【History of Haichuan Chemical】Born for the defense chemical industry, Hualu Engineering Company has achieved remarkable development over 60 years

　　The Sixth Chemical Research Institute was established as a result. To meet the rapidly growing needs of the defense chemical industry as soon as possible, in January 1965, the Ministry of Chemical Industry decided to establish a new design institute based on Office 7 – namely, the Sixth Design Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry – tasked with carrying out design work for advanced defense technologies, including the design of industrial test plants for stable isotope separation, cryogenic engineering, chemical defense engineering, and high-energy propellants. On November 1 of the same year, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute began operating officially in Beijing, marking an important consolidation of China’s advanced chemical engineering capabilities for national defense. 　　At the establishment of the institute, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute took on 6 large and medium-sized tasks, namely 717, 726, 733, 740, 659, and 1113, as well as 3 small tasks. The anonymous designers went to the front lines, sacrificing their personal lives for the country; they either worked in pilot production facilities or were based in research institutions, where they participated in the entire process of design, construction, and testing in the quiet surroundings of the fields, thus laying a solid foundation for the development of China’s nuclear and aerospace industries. 　　“Moving west to build a new home in Shaanxi. In its early days, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute did not have its own separate location in Beijing; it operated from the same building as the Ministry of Chemical Industry’s offices. In response to the call for the **\"Third Front Construction,\"** the Ministry of Chemical Industry decided to relocate the Sixth Chemical Research Institute to the northwest region. After numerous attempts at site selection, the location was finally determined to be Mapaoquan Village, Maoling, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. 　　In April 1969, adhering to the principle of \"leaving nothing behind\" – no household registrations, no office facilities, and no bank accounts – all the staff members and their families were relocated in 5 batches from Beijing to Maoling, located 9 kilometers west of Xianyang city center in Shaanxi Province. From big cities to rural areas, the work and living conditions have changed dramatically, and there are many inconveniences in terms of clothing, food, housing, and transportation. The staff and workers of the Sixth Chemical Research Institute overcame extreme difficulties, carried forward the spirit of hard work, and engaged in voluntary labor through self-reliance. Despite the difficult conditions, everyone worked together, found joy in hardship, came together as a harmonious family, and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to their work. 　　Working hard to develop the defense industry. In October 1964 and June 1967, China’s first atomic bomb and first hydrogen bomb were successfully detonated; the products developed and designed by the Sixth Research Institute provided strong support for this achievement, and everyone was extremely excited. 　　Under extremely difficult conditions, the heavy water technology independently developed by the Sixth Research Institute for Chemical Engineering was brought from scratch to maturity, achieving full domestic industrialization; its technical level remains advanced to this day. From 1968 to 1975, at the request of ** and the Ministry of Chemical Industry, the staff of the Sixth Research Institute worked hard in remote mountainous areas to design and build numerous liquid hydrogen projects, making significant contributions to the development of China’s space industry and the modernization of its military equipment. 　　In addition to defense-related chemical engineering design tasks, the Sixth Chemical Engineering Institute was also responsible, as assigned by the Ministry of Chemical Industry, for the design of chemical plants in some areas designated as part of the \"Third Front\" strategy. It has been involved in the construction of various production facilities, including the Qinghai Guangming Chemical Plant, Liming Chemical Plant, Henan Yiyang Fertilizer Plant, Hebei Cangzhou Fertilizer Plant, Shaanxi Xingping Fertilizer Plant, and the First Film Factory of the Ministry of Chemical Industry.

　Since 1973, our country has successively introduced from abroad large-scale fertilizer plants with an annual production capacity of 180,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 300,000 tons of urea. The Sixth Chemical Engineering Institute took on the design work for the Cangzhou Fertilizer Plant; in April 1977, it was the first of the 13 urea production units to be completed and brought online successfully, putting an end to China’s history of being unable to produce urea independently. 　　In April 1977, at the National Conference on Learning from Daqing in the industrial sector, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute was recognized as a national Daqing-style enterprise. 　　The Path of Transformation in the Wave of Reform In 1978, the breeze of reform and opening up swept across the country, and China’s survey and design industry also underwent a process of marketization and specialization. The Sixth Chemical Research Institute actively joined the trend of shifting from military to civilian applications, adjusted its development direction, and transitioned toward civilian sectors such as petrochemicals, fine chemicals, and coal chemicals. It established an engineering general contracting model on a preliminary basis, embarking on a path from a design institute to an international engineering company. It was among the first to adopt internationally standard project management and engineering general contracting methods, and successfully completed the merger of the two institutes. 　　Shift from planning to the market. In December 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party was successfully held in Beijing, opening the door to China’s reform and opening up. Starting in 1980, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute gradually shifted its focus to a business orientation oriented toward civilian applications. On the one hand, it began to take on chemical engineering design projects assigned by the Ministry of Chemical Industry; on the other hand, it leveraged its own capabilities to invest in the research and development of new products and technologies, thereby strengthening its technical capabilities and resource base. 　　In 1984, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute was transformed from a publicly funded institution into one that operated on its own with full responsibility for its profits and losses, adopting corporate-style management. In 1985, as the reform and opening-up policy advanced, the Ministry of Chemical Industry took the lead in exploring reforms in design procedures, methods, and systems among design institutes across the country. That year, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute began to engage in free and fair competition in the market in order to adapt to the conditions of the market economy and industry development. This marks a new starting point for the Sixth Chemical Research Institute’s development.

　Since 1973, our country has successively introduced from abroad large-scale fertilizer plants with an annual production capacity of 180,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 300,000 tons of urea. The Sixth Chemical Engineering Institute took on the design work for the Cangzhou Fertilizer Plant; in April 1977, it was the first of the 13 urea production units to be completed and brought online successfully, putting an end to China’s history of being unable to produce urea independently. 　　In April 1977, at the National Conference on Learning from Daqing in the industrial sector, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute was recognized as a national Daqing-style enterprise. 　　The Path of Transformation in the Wave of Reform In 1978, the breeze of reform and opening up swept across the country, and China’s survey and design industry also underwent a process of marketization and specialization. The Sixth Chemical Research Institute actively joined the trend of shifting from military to civilian applications, adjusted its development direction, and transitioned toward civilian sectors such as petrochemicals, fine chemicals, and coal chemicals. It established an engineering general contracting model on a preliminary basis, embarking on a path from a design institute to an international engineering company. It was among the first to adopt internationally standard project management and engineering general contracting methods, and successfully completed the merger of the two institutes. 　　Shift from planning to the market. In December 1978, China opened the door to reform and opening up. Starting in 1980, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute gradually shifted its focus to a business orientation oriented toward civilian applications. On the one hand, it began to take on chemical engineering design projects assigned by the Ministry of Chemical Industry; on the other hand, it leveraged its own capabilities to invest in the research and development of new products and technologies, thereby strengthening its technical capabilities and resource base. 　　In 1984, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute was transformed from a publicly funded institution into one that operated on its own with full responsibility for its profits and losses, adopting corporate-style management. In 1985, as the reform and opening-up policy advanced, the Ministry of Chemical Industry took the lead in exploring reforms in design procedures, methods, and systems among design institutes across the country. That year, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute began to engage in free and fair competition in the market in order to adapt to the conditions of the market economy and industry development. This marks a new starting point for the Sixth Chemical Research Institute’s development.

　Since 1973, our country has successively introduced from abroad large-scale fertilizer plants with an annual production capacity of 180,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 300,000 tons of urea. The Sixth Chemical Engineering Institute took on the design work for the Cangzhou Fertilizer Plant; in April 1977, it was the first of the 13 urea production units to be completed and brought online successfully, putting an end to China’s history of being unable to produce urea independently. 　　At the National Industrial Celebration Conference in April 1977, Institute 6 of Chemistry was recognized as a national model enterprise. 　　The Path of Transformation in the Wave of Reform In 1978, the breeze of reform and opening up swept across the country, and China’s survey and design industry also underwent a process of marketization and specialization. The Sixth Chemical Research Institute actively engaged in the shift from military to civilian applications, adjusted its development direction, and transitioned toward civilian sectors such as petrochemicals, fine chemicals, and coal chemicals. It established an engineering general contracting model, embarking on a path from being a design institute to an international engineering company. It was among the first to adopt internationally standard project management and engineering general contracting methods, and successfully completed the merger of the two institutes. 　　Shift from planning to the market. In December 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party was successfully held in Beijing, opening the door to China’s reform and opening up. Starting in 1980, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute gradually shifted its focus to a business orientation oriented toward civilian applications. On the one hand, it began to take on chemical engineering design projects assigned by the Ministry of Chemical Industry; on the other hand, it leveraged its own capabilities to invest in the research and development of new products and technologies, thereby strengthening its technical capabilities and resource base. 　　In 1984, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute was transformed from a publicly funded institution into one that operated on its own with full responsibility for its profits and losses, adopting corporate-style management. In 1985, as the reform and opening-up policy advanced, the Ministry of Chemical Industry took the lead in exploring reforms in design procedures, methods, and systems among design institutes across the country. That year, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute began to engage in free and fair competition in the market, in order to adapt to the conditions of a market economy and the development trends of the industry. This marks a new starting point for the Sixth Chemical Research Institute’s development.

Move to Xi’an for the merger of the two academies. In the early 1980s, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute realized that operating from Maoling could not meet the needs of its long-term development. To attract and retain talent, and from a long-term perspective, moving the Sixth Chemical Research Institute out of Maoling was put on the agenda. 　　After several attempts, in May 1984, following consultations between the Ministry of Chemical Industry and the Shaanxi Provincial Government, the Sixth Chemical Engineering Institute was relocated to Xi’an and merged with the Shaanxi Chemical Engineering Design Institute to form China Xi’an Chemical Engineering Design Company, with its offices located on Taiyi Road in Xi’an. 　　From 1985 to 1990, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute underwent another relocation and construction process. On January 20, 1990, the office building in Xi’an passed the completion inspection, marking the end of Hua Liu Yuan’s nearly 20-year presence in Maoling and the beginning of a new journey of \"second entrepreneurship,\" which laid the foundation for its further growth and development. Despite being in the countryside, the staff and employees of Hualiu Hospital still used their hardworking hands to build a beautiful home. Whenever they recall those passionate years of study, work, and life in Maoling, they are filled with deep affection. 　　At that time, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute still faced the issue of relying too heavily on design as its source of revenue, with a relatively simple business structure. In 1990, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute actively submitted bids for foreign projects and strengthened cooperation and exchanges, making attempts on the path toward internationalization. In 1992, it achieved remarkable results, setting \"five firsts\" in foreign cooperation – namely, it was the first in the national chemical industry to obtain the right to engage in foreign business activities ； For the first time in a full year, the number of employees going abroad exceeded 200 ； First signing of a contract for the export of foreign technical equipment ； The first dispatch of personnel for technical labor export (10 people were sent to Ubesei Corporation in Japan to work through the Weihe Fertilizer Plant project) ； The installation of the production facility at the first overseas subsidiary has been completed. 　　In 1996, the operating revenue of the Sixth Chemical Research Institute exceeded 35 million yuan, which was 2.7 times that of 1990. The transformation of its operational mechanism has brought unprecedented momentum for development to the Sixth Chemical Research Institute. In August 1993, the Sixth Chemical Engineering Institute made it into the top 100 Chinese survey and design firms in terms of overall strength. 　　Complete a batch of proprietary technical reserves. Chemical products such as silicones, organofluorines, specialty engineering plastics, and specialty coatings are new materials that are essential for the development of defense and civilian industries, and possess unique properties. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute began research on the development of new products and technologies, built up a portfolio of its own technical capabilities, and accelerated the industrial production of new materials. Among them, the Jiangxi Xinghuo Chemical Plant, built with the participation of the Sixth Chemical Research Institute, was the largest production facility in China at that time for organic silicon monomers, with a capacity of 10,000 tons per year. It is the decades of dedicated effort in silicone technology that have laid a solid technical foundation, enabling Hualu Company to excel in the silicon industry chain in the years that followed. 　　The Sixth Research Institute has also achieved remarkable results in the field of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. As a key basic raw material in the fluorine chemical industry, China’s hydrogen fluoride production technology was relatively backward in the mid-1980s, with the annual production capacity of each production unit being only 300 to 500 tons. 　　Faced with this situation, the project team at Hualiu Institute successfully developed a process technology and core equipment for producing 1,000 tons of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride per year between 1984 and 1985, achieving a technological breakthrough. Subsequently, from 1986 to 1995, the Sixth Chemical Research Institute further developed a complete set of processes and equipment with an annual production capacity of 3,000 tons. These achievements attracted widespread attention within the industry and significantly contributed to an overall improvement in China’s technology and equipment levels related to anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. Since then, newly built anhydrous hydrogen fluoride production facilities in China have generally adopted the technical solutions provided by the Sixth Research Institute of Chemistry. 　　On this basis, the Sixth Research Institute for Chemicals has continued to carry out systematic organization and technical upgrades, developing China’s first sets of production technology packages capable of producing 10,000 tons, 20,000 tons, and 30,000 tons of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride per year. These technologies not only met the needs of domestic industrial upgrading but also enabled technology export; successful technology transfers were carried out to countries such as South Korea and India, underscoring the institute’s leading position in this field. 　　The Sixth Research Institute for Chemistry has driven the continuous progress of China’s fluorine chemical industry, and it also laid the foundation for Hualu Company’s position and reputation in this sector. Meanwhile, the Sixth Research Institute, which was gradually transitioning toward the civil chemical industry, managed to master the advanced technologies and design concepts of the imported equipment. Over more than 20 years, it successfully completed a series of projects that represented high industrial standards, such as the construction of three large-scale ethylene plants and large fertilizer facilities. It also designed China’s first acetic acid plant using imported technology, laying an important foundation for future technological development and independent innovation.