The relocation has enormous impact on the allocation of China's steel industry. The Shougang Group has relocated its business along coastal areas, causing Shougang to play an exemplary role in further optimizing the structure of the steel industry and improving their competitiveness. All previous Chinese steel enterprises were located inland or even in central cities. The Shougang Group's removal is a challenge and opportunity for the company and by taking a leading role it positively influences the national steel industry.
Zhu said that the Shougang Group is also carrying out strategic restructuring during its relocation.
"First, the Shougang Group seeks to attain the most advanced technologies in the world by relocating at a new level, a big structural readjustment. This readjustment not only involves domain structure, products structure, technology structure and equipment structure, but also requires a fundamental change of the organizational structure of the company. Our business management is completely based on new types of organizations. Information technology and automation technology have been introduced. They combined closely with the modern management framework in the beginning of our structure readjustment because we are aiming at real advanced management," Zhu explained.
In addition, Shougang's newly established steel factory will focus on high-end products, another kind of structural readjustment. We will not only set up the most advanced steel factory in the 21st century, but we are also working on planning bases in the Shijingshan District in Beijing, involving technology research and development, cultural creations including exhibition industry, modern business and entertainment. Located in the connecting areas of three districts in Beijing, these bases will greatly promote the development of the Shijingshan District, the Mentougou District and the Fengtai District, thus realizing a fundamental change of the industrial structures of older factory areas.
Third, the Shougang Group is also transforming its other industries at the same time. Property rights reform has introduced new commercial infrastructures inside real estate and construction companies, mechanical and electrical manufacturing and other modern services in Beijing. We will reorganize our enterprise systems to build the most modern-corporate systems.
The competitiveness of Shougang's subsidiary industries has been greatly improved. Instead of shrinking during our relocation these industries are also experiencing a structural transformation. In addition, the management framework of the whole group is also being reorganized on the basis of new demands for competition and efficiency.
The knowledge structure and labor force structure regarding employees has improved, Zhu added. Shougang has made great efforts to train our employees in recent years. The Shougang Group recruits more than 1,000 employees from college graduates and candidates with work experience every year. 1,300 graduates have been recruited this year, including more than 70 postgraduates. Now the group has more than 80 employees with doctoral degrees and more than 1,000 employees holding master's degrees.
The quality of Shougang staff has been enhanced. Some employees have passed their performance evaluations through training. The cultural structure, skill structure and the structure of our labor organization is all changing. The entire company, not just steel production, is in transition.
(China.org.cn by Yang Xi, October 24, 2007)
