when the screw cap was lost, while the first batch of 50 tons had been delivered to Xiakou Wharf. In order to find the lost screw cap, these 50 tons of STTP had to be brought back to factory and each bag had to be checked, which means the company had to pay a large amount of manpower and materials for finding the screw cap.
After receiving the report, the company immediately sent a group of special staff to the wharf to unload the 50 tons of STTP loaded on board and to deliver them back to the factory. The lost screw cap was finally found after careful examination of each bag. The head of the workshop said:＂Though fined, I resented nobody, because I am a member of this enterprise.＂
Xifa Group has established all-round quality control system, supplying goods with high quality, safety and reliability to customers. It first received ISO9000 Quality Management System Certificate in 1999, and later received the certificates of management system for food security, environment and orientation health in succession. This has formed the management system of “QFEO”.
According to the statistics, Xingfa Group has led or participated in the developing of 42 items of national and industrial standards, among which 6 items of industrial standards are developed by the company alone, including industrial Yellow Phosphorus, Phosphoric Acid, Graham\'s salt, the general method for measuring the content of Phosphorus pentoxide in inorganic chemical products, and 36 items of national and industrial standards are developed by the company’s participation, including food additives SHMP , industrial SHPP, etc.
Heartfelt donation to school and active reverse nurture to agriculture
Xingfa Group dedicates in social responsibilities
The headmaster of the garden-like school, No. 1 Middle School of Xingshan County, said gratefully: ＂It is the full support of Xingfa Group that provides the sound foundation for the sustainable development of the school.＂
From 2002 to 2006 when No. 1 Middle School of Xingshan County just removed to the new site, it was in heavy debt; more than 100 teachers reigned and more than 1000 students moved to the schools in other places because of the poor education.
“That time was the hardest periods for No. 1 Middle School of Xingshan County”, Hu Xiaoming said frankly.＂Enterprise cannot develop without talents, while talents can only be forged by good education!” Li Guozhang and his team thought, “we must shoulder responsibility as an enterprise to help the No.1 Middle School get out of the difficulties.”
Xingfa Group has consecutively donated￥1.45 million in 2006 and 2007 to establish “Educational Development Fund” for teachers and students. The leaders and staff from the Xingfa Group are encouraged to donate ￥0.31 million for the needy students’ living expenses. Since 2008, Xingfa Group has donated ￥10 million to set up “Xingfa Star Teachers Incentive Fund”. Moreover, it has utilized the merged profits of ￥5 million and “ Xingshan Educational Development Fund” to award teachers for their outstanding contributions in the mountain-area education cause. In October, 2009, “Xingfa Star Teachers Incentive Foundation” was registered for the first time in Hubei Province. At present, the principal of the both funds adds up to more than ￥40 million with annual ￥2 million profits used for awarding.
Liu Benqing, the director of the Education Bureau in Xingshan County, introduced that Li Minghou (the Physics teacher), Shu Yun(the Ideology and Politics teacher), Hao Guangrong(the Chinese teacher) resigned successively for the posts in Yichang and Shenzhen at first , but returned to Xingshan No.1 Senior Middle School again. In 2014, the university enrollment rate of Xingshan No.1 Senior Middle School rose above the average among other cities in Yichang city and across Hubei Province with 98% of colleges and 28.1% of key universities. “The educational development in Xingshan County depends on the Xingfa Group’s great contributions”, Liu Benqing said.
Before the Jinjia Dam of Huangliangping in Xingshan County, an idyllic picture of farming in spring came to the eyes of reporter. A farmer ploughing in the field said, “Thanks to the irrigation project invested and built by Xingfa Group, we can get irrigation water much earlier in this year than before.”
Huangliangping encounters water shortage every year. Last year, Xingfa Group built the irrigation project with ￥1.6 million to address the water shortage. In recent years, it has put billions of funds into the villages nearby to build 20 km 35-kilovolt power transmission lines, help the local residents near the plants (mining areas, stations) emigrate to other places, and set up 0.67km efficient pollution-free vegetable production base, increasing more than ￥1000 annual income for each household. In addition, it has built 9 highways of more than 110 km, which has vigorously promoted the rural economic growth and social improvement. (Reporter: Cai Junting and correspondent: Wu Ping and Cai Liang)