On the afternoon of June 30, the day before the 101st anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the Xuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government held the 2022 Xuzhou Model Worker Commendation Conference in the Grand Auditorium of the Municipal Administrative Center. Chen Wei, Executive Director of Xuzhou Jing'an Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. and Chairman of Xuzhou Jing'an Heavy Industry Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd., was honored with the title of Xuzhou Model Worker.

Chairman of Xuzhou Jing'an Heavy Industry Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Chen Wei: A Dream Chaser on the Road of Innovation

Those who wish to teach must review the old to learn the new. Those who wish to succeed must reject the old to embrace the new. Those who wish to be strong must understand the old to innovate.

A decade ago, in the field of pile foundation construction, few people knew about the "full rotary drilling rig." Today, the full rotary drilling rig, with its superior performance, has been widely applied in large-scale construction projects.

And when industry insiders mention the full rotary drilling rig, they naturally think of Xuzhou Jing'an Heavy Industry, and of Chen Wei.

Chen Wei, a native of Fengxin, Jiangxi Province, graduated from Xi'an Technological University in 1988 and was assigned to work at the Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, a comprehensive research institution under the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Machinery. At the end of 1992, the institute took the lead in reforming its scientific research system in the province, entering Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG) through entrusted asset management, with its research focus shifting to new product development. It was then that Chen Wei embarked on a career in new product R&D for construction machinery.

In 1994, XCMG conducted an internal open selection and sent 16 university graduates to pursue master's degrees in Mechanical Design and Theory at Jilin University of Technology. Chen Wei stood out in the selection.

During his graduate studies, Chen Wei conducted in-depth research on various cutting-edge construction machinery products, determined to make them "Made in China" in the future!

After graduating, the tide of reform and opening-up gradually ignited Chen Wei's entrepreneurial dream and passion. He hoped to use his professional skills and R&D experience to develop new construction machinery products and win honor for the country. In 2000, Chen Wei resolutely left his stable job to start his own business.

Constrained by startup capital, Chen Wei could only choose to cooperate with other enterprises, yet time and again the products he painstakingly developed ultimately became the wedding dress of the major shareholders, which left Chen Wei both troubled and unwilling to accept. The bumpy entrepreneurial road did not make Chen Wei retreat; instead, it made him braver with each setback. He knew well that one cannot see the rainbow without experiencing the storm!

As the climax of major infrastructure construction such as domestic subways, high-speed railways, roads and bridges surged, the geological conditions of pile foundation engineering became increasingly complex, and pile diameters and depths grew larger, making existing pile foundation construction equipment increasingly difficult to meet construction requirements. Chen Wei, who had successful experience in developing and promoting rotary drilling rigs, keenly spotted an opportunity for a new pile foundation engineering product.

Chen Wei had noticed that the full rotary drilling rig manufactured in Japan had a completely different working principle from other drilling rigs, and demonstrated superior performance in complex geological conditions and pile foundation construction with extra-large diameters and depths. However, its price exceeded ten million yuan, and few domestic enterprises could afford it. Unwilling to concede defeat, Chen Wei set his sights on this direction, determined to make a full rotary drilling rig that domestic enterprises could afford and use well, to meet the needs of the domestic market.

In 2010, Chen Wei assembled a young and capable R&D team and founded a new company, vigorously launching the development of the full rotary drilling rig and embarking on the path of introducing, absorbing, and re-innovating the full rotary drilling rig.

A shared dream filled this young team with creative passion. With neither funds nor documentation, Chen Wei and key R&D personnel personally traveled to Japan for study and investigation, leading everyone to devote themselves to studying the equipment's working principles, conducting extensive parameter analysis and calculations, and optimizing equipment structure and components according to national conditions. Once the plan was determined, they found ways to complete the procurement and customization of prototype components, as well as equipment assembly and debugging. They often worked through the night to solve a problem—when sleepy, they would lie on the desk for a while; when hungry, they would nibble on a piece of bread and drink some water.

Thus, Chen Wei led the R&D team with a sense of urgency, seizing every moment, and after a year of arduous efforts, developed the first domestic prototype of a full rotary drilling rig.

The next question was whether the full rotary drilling rig could be recognized by the market. According to Li Jingfeng, Deputy General Manager of Marketing at Xuzhou Jing'an Heavy Industry Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd.: A Shanghai customer set rather harsh conditions when accepting the first full rotary drilling rig—they required Jing'an Heavy Industry to use this rig to pull out an old pile from the construction site. This was a test to determine whether the Jing'an Heavy Industry R&D team's year of hard work would come to naught or live up to expectations. At this point, they had no choice but to burn their boats and rise to the challenge! At the critical moment of pile extraction, the equipment basically reached its limit. Li Jingfeng watched the instrument panel anxiously and found that the torque had dropped! This brought a faint smile to his long-tensed face.

Afterward, Chen Wei personally took charge, relying on the Shanghai market as a foothold, vigorously expanding the market and actively promoting the transformation of R&D achievements. Jing'an's full rotary drilling rigs, with their high cost-effectiveness, saw product sales climb year after year.

For more than a decade, supported by its professional R&D team and cooperation with research institutes and experts, Jing'an Heavy Industry has formed a scientific and efficient innovation mechanism and has obtained nearly 50 patented technologies. Among the main drafters of the national machinery industry standard "Construction Machinery and Equipment—Full Casing Drilling Rig," Chen Wei ranks first. In terms of innovation goals, Jing'an Heavy Industry aims at cutting-edge industry products, continuously building up technological leadership and leading the industry's sustainable development.

Through continuous optimization and improvement, the full rotary drilling rig has formed a serialized and large-scale product system. It is not only widely used in domestic engineering projects but also exported to Japan, the United States, Southeast Asia, and other countries and regions, occupying an absolutely leading position in the industry. Jing'an Heavy Industry has become a national high-tech enterprise integrating R&D, manufacturing, sales, and technical and construction services of full rotary drilling rigs, and is the largest R&D and production base for full rotary drilling rigs in the country.

In the past two years, Jing'an Heavy Industry has also successfully developed the air-lift reverse circulation drilling rig and the low-headroom full rotary integrated machine. Both products—the full rotary drilling rig and the air-lift reverse circulation drilling rig—passed expert evaluation organized by the Jiangsu Provincial Machinery Industry Association and were both recognized as products filling domestic gaps.

In 2021, Chen Wei was awarded the title of "Outstanding Private Entrepreneur" by the Xuzhou Municipal People's Government and the Management Committee of Xuzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, respectively. In 2021, Jing'an Heavy Industry ranked among the top ten "Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative" enterprises in the Xuzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, and the JRD300 air-lift reverse circulation drilling rig was recognized as the first set of major equipment in Jiangsu Province.

"We at Jing'an must strive to realize innovative development and the 'Jing'an Dream' of serving the country through industry. Innovation never stops, and the pursuit of dreams never ceases. We will contribute our wisdom and strength to realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!" Chen Wei said. "This is the original aspiration that Jing'an Heavy Industry must always keep in mind!"