a.     Subsistence stage before 1980. The precursor of the Group is Dezhou Chemical Fertilizer Plant. When it was established in 1968, it production capacity was to manufacture 5,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 20,000 tons of ammonium carbonate annually. Being restricted by the planned economy, it grew with difficulty and developed slowly. Because of low production capacity and heavy losses, it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

b.    Scale expansion stage from 1980 to 1990. In 1980, the reform and opening-up activated Chinese economy. The enterprise seized this development opportunity quickly, set the development strategy of “taking scientific and technological progress as the leading factor, using technological transformation as the means and forming scale economy” and began technological transformation. Up to 1989, it invested over 40 million RMB in total, carried out four large-scale technological transformations, eliminated backward equipment and techniques, gradually realized the use of large-scale equipment and automation of centralized and decentralized control, achieved the production capacity of manufacturing 60,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 200,000 tons of ammonium carbonate annually, and became the leading enterprise in chemical fertilizer industry in Shandong Province.

c.    Structure adjustment stage from 1990 to 2000. In 1990, it seized the favorable opportunity when the state encouraged small nitrogenous fertilizer enterprises to transit to small carbamide plants. Based on sufficient preparation and careful consideration, it undertook the first carbamide project with a 110,000-ton annual output in the industry in China. After that, on the basis of many times of transformation, it achieved the annual output of 150,000 tons carbamide, then it carried out another project to double the carbamide output, which expanded the production capacity to 300,000 tons per year and basically realized an economic scale, making carbamide a dominant product in Hualu-Hengsheng.

According to the development strategy of “enhancing technical content, developing new products and establishing a related diversification pattern”, since 1994, it has emphasized development of chemical industry, developed the mono-carbon chemical industrial product chain, including carbamide, carbinol and formaldehyde. At present, the company has become the largest DMF suppliers worldwide.

d.    Rapid development stage after 2000. Based on balanced development of chemical fertilizer and chemical industry, through capital operation and thermoelectricity production, it solved the problem of supplying heat and steam for fertilizer and chemical production, greatly reduced the production cost, improved the capability to withstand market risks and formed a pattern whereby the three pillar industries, namely chemical fertilizer, chemical industry and thermoelectricity, developed in balance.

The Group has fully implemented the scientific outlook on development and reformed the traditional industry with new and high technologies. Its large-scale nitrogenous fertilizer project was the demonstration project of domestic technological transformation and with independent intellectual property rights. After overcoming four risks such as technological risk, capital risk, construction risk and operation risk, the project was completed and put into production, and the enterprise made a significant breakthrough in technology, equipment and raw material structure for domestic development of large-scale nitrogenous fertilizer production. It created “ten national firsts”, such as the first domestically developed large-scale clean coal gasification device, air separation device and synthetic ammonia device. With successful completion of the project, the technology of producing synthetic ammonia and carbamide with coal was updated and upgraded, which set up a good example in domestic development of large-scale nitrogenous fertilizer devices as well as the technological transformation and development of related enterprises in China.

According to the requirements of the scientific outlook on development and construction of a harmonious society, the company has set up its sustainable development strategy emphasizing on enhancement of resource availability and its diversified development strategy centering on increasing competitive strength. By using the clean coal gasification technology with independent intellectual property rights, it will persistently extend the industry chain, continuously expand the production of chemical fertilizers, develop chemical industry and thermoelectricity, and realize better and quicker development. In the next few years, Hualu-Hengsheng will strive to create a most dynamic workforce and a most competitive nitrogenous fertilizer enterprise, thus becoming the most competitive supplier of basic chemical industrial raw materials and a large-scale coal chemical industrial base in China.