On January 31, 2026, the launch ceremony of the R&D-Quality Integration Platform Project of Wuhu Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Wuhu Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes") was solemnly held in Wuhu.

Present witnesses to this landmark moment included:

Zhang Weidong, Member of the Standing Committee and Vice President of University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB);

Zhang Yongjun, Dean of IET and Vice Chairman of DRI, USTB

Shao Jian, Vice Dean of IET and Deputy General Manager of DRI, USTB

Song Yong, Director of R&D Department of IET together with the project team;

Chen Jiangtao, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of Wuhu Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes;

Zhao Zhicheng, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection;

Song Yuhui, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager;

Chen Yu'e, Dean of Iron & Steel Research Institute of Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co., Ltd. and Assistant to General Manager of Wuhu Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes;as well as core technical backbones of Wuhu Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes.

Zhang Weidong reviewed the long-standing cooperation between USTB and Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Group, and expressed sincere gratitude to Wuhu Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes for its long-term support to the university’s development.He pointed out that, known as the "Cradle of Iron and Steel Industry", USTB always takes serving national strategies and industrial development as its mission. The project has effectively connected the full-process data chain of R&D design, production manufacturing and quality control, marking another model of in-depth industry-university-research-application collaborative innovation between the two parties.He looked forward to further expanding cooperation in the future to jointly promote the transformation and upgrading of the iron and steel industry toward high-end, green and intelligent development.

On behalf of the project undertakers, Zhang Yongjun delivered a speech, stating that the project was the result of lean collaboration and concerted efforts of both teams, reflecting USTB’s rigorous and pragmatic academic spirit and firm determination to serve the industry.He emphasized that the launch was a starting point rather than a finish line, and IET would continue to provide follow-up technical support and iterative services to help Wuhu Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes advance steadily on the path of digital transformation.

Chen Jiangtao highly recognized the technical support and project achievements from USTB, and thanked all researchers and constructors for their hard work.He stressed that the R&D-Quality Integration Project is a key focus for the company to achieve high-quality development. Wuhu Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes will make full use of the platform to continuously inject digital momentum into breaking information barriers, optimizing business processes and improving product quality.In the future, the company will further deepen cooperation with high-level universities and research institutes, strengthen talent training mechanisms, and pursue quality and efficiency improvement driven by innovation, so as to support the transformation and upgrading of the company’s high-quality special steel business.

The R&D-Quality Integration Project of Wuhu Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes is a key step for the company to target the high-end market and promote digital transformation.

Centered on process design, the project has built a set of "digital trial-and-error" R&D tools including R&D knowledge base, R&D big data and design verification. It has established a full-process quality management system, introduced intelligent early warning and rapid traceability mechanisms to realize real-time perception and precise positioning of quality issues.

Based on process design requirements, the project ensures closed-loop control of processes, and realizes integrated manufacturing through interconnection with the MES system.