<strong>China: Tobacco Machinery Makers Enters into Ultrahigh Speed Road</strong>

Source from:  Tobacco Asia  01/23/2014

Chinese tobacco machinery manufacturers have been successful in developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units on the basis of introduction of foreign technologies and independent technological innovation over the past few years.

In 2006, "development of ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units" was defined by the tobacco industry of China as one of its major exclusive scientific-technological research and development projects, known as the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units. Since then, the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector of the tobacco industry has been on a course of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units on the basis of introduction of foreign technologies and independent technological innovation.

After seven years of arduous efforts, great achievements have been made in this endeavor. On June 3-4, 2013, a meeting was held in Shanghai City to announce the results of a stringent technical appraisal of prototypes of ultrahigh speed cigarette making units made with imported technologies in the execution of the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units. After careful deliberation, the appraisal board unanimously agreed to have the prototypes pass the technical appraisal, which signified smooth completion of the first phase of the execution of the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units, namely the phase of introduction, digestion and absorption of foreign technologies therefor. This development contributed to filling a gap in the field of ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units in the production of tobacco machinery and equipment in China, meant realization of a new promotion of the level of production and manufacturing of tobacco machinery in China, and deserved the reputation as a milestone in the development of tobacco machinery manufacturing technology in the country.

Then, there can be a package of questions about the development of ultrahigh speed cigarette making units in China: What course has the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector experienced in the development of the prototypes of ultrahigh speed cigarette making units? What significance can the execution of the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units generate to promoting the development of tobacco machinery manufacturing in China? How has the execution of the major exclusive project been organized? And, what does the passing of the technical appraisal by the prototypes signify?

From　Imitation　to　Independent　Innovation　

As an important link in the tobacco industry, the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector plays an irreplaceable role in guaranteeing stable and healthy development of the tobacco industry. Without a tobacco machinery manufacturing sector, and without new technologies, new techniques and new equipment closely integrated with the orientation of development of Chinese-style cigarettes, the tobacco industry can hardly take a foothold in intense competition in international markets.

"For decades, the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector has always been an important realm of technological innovation by the tobacco industry," said Deputy General Manager Qu Wei of China Tobacco Machinery Group Co., Ltd（CTMG）. In 2006, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) held a national conference on tobacco science and technology, and promulgated the Outline of the Program for Medium- and Long-term Development of Science and Technology by the Tobacco Industry, selectively designating a number of technologies, products and projects in key fields with a relatively well-established basis that are urgently need by the tobacco industry for further development as major exclusive scientific-technological projects, including two related to the development of tobacco machinery – firstly, the project of "developing leaf tobacco cutting lines for producing Chinese-style cigarettes", and secondly, the project of "developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units".

As the technical equipment department of the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector, CTMG is in charge of leading and organizing the execution of the project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units. After exploration over the past many years, the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector has found a path of developing tobacco machinery by means of both "introduction, digestion and absorption of foreign technologies and independent innovation" that is in conformity with the national realities and the situation of the tobacco industry, has formed a relatively complete system of tobacco machinery products, and has become capable of supplying equipment covering the whole process of tobacco processing. However, in comparison with its advanced foreign counterparts, the tobacco manufacturing sector still lags relatively far behind in terms of the research, development and manufacturing capacities. Therefore, it has become necessary for the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector to swiftly and effectively promote the development and production of tobacco machinery in China to higher levels by means of execution of major exclusive projects.

"At the very beginning, the approval of the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units was intended to reduce reliance on foreign technologies and gradually realize the development of ultrahigh speed production equipment capable of meeting the requirement the tobacco industry for developing Chinese-style cigarettes, by means of introduction of foreign technologies and independent research and development, and by means of digestion and absorption of imported technologies and re-innovation," Qu Wei said.

Therefore, the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units has been put to execution in two stages. In the first stage, efforts have been made to digest and absorb imported technologies, to conduct conversion design and production of prototypes of ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units, and to realize mastery of the technologies for making ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units. In the second stage up to the year 2016, on the basis of conversion design, in-depth digestion and absorption of imported technologies, and in light of the characteristics of Chinese-style cigarette production, the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector has been applying its achievements in staged research and development in the production of ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing equipment in the same period, succeeding in developing a 16,000 cigarettes/per minute and 800 packets/per minute ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing unit with an ultrahigh speed, with high efficiency, with low consumption of materials, and with self-owned intellectual property rights.

Different from fulfillment of other major exclusive projects of scientific-technological research, the execution of the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units signifies that the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector is in a gradual strategic shift from "imitation" in the past onto "mainly relying on independent innovation", and means that it is determined to open up a path of technological innovation meeting the characteristics of tobacco machinery manufacturing in China.

Exertion　of　All　Efforts　to　Promote　Development　

Addressing a working conference on promoting development of the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector held in Beijing in March 2011, then STMA Director-General Jiang Chengkang proposed exertion of all efforts by the tobacco industry to promote development of the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector. In the process of promoting execution of the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units, integration of efforts by the tobacco industry has once again become a driving force for promoting execution of the major exclusive project.

In 2008, the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector started the process of demonstration and choice of models for executing the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units, and made it clear the major exclusive project would be executed by means of both "introduction, digestion and absorption of foreign technologies and independent research and development". CTMG, on the one hand, conducted comprehensive comparative analysis of the various types of ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units manufactured abroad in terms of feasibility of technology import, characteristics of the relevant technologies and techniques, the performance, efficiency of effective operation and actual output capacity of the relevant equipment, product quality, manufacturing difficulty, project cycle, etc, and conducted more than a dozen rounds of exchanges with foreign tobacco machinery manufacturers. On the other hand, it conducted many rounds of exclusive technological discussions with domestic tobacco manufacturing enterprises including Shanghai Tobacco Group, Hongta Tobacco Group in southwest China's Yunnan Province, China Tobacco Hunan industrial Co., Ltd. in south central China's Hunan Province and China Tobacco Hubei industrial Co., Ltd. in central China's Hubei Province. Eventually, the STMA decided to introduce the PROTOS2-2 exclusive cigarette rolling and tipping unit manufacturing technology from Hauni Maschinenbau AG of Germany and the FC800 exclusive hard packet and hard carton packing unit manufacturing technology from Focke of Germany, respectively for producing the ZJ116 cigarette rolling, tipping and packing unit and the ZB48 hard packet and hard carton packing unit in China.

With the support of both the STMA and the entire tobacco industry of China, China National Tobacco Corporation, after many rounds of hard bargaining, signed agreements on technology transfer with Hauni and Focke respectively on June 18, 2009 and September 18, 2009. In 2010, the STMA started the process of executing the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units.

After the start of the process of executing the major exclusive project, the STMA established a leadership group in charge of the execution of the major exclusive project, with STMA Deputy Director-General Li Keming serving as the chief. Meanwhile, Shanghai Tobacco Machinery Co., Ltd. and Changde Tobacco Machinery Co., Ltd. in Hunan respectively assumed the tasks of trial production of the ZB48 hard packet and hard carton packing unit and the ZJ116 cigarette rolling, tipping and packing unit. Shanghai Cigarette Factory of Shanghai Tobacco Group and Changsha Cigarette Factory in Hunan – in the capacity of users of prototypes of the ZJ116 and the ZB48 units developed – have separately put forward many valuable suggestions in accordance with their respective demand.

"The correct decision making by the STMA and the great support extended by the entire tobacco industry proved to be fundamental guarantee for the successful development of the prototypes," Qu Wei emphasized. In March 2011, a ceremony was held in Beijing for signing agreements on early orders for home-manufactured ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units. On that day, CTMG signed with more than 10 domestic tobacco manufacturing enterprises based in Shanghai, Yunnan and other regions agreements on early orders for home-manufactured ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units in a total of 30 groups. The signing of the agreements on early orders is of innovative significance, and has contributed to laying a solid foundation for market development of home-manufactured ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units.

A　Millestone:　Development　of　Ultrahigh　Speed　Units　

From the signing of the agreement on technology transfer with the two German companies in 2009 to the time of production and delivery to users for trial operation of prototypes of ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units in 2012, CTMG spent only two and a half years – nearly half the previously anticipated cycle. However, the hardships in the development and production of the prototypes can hardly be imagined without personal participation.

Both the PROTOS2-2 exclusive cigarette rolling and tipping unit manufacturing technology and the FC800 exclusive hard packet and hard carton packing unit manufacturing technology are far more complicated than any other technologies previously imported by the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector of China. In fact, many of the technologies and techniques involved were something totally new to the taskforces designated to execute the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units, such as the PROTOS2-2 two-channel technology, the speed reducing drum wheel application technology, the FC800 dual-track direct packing technological process and the traditional method of combination between intermittent movement and continuous motion. Yet, as a result unremitting efforts, the taskforces have eventually mastered the core technologies for developing and producing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units.

In the process of executing the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units, the taskforces simultaneously conducted in-depth technological research. In converting imported technologies for making the ZJ116 cigarette rolling, tipping and packing unit, the Chinese tobacco machinery makers concerned conducted emulation analysis of the crucial structures, parts and components, mastering the principles of crucial technologies including technologies for transmission of cut tobacco and separation of cut stems, delivery and acceptance of cigarettes, and separation and turnaround of cigarettes. In the process of converting imported technologies for making the ZB48 hard packet and hard carton packing unit, they conducted a series of research of the crucial structures and dynamic characteristics of the equipment, mastering the principles of the relevant core technologies including the high-speed cam technology.

The successful development and production of the prototypes of ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units has not only filled a gap in the development of ultrahigh speed products by the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector of China, but has also met a demand of the tobacco industry of China for technical equipment. Therefore, it well deserves the reputation as a milestone in the development of the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector, which indicates that the tasks for the development of ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units in the first phase have been smoothly fulfilled, and that domestic manufacturing of cigarette making equipment has hence entered an era of manufacturing ultrahigh speed products.

While making staged achievements in the execution of the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units in the first phase, CTMG has sober-mindedly become aware that the tasks of innovation in the second phase will be even more arduous. From imitation to independent creation, Chinese tobacco machinery manufacturers need to conduct an all-round transformation of the existing domestic tobacco machinery manufacturing technology promotion system.

Although much success has been achieved so far, there is still a long way to go in the execution of the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units. CTMG will, in light of the characteristics of production of Chinese-style cigarettes, make overall planning in stepping up efforts for developing ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units with self-owned intellectual property rights. Meanwhile, in accordance with the requirement of the policy of "manufacturing with high quality, providing service with high quality and marketing with high quality", it will do a good job of organizing mass production of ultrahigh speed cigarette rolling, tipping and packing units. Qu Wei believes that along with in-depth promotion of the execution of the major exclusive project of developing ultrahigh speed cigarette making units, the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector of China will definitely take on a brand-new image and have a brighter future in manufacturing ultrahigh speed production equipment. Enditem