【History of Haichuan Chemical】The Defunct Fertilizer Plant--Xuyi Fertilizer Plant

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Looking at development through history – History is the best teacher. The series of posts continues to be updated. [History of Haichuan Chemical] Compilation post – Looking at development through history! Continuously being updated! https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5718076 (Source: Haichuan Chemical Forum (Hua Haichuan Liu hcbbs)) Everyone is welcome to join the discussion --------------------------------------------------------- Uncovering the archived records, the years unfold before my eyes. Eight decades have passed since the history of History 8 began; half a century has gone by. When looking back on the period from the establishment to the closure of Xuyi Fertilizer Factory, one cannot help but feel deeply moved. Those bygone times included the hard work of the older generation, my youthful years, the company’s difficult struggles in its quest for progress, and the inevitable elimination of outdated production methods as the tides of time moved forward. Green mountains cannot block it; after all, it flows eastward. Facing the heavy archives, facing the remaining dilapidated office and living quarters of the fertilizer plant. In the slanting light of the setting sun, cooking smoke is rising. Organizational establishment: Historically, there were two fertilizer factories in Xuyi area – the Xuyi County Fertilizer Factory and the locally state-owned Xuyi Fertilizer Factory – both of which were built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Xuyi County Fertilizer Factory was originally named Xuyi County Red Flag Fertilizer Factory; it was later renamed Xuyi County Fertilizer Factory, and it is commonly referred to as Xuyi Fertilizer Factory ； The Local State-owned Xuyi Fertilizer Factory is the predecessor of the Huaihe Chemical Plant (code name: Plant 9395), which is one of the five military-related enterprises in our county; it is simply referred to as the Xuyi Fertilizer Factory. These two almost identical factory names caused many problems for the operation of the enterprise, and this was the fundamental reason why the local state-owned Xuyi Fertilizer Factory was later renamed the State-owned Huaihe Chemical Factory. China’s fertilizer industry began in the 1930s; it had a limited variety of products and low production capacity. By the time the People’s Republic of China was founded, the industry produced only a very small amount of nitrogen fertilizer, while phosphate and potassium fertilizers were virtually nonexistent. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, great importance was attached to the fertilizer industry. Starting from the First Five-Year Plan, efforts were made to restore and expand existing factories on a relatively large scale. Subsequently, in each subsequent Five-Year Plan, substantial funds were allocated to the development of the fertilizer industry, along with a series of preferential policies. As a result, China’s fertilizer industry grew rapidly. Nine major and numerous smaller fertilizer plants sprang up across the country. It was under such circumstances that the Xuyi County Fertilizer Plant came into being. The Xuyi County Fertilizer Factory was established in 1970. On October 13, 1970, the Revolutionary Committee of Xuyi County submitted a report titled \"Report on the Establishment of a Fertilizer Plant\" (Xu Ge Wei {70} No. 077) to the Revolutionary Committee of Liuhe Special Region as well as the Provincial Revolutionary Committee. In accordance with the instructions from the Production Command of the Special Region’s Revolutionary Committee, the Provincial Revolutionary Committee had included the construction of a fertilizer plant with an annual production capacity of 5,000 tons in its project plans, and requested that preparations for its establishment be carried out immediately. To this end, the County Revolutionary Committee proposed two options: one was to expand the existing 9395 Factory, and the other was to build a new one in the southern part of Xucheng. The report favors expansion at the original site, as it is simpler and allows for quicker completion. No approval document for the special zone was found in the archives, but another notice confirms the construction process of Xuyi Fertilizer Factory. On July 16, 1971, the County Revolutionary Committee issued a notice titled \"Notice on Establishing the Project Command Department for Xuyi County Red Flag Fertilizer Factory\" (Xu Ge Wei 71 No. 64) to various groups, bureaus, revolutionary committees of communes, towns, and factories, as well as the revolutionary committees of enterprises and institutions under the county’s jurisdiction. In this notice, it was stated that in order to accelerate the construction of the Red Flag Fertilizer Factory, a project command department should be established. Comrade Wang Liang was appointed as the commander, while Comrades Jiang Min, Zhu Xiaohua, Lu Fengliang, and Yang Qi served as deputy commanders. Comrades Guo Xuebin, Chen Zhen, Wu Yuanxiang, Meng Fanen, Wei Jiafeng, Fang Zhiyun, and Tao Dianli were designated as members of the command department. After the establishment of the command headquarters, the project preparation office of Hongqi Fertilizer Factory was responsible for carrying out the preparatory work under the leadership of the headquarters, to ensure that the plant would be completed and put into operation by the end of the year. The project is in full swing, and personnel are being recruited urgently. The archives contain a list of employees recruited by the county fertilizer factory on January 8, 1972, as well as a table outlining the quotas for recruiting young people from various communes. The quotas assigned to each commune were as follows: 26 people for Shiliying, 10 for Weiqiao, 8 for Gaoqiao, 31 for Maba, 22 for Gusang, 24 for Guiwu, 20 for Gucheng, 19 for Heqiao, 29 for Longshan, and 8 for Yugou (Guantan). These people came from all over; most of them were from within the province, but there were also some who came from Anhui, Shandong, Yunnan, Guangdong and other places. They all became my predecessors later on. The name of Xuyi Fertilizer Factory underwent two major changes. The first was on April 7, 1973, when the \"Revolutionary Committee of Xuyi County Red Flag Fertilizer Factory\" was established, and the \"Preparatory Office for Xuyi County Fertilizer Factory\" was dissolved. The second name change took place on May 19, 1979, when the original name \"Revolutionary Committee of the State-owned Huqi Fertilizer Factory in Xuyi County, Jiangsu Province\" was changed to \"State-owned Fertilizer Factory in Xuyi County, Jiangsu Province\". Those youthful years: In August 1991, I graduated from Huaiyin Polytechnic with a degree in chemical engineering, and was assigned to work at the Xuyi County Fertilizer Factory. I stayed there for 7 years until I was transferred in July 1998. 7 years is not a long time, yet it is filled with unforgettable memories for me. For me, being assigned to the fertilizer factory meant working in a field that matched my expertise. However, back then, it wasn’t for the fertilizer plant that we came, but for the adipic acid project. In the 1980s, Xuyi planned to develop a large chemical project: the adipic acid project, which received strong support from both the provincial and municipal authorities. There are two documents in the archive; one is a notice issued on July 24, 1991, by the Huaiyin Municipal People’s Government to the Xuyi County People’s Government, titled \"Notice on Approving the Land Expropriation by the Preparatory Committee for the Expansion Project of Xuyi Fertilizer Factory and on Dissolving One Villager Group\" ； One is a document dated May 21, 1992, issued by the Ministry of Chemical Industry (Document No. 1992 Hua Ji Zi No. 396) to the Production Office of the State Council, titled \"Opinions on the Proposal for a 10,000-ton/year adipic acid production project at Xuyi Fertilizer Factory.\" It recommends that the Production Office of the State Council approve the project as soon as possible so that preliminary construction work can begin. These archives show that at that time, Xuyi was vigorously preparing to launch an adipic acid project. Against this backdrop, I went to the fertilizer factory, accompanied by 5 classmates from my class. Weng Weidong, Tao Jingguo, and I were assigned to the gas production workshop; I worked as a fitter, fixing equipment, while the other two worked as operators ； Gu Zhengbing is assigned to the new product workshop, Shen Xintao is assigned to the synthesis workshop, and Li Hong works as a scheduler in the production department. Students and workers are two completely different roles; there was a huge gap in my mindset, and it took me a long time to adjust to it. The gas production workshop, as the name suggests, is responsible for gas production – this is the most important step in fertilizer manufacturing. Gas is generated using gas generators, which provides the raw material needed for ammonia synthesis. The main components of gas are carbon monoxide and hydrogen; even a slight leak can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. This is also the fundamental reason why fertilizer plants are flammable and explosive. The gas generator is very large, two or three stories tall – truly a giant. It’s also very dirty, as coal is burned, leaving dust, coal ash, and oil stains everywhere in the workshop. The blue coarse-cloth work shirt, having been used in environments filled with dust and grease, was already covered in oil stains. Sven’s nearsighted glasses are out of place with the image of a greasy plumber; when repairing pressure pipes or sealing water pipes and mixing water with cement, the glasses become an obstacle as well. After experiencing a few awkward situations, I had to take my glasses off; the nearsightedness glasses I had worn for several years were taken off forever. Compared to the workers on the three-shift system in the workshop, fitters are considered a good job choice, but I just can’t figure out what’s so good about it. In retrospect, what’s good isn’t the cleanliness of one’s clothes – a blacksmith’s clothes are always dirty. What’s good is that a blacksmith doesn’t have to work night shifts every day; the three-shift system in fertilizer factories drives many people crazy. Of course, when the equipment breaks down, one also has to work overtime. I once worked for two days and two nights straight; I fell asleep right there on the ground, without caring about the filthy water or the dust everywhere. Working in a fertilizer plant is not only dirty, hard, and exhausting; the biggest concern is safety, as minor injuries are common. Over the course of two years, there were two major accidents: one was an explosion in the synthesis tower, with its huge top section being blown away hundreds of meters in the air, and anything that got hit by those debris would be destroyed. On one occasion, a leak occurred in the cleaning tower of the carbonization workshop; illegal operations led to an explosion of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, resulting in the tragic death of two people. The two accidents left a shadow in my heart, not to mention the common occurrences of poisoning, fires, and injuries. Working at a fertilizer factory makes one feel surrounded by crises, not knowing when disaster might strike. In 1995, I was transferred from the Gas Production Workshop to the Equipment Department, where I engaged in the inspection of special equipment. At that time, almost all college graduates assigned to the fertilizer plant had already joined various departments; I was practically the last one. By then, the fertilizer plant had already been operating at a semi-shutdown level. There is a huge difference between departments and workshops: one is an administrative office, while the other is at the grassroots level; at least in an office, one can dress appropriately. Originally, Li Hong was doing this job. Later, he resigned and moved to Kunshan. Gu Zhengbing also quit his job at the same time; he went to Wuxi, where he has since settled down and made a life for himself. Unfortunately, I can’t be as resolute as they are. I have elderly parents above me and young children below me; I have too many concerns. The Equipment Department may sound nice, but the work done there remains dirty, hard, and dangerous, with many risks involved. Safety is no trivial matter; every detail is related to life. Inspection of pressure pipelines involves climbing up pipes that are dozens of meters tall. It’s still manageable for vertical pipes, as they can be tied together with safety belts. The horizontal pipes hung in mid-air, and one had to climb forward, moving slowly ahead like a snail. At dozens of meters in the air, the wind howled fiercely; feeling afraid of heights, filled with fear and trepidation, I held onto the pipes covered with asbestos insulation, not daring to make the slightest mistake. Boiler inspection is also full of difficulties. To save time, inspections must be carried out soon after the furnace is shut down. Entering through a small manhole into the scorching hot furnace, in that confined and tight space, thickness measurements are taken of rows of pipes. The cramped space always gives me a feeling of suffocation; every time I go in there, I think of the end of the world. In the bitter cold of winter, with water still flowing inside the furnace, one could only climb in wearing only shorts; once out, the harsh cold wind awaited. Day after day, one had to work in such conditions, filled with fear and trepidation. Such days did not last long; at the beginning of 1996, the fertilizer factory stopped operating completely, and we all lost our jobs and stayed at home. As for me, I don’t know whether I should feel relieved or sad. Headed for decline – it is an industry doomed to decline; its fate was sealed from the very day nitrogen fertilizer production began. Since its establishment, Xuyi Fertilizer Factory has suffered losses almost every year and has been operating with debts. On April 25, 1985, the \"Trial Plan for the Economic System Reform of Xuyi Fertilizer Factory\" contained the following statement: Xuyi Fertilizer Factory is a small synthetic ammonia plant with a capacity of 5,000 tons, which was built and put into operation in 1972; its current production capacity has reached 12,000 tons. There were losses for nine years before 1982; in 1982 the profit was 10,000 yuan, in 1983 it was 44,000 yuan, and in 1984 it was 227,000 yuan. After deducting the 163,000 yuan in shortages in working capital since the establishment of the factory, the actual profit was 64,000 yuan. Although various indicators are showing an improvement year by year, the progress is slow and the results are not significant. This is the company’s self-description; as for what’s actually the case, it’s a big question mark. There is an issue of \"Audit Abstracts\" in the archives, compiled by the Xuyi County Audit Bureau on May 23, 1995. This is a departure audit conducted for Factory Manager Li Xiaotang. The report provides an audit analysis of the fertilizer plant’s operating conditions over the past two years. \"Numerous objective difficulties and inefficient management – The Xuyi County Fertilizer Factory suffered a loss of 14.71 million yuan,\" By the end of 1994, the factory employed 688 workers, had total assets of 18.5871 million yuan, and total liabilities of 28.4575 million yuan. During the era of the large-scale collective planned economy, enterprises were struggling to survive under a heavy burden. There are many such audit reports in the archives; each audit revealed huge losses, numerous problems, and an increasingly heavy burden. It was in a semi-stop production state by 1995, and full production came to an end at the beginning of 1996. On May 5, 2000, the People’s Government of Xuyi County issued a certificate titled “Certificate on the Suspension of Operations of Xuyi County Fertilizer Factory”: “The Xuyi County Fertilizer Factory is a state-owned enterprise under the county’s jurisdiction, established in 1966.” The factory was operating poorly, suffering severe losses and becoming insolvent; it ceased production entirely at the beginning of 1996, with all employees laid off. This is to certify the above. ”The statement “founded in 1966” in the proof is incorrect; it should be founded in 1970. This document marked the end of the Xuyi Fertilizer Plant’s existence. On September 15, 2005, with the approval of the county government, the plot belonging to the production area of Xuyi Fertilizer Factory was combined with the plot of the paper mill for joint development, giving rise to what is now Huiyuanju. The office area and residential area remained there, gradually being phased out, and from then on the fertilizer factory existed in name only. Today, the office building and the union building still stand, in ruins, with traces of their former glory still visible. The two-story kindergarten building is still there; the yard is overgrown with weeds. The pomegranate tree has grown beyond the walls of the yard. The young principal from back then has now grown old, and the children who were there once have all grown up. There are also some family members of employees living in dilapidated staff dormitories, and many old colleagues as well as those who aren’t old have turned to smoke. I still go for walks from time to time, and I encounter many unfamiliar faces. In these dilapidated old sites remain the indelible memories of our generation.