On the localization of valves

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After watching “Heartache!” We have a huge market, but few core products of our own! The post on «Electric valves, Pneumatic valves, Control valves, Valves» really touched me a lot. The gap between many domestic industrial devices and foreign products may not lie in technology or quality. Rather, it refers to the comprehensive gap resulting from various aspects such as research and development, services, marketing, sales, production control, as well as the business environment and social environment. To eliminate these gaps, manufacturers, users, and managers must work together to create a favorable environment that encourages innovation and technological progress. Only by gradually improving this platform can an environment that accelerates technological progress be created. I work in sales for a state-owned enterprise; we have many alternatives to foreign products, including valves, pumps, and many other items. We often compete with foreign companies, but it’s really difficult to make progress in this area. The first is the mandatory sale of foreign process packages. We use many foreign manufacturing processes, and many process packages specify products that must be imported. We don’t even have a chance to participate. Striving to localize imported products is truly a very complex process. The second issue is trust; although you do have some results, they haven’t been put to use yet, so it’s natural for anyone to feel worried about that. It’s understandable. Third is the institutional issue: once, with a client, we had to submit prices that were one-third of theirs in order to get approval, because although this saved money, if there were problems with the key equipment, the managers responsible would have to bear the consequences, and they saw no need to take such risks – after all, there was a budget available, and the money wasn’t a problem. Fourth is the issue of usage inertia: everyone is very busy these days, and they use established products; asking them to stop using those products and switch to domestic alternatives is also troublesome for designers. Fifth is the issue of business operations: most foreign products are distributed through agents, who handle all the transactions. Such a large network of agents constitutes a powerful network of relationships, yielding substantial commercial profits. Who would be willing to sacrifice profits in order to produce high-quality domestic products at affordable prices? Another aspect is our bidding model: I have worked with Fluor Corporation on projects worth tens of millions of dollars, and in such cases negotiations are conducted exclusively with that company; there’s no issue of winning bids at low prices. However, the preliminary evaluations and inspections, as well as quality control during the project phase, are extremely strict. It is also a significant improvement for our company itself. So sometimes, working for an overseas engineering company is actually easier than working for one in the domestic market – you just need to bring out your best work and set a reasonable price. There are too many participants in domestic tenders; for some open tendering processes, seven or eight, even a dozen companies bid. They dare to sign technical agreements regardless of whether they have the capability to carry out the work, and the prices offered are ridiculously low, making it impossible to compete in such bids. Sixth is the issue of whether our own products are of high quality. Indeed, there are some domestic manufacturers who undermine their own brands; such things happen frequently in China – people dare to fake milk powder, medicines, and so on; what’s the harm then in cutting corners when it comes to equipment? Therefore, it requires the joint efforts of everyone – not only equipment manufacturers, but also users, managers, and designers – to create a positive environment; once that is achieved, domestic products will be able to stand on their own feet. Our company is a military-related enterprise, and it is currently making great efforts to promote the use of domestic products. And I feel like I did a pretty good job. But we deal with equipment; we certainly don’t work on manufacturing processes, and we come into contact with more equipment users. If anyone here has any equipment at their disposal, they should actively promote the use of domestic products; feel free to share them so that we can discuss just how advanced they are and what the challenges are. This will also help those of us who work in this field to broaden our horizons and get some assistance. Only by working together can our products catch up to and surpass others as soon as possible.