The turning point of the titanium industry is now optimistic about the high-end titanium market

[ Information Release:Admin | Times:2019-11-15 | Hits:397 ]

The uses of titanium in the military field include aircraft, warships, weapons, missiles, etc. The main consumption of titanium in the military field is still concentrated on military aircraft.

Titanium, an excellent metal material for the aerospace military industry, is often combined with other elements such as iron, aluminum, vanadium or molybdenum to create high-strength light alloys. It is used in aviation, aerospace, military, warships and other high-tech and military fields. It is "space metal" and "ocean metal", and is an indispensable "strategic metal" for raising the level of national defense equipment. Titanium prices have risen, and titanium companies have benefited from revaluation of inventory value and product profitability; China's high-end titanium market has exploded: the demand for military titanium, civil aviation titanium and nuclear power titanium has surged, high industry barriers, and high-end titanium companies have benefited . It is recommended to pay attention to Baotai Titanium, Western Materials and Jintian Titanium.

Titanium, an excellent metal material for aerospace industry. Titanium has the characteristics of high melting point, small specific gravity, good toughness, fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance, low thermal conductivity, high and low temperature resistance, and low stress under rapid cooling and hot conditions. At present, titanium and other elements such as iron, aluminum, vanadium or molybdenum create high-strength light alloys, which are used in high-tech and military fields such as aviation, aerospace, military, and naval vessels. They are known as "space metals" and "space metals." "Ocean metal" is an indispensable "strategic metal" that is indispensable for improving the level of national defense equipment.

Titanium is mainly used in commercial aviation and military industry. In 2011, the world's production of titanium materials was 148,020 tons and consumption was 108,100 tons. The main application areas are: commercial aviation accounted for 43%, industry 48%, military 6%, and emerging markets 3%. China's titanium materials are mainly used in industry. Among them, the chemical industry accounts for 50%, electricity (12%), metallurgy (4%), sports and leisure (9.4%), salt production (4.2%), and aerospace (8.5% ) Accounted for a higher proportion.

The uses of titanium in the military field include aircraft, warships, weapons, missiles, etc. The main consumption of titanium in the military field is still concentrated on military aircraft. The first titanium alloy used in the United States was the F-86 fighter. Later, it was widely used in F-111, F-14, and F-15A fighters. With the upgrading of fighters, the requirements for speed and handling performance have increased. The requirements for material performance of military aircraft have become higher and higher. The use of titanium materials has gradually increased; titanium materials are also used to build warships, new destroyers, submarines, etc.; Titanium is also used for propellers, engine parts, heat exchangers, condensers, coolers, sonar shrouds and various pipe fittings for building ships.

In addition, the amount of titanium used in aero engines is also great, and it is used in many key components such as blades and casings. With the growth of the total number of in-service aircraft and aero-engines and the replacement of aero-engines, the global aero-engine construction volume will increase from 2,890 in 2013 to 3,900 in 2018, with an annual growth rate of 6%. In military aircraft engines, because the service life of military aircraft engines is shorter than that of commercial aviation, the demand for titanium materials has not grown slowly.

Demand for military and civilian use is increasing steadily, titanium prices are rising, which is good for titanium companies

Driven by the development and equipment of a new generation of fighters in my country, it is expected that the compound annual growth rate of titanium demand for military use will reach 12%. China optimizes and upgrades the level of air force equipment, accelerates the development and deployment of new generation fighters, large transport aircraft and large engines, accelerates the replacement of generations 2 and 3, and will drive the annual demand for titanium materials in the aerospace industry from 4666 tons in 2013 to More than 10,000 tons.

At the same time, the demand for civil aviation has grown steadily, and the orders for international civil aviation have grown steadily. The annual growth rate of aircraft delivery has reached 7%. Coupled with the increase in the delivery of dual-aisle aircraft, the amount of titanium used for single aircraft has increased. The annual growth rate of titanium used in international civil aviation reached 7.3%. In the same period, my country vigorously promoted the development of large aircraft and regional aircraft and liberalized general aviation. It is expected that the demand for titanium for civil aviation in my country will increase to more than 1,400 tons.

Among the industrial demand, the demand for titanium for nuclear power, marine engineering, and medical use in China is still bright. It is expected that the annual demand for titanium for nuclear power will increase to 1050 tons, and the annual growth rate of titanium for marine engineering and medical use is 8% and 9%, respectively. .

The mid-to-long-term bottom of the titanium price has already appeared. In the future, it will depend on the release of demand to digest the production capacity and inventory. The price increase will not be achieved overnight. Due to the still low demand, the price of sponge titanium is expected to reach about 50,000 yuan by the end of this year. In the next 1-2 years, the price range of titanium sponge will fluctuate between 50,000 and 55,000 yuan.

Titanium materials have many production processes and long cycles, and companies usually have large-scale inventories. The price of titanium rises, and the value of the company's inventory increases. In addition, the product prices of high-end titanium companies are related to titanium prices. Can improve the profitability of enterprises.

Demand for high-end domestic titanium materials erupts as opportunities for localization rate increase

Compared with overseas titanium companies, my country's titanium industry still has gaps in technology accumulation, production equipment, and customer certification. A large number of titanium materials still need to be imported. For example, COMAC signed a long-term forging supply contract with Russia for C919. As China's titanium materials and high-end equipment manufacturing industry increase investment, the gap in technology and equipment is narrowing. For example, in the forging process, Baotai Titanium has achieved 10,000 tons of free forging, and China's second heavy 80,000-ton die forging machine has also been put into production . Increasing the localization rate of high-end titanium materials is the general trend.

There are many titanium material enterprises in my country, but from the perspective of historical evolution, scale and technical level, the enterprises with strong competitiveness in the military titanium material market mainly include Bao titanium shares, Jintian titanium industry and Northwest Nonferrous Metal Research Institute. The largest supplier of military titanium in my country, especially aviation military industry, is Baoti Titanium. Western Materials and Jintian Titanium have also entered this market.

At present, the technology and equipment strength of Bao Titanium Co., Ltd., Western Materials, Jintian Titanium and other companies are constantly improving, and a lot of preparation and accumulation have been made for the release of market demand; Product gross margin is higher. The outbreak of demand for high-end titanium materials and the increase in the localization rate will bring development opportunities to Baotai Titanium, Western Materials and Jintian Titanium Industry.

The outstanding integration advantages of Baoti

Bao Ti is the largest manufacturer of titanium alloys and titanium materials in my country. The company has formed an integrated production system from the production of sponge titanium to titanium materials, with a production capacity of 10,000 tons of sponge titanium, a production capacity of 20,000 tons of titanium ingots, and a processing capacity of more than 10,000 tons of titanium. In 2013, the company achieved a sales volume of 16658.29 tons of titanium products, of which 811.207 tons of titanium materials. The domestic market share of titanium is about 20%, and the market share in the aerospace and military industry is particularly high.

The company has outstanding integration advantages, trial production of 10,000 tons of free forging and titanium belt projects, and high-end technology and product advantages have been strengthened. The company has complied with the global development trend of the integration of titanium enterprises. After acquiring Baoti Huashen, it has obtained the advantages of integrated production of sponge titanium and titanium materials. The company's sponge titanium self-sufficiency rate is more than 50%, which effectively reduces the impact of sponge titanium price fluctuations. At the same time, it also improves the stability and timeliness of the company's sponge titanium raw material supply, which also makes Huashenbao Titanium profitable under the predicament of loss in the entire sponge titanium industry, and it is unique in the sponge titanium industry.

The shareholder strength of Western Materials has the natural advantage of the military industry market

Western Materials is controlled by the Northwest Nonferrous Metal Research Institute, a well-known refractory material research institute in China. Xi'an Aerospace Science and Technology Industry Corporation (a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation) is the second largest shareholder. The shareholders are strong and have natural resources in the military industry market. Advantage.

Western Material's titanium business is operated by Western Titanium Company. Currently, the company has a titanium ingot melting capacity of 8,000 tons and a titanium material processing capacity of 5,000 tons. Its products are mainly pipes and plates, and its production and sales reached more than 3,800 tons in 2013. With the expansion of the company's titanium production capacity, the military market is gradually opening to the market, and the company's military titanium market development has made continuous progress. In 2013, the company established a special working group to formulate a military aviation sheet development project plan to promote market development , R&D, production, technology, etc.

In addition to titanium, the company's business also involves metal composite materials industry, metal filter material industry, rare and precious metal material industry, refractory metal material industry and rare equipment manufacturing industry and other business fields, with the country's first and second world's metal composite materials The production line has the first metal filter material production line in China and the second in the world. It has the only nuclear grade silver alloy control rod production line in China, and is an important supplier of metal materials in environmental protection and energy industries.

Hunan Jintian Titanium Industry Technology Co., Ltd. has equal strength and innovation

The company has a registered capital of 300 million yuan and a total investment of 1.823 billion yuan. It is building a 10,000t/a high-performance titanium and titanium alloy processing material project in Changde National Economic and Technological Development Zone. The research and development, production and operation of titanium and titanium alloy processing materials such as forgings, high-precision rods and wires, and the production of titanium processing materials can be widely used in defense industries such as aviation, aerospace, ships, weapons, and petroleum, chemical, metallurgy , Power, transportation, marine, medical, environmental protection, construction, sports and leisure civilian industries.

The company insists on producing the high-end materials required by the equipment manufacturing industry with the best technology and the most advanced equipment and management. The company's key main equipment such as 12T vacuum consumable arc furnace, 12T vacuum plasma welding box, automatic mixing system, 40/45MN fast forging machine, double-headed operation machine, SKK17 precision forging machine and other main production equipment are from Germany, the United States, Introduced by Austria and other countries, it has reached the world advanced level. Among them: the 40/45MN fast forging machine imported from Germany Siempelkamp is the key equipment for the processing of large titanium alloy forgings required by China's aviation and marine ships. There are further improvements in performance, representing the highest level in the country. (From: China Titanium Industry Network)