Should I go work in the chlor-alkali industry in a technical role?
Thread Content
I am 44 years old and hold a degree as a chemical engineering specialist. I work for a telecommunications company in our county as a temporary employee, serving as an assistant to the department manager. Last month, an alkali chloride production plant in our area was looking for technicians and engineers; I applied for the engineer position. However, since I hadn’t worked in this field for 13 years, I was only offered a salary equivalent to that of an assistant engineer, which is 1,000 yuan less than my current salary. At the telecommunications company, I am too old to be promoted to a full-time employee, so my job security diminishes after I reach my 50s. I am considering resigning to work at that chemical plant. The plant currently produces 30,000 tons per year of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda, 15,000 tons per year of trichlorosilane, and 4,000 tons per year of chloroacetic acid. It plans to expand its capacity by producing an additional 100,000 tons per year of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda and silicon-based products; the first phase of this expansion will result in a total production capacity of 360,000 tons per year of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda. Construction is set to begin this year. Initially, the plan was to expand production by 100,000 tons per year of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda and 100,000 tons per year of PVC, with the ultimate goal of reaching 300,000 tons per year of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda and PVC. Should I go work at that plant? Please give some advice, fellow sailors.
Go ahead. A tree that stays in one place dies; a person who moves on lives. Men should focus on long-term interests rather than just the immediate ones
Reply: 1# dsm1001 is a bit difficult, and from what you’ve said, this company doesn’t seem very reliable. 1. You haven’t been working in the chemical industry for over a decade, and you’ve never had any exposure to the chlor-alkali industry or related sectors such as PVC and silicon trichloride. It’s very difficult to enter this field and become proficient in it at your current age. Once you go there, you have to start everything from scratch, at a level similar to that of a new employee. And learning isn’t something people of this age group are good at; many things are already fixed in their minds, there’s a tendency to stick to conventions, and little willingness to embrace new things – it will be very exhausting. 2. This company plans to build a facility capable of producing 360,000 tons of caustic soda, along with related PVC products, in another location, using only 30,000 tons of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda, a small amount of silicon trichloride, and a little chloroacetic acid. It also intends to construct a plant capable of producing 100,000 tons of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda at its current site. Such an investment is far beyond the scale of the original factory; even with substantial financial resources, it would be impossible to raise several billion dollars in a short period of time for construction and operational purposes. You can calculate how much debt he will need to have Of course, if he has other ways to make money, that’s another matter. 3. My advice: For middle-aged people, it’s better to do what they are good at rather than what they like; for young people, it’s better to do what they like rather than what they are good at. Personal opinions are not necessarily correct. For reference only.
I’m unable to comment on your work at a telecommunications company; I can only offer some remarks regarding the chlor-alkali industry. First, let me talk about the chlor-alkali company where I work: it currently produces 300,000 tons per year of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda, as well as 120,000 tons of PVC； After moving to the new location, production capacity was increased to XXXX; sorry, I’m too lazy to look up that number. Affected by the financial crisis, a large number of chlor-alkali companies went bankrupt. Even those that survived were not in good condition; aside from a few that had regional resource advantages and could reduce costs through price strategies, most were operating at a loss. Even though it is now 2011, it cannot be said that the spring for the chlor-alkali industry has arrived. Moreover, this industry is already suffering from overcapacity. The company that LZ wants to switch to has an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons, which is considered small in the chlor-alkali industry; it’s hard to say what level of competitiveness it has in this highly competitive environment where larger companies often overwhelm smaller ones. Moreover, the production capacity after the relocation is not very large either. As for what you mentioned about relocation or expanding production in another location – it’s not easy to relocate chemical plants these days. As enterprises that consume a lot of energy and cause significant pollution, there are strict restrictions regarding land acquisition, as well as safety and environmental protection issues. I suggest you examine its financial situation and operational conditions first. Additionally, the poster is 44 years old and has not been working in this field for 13 years. I wonder if you were involved in the chlor-alkali industry before those 13 years, and what achievements you have made in the chemical industry. But in 13 years, there have been many improvements in processes and equipment; it’s not very practical to expect to start working in a technical role as soon as one enters this company. The building owner is in middle age, and he should have accumulated a certain amount of connections and capital by now ； Technical work requires experience; the more experienced one is, the more valuable they are. I will retire in 16 years, and if I switch to doing technical work, it will require a lot of hard work. These are just my personal opinions for reference only. A 26-year-old helper talks nonsense.
I’m unable to comment on your work at a telecommunications company; I can only offer some remarks regarding the chlor-alkali industry. First, let me talk about the chlor-alkali company where I work: it currently produces 300,000 tons per year of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda, as well as 120,000 tons of PVC； After moving to the new location, production capacity was increased to XXXX; sorry, I’m too lazy to look up that number. Affected by the financial crisis, a large number of chlor-alkali companies went bankrupt. Even those that survived were not in good condition; aside from a few that had regional resource advantages and could reduce costs through price strategies, most were operating at a loss. Even though it is now 2011, it cannot be said that the spring for the chlor-alkali industry has arrived. Moreover, this industry is already suffering from overcapacity. The company that LZ wants to switch to has an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons, which is considered small in the chlor-alkali industry; it’s hard to say what level of competitiveness it has in this highly competitive environment where larger companies often overwhelm smaller ones. Moreover, the production capacity after the relocation is not very large either. As for what you mentioned about relocation or expanding production in another location – it’s not easy to relocate chemical plants these days. As enterprises that consume a lot of energy and cause significant pollution, there are strict restrictions regarding land acquisition, as well as safety and environmental protection issues. I suggest you examine its financial situation and operational conditions first. Additionally, the poster is 44 years old and has not been working in this field for 13 years. I wonder if you were involved in the chlor-alkali industry before those 13 years, and what achievements you have made in the chemical industry. But in 13 years, there have been many improvements in processes and equipment; it’s not very practical to expect to start working in a technical role as soon as one enters this company. The building owner is in middle age, and he should have accumulated a certain amount of connections and capital by now ； Technical work requires experience; the more experienced one is, the more valuable they are. I will retire in 16 years, and if I switch to doing technical work, it will require a lot of hard work. These are just my personal opinions for reference only. A 26-year-old helper talks nonsense.
I’m sorry, I missed it. Through expansion on-site and in a new location, the production capacity will reach 200,000 tons in the first phase, and 660,000 tons in the second phase – which is an impressive figure compared to the current capacity ； It’s not small. But personally, I’m not very optimistic about the prospects of the chlor-alkali industry; my colleagues joke that such industries should be moved to Southeast Asia :lol
The chlor-alkali industry is not profitable; aside from the internal inefficiencies among some manufacturers in terms of ion-exchange membrane caustic production, both caustic soda and PVC markets are already saturated. It is not recommended to enter this industry!
Reply to 3# huawei: Actually, that’s what I wanted to say as well; it’s just a bit embarrassing to put it into words. With such limited production capacity at the moment, careful planning is necessary just to survive and achieve growth. To expand production and relocate on such a grand scale… is this because it’s overhyping things, or is it just that my understanding is limited? According to this plan, the total cost for construction, the purchase of new equipment, and all other related expenses will amount to well over a billion, or even several billion. It should be a small factory at the prefecture-level city scale. In the past year or two, the small chlor-alkali plants with a production capacity of 20,000 to 30,000 tons in my area have all been acquired.
This factory is a subsidiary of the Medical Chemical Group, and it has signed an investment cooperation agreement worth 10 billion yuan with the counties surrounding our district. I used to work in the chlor-alkali industry.
There are a few companies in our area that produce polysilicon, as well as a few others that manufacture PVC pipes and profiles; they own their own salt mines
The company LZ mentioned seems to be the same one I’m considering; there’s a chance we could exchange ideas. I am also analyzing the company’s profitability and cash flow situation.