“In Science We Trust” Driving the Innovative Development of Sennics

◎ Hao Zhangcheng 

Constantly Insisting on Innovative Growth

In the Sustainable Development Report in 2017, Sennics expressed that its products and technologies had a place in the international market, which was closely related to the continuous independent innovation and relatively perfect intellectual property management system of the company. The innovation gene has already been integrated into the blood of Sennics. So far, both the company and its products have undergone profound changes. This is a “quality revolution” as well as a process of continuous innovation, pursuit of perfection, accumulation of small victories to great victories, and from quantitative change to qualitative change.

In 2002, Sennics independently researched and developed the clean production technology of the rubber antioxidants intermediate “RT base catalytic hydrogenation in liquid phase under low temperature”, which decreased the gross quantity of the produced waste water by 98.9% and greatly reduced the production cost. This project won the second prize of the National Award for Progress in Science and Technology. Since then, Sennics has been equipped with core technical competitiveness and embarked on the road of technical innovation and continuous improvement.

Since Sennics passed the “337 Investigation” in 2009 and settled a lawsuit with U.S. industry rivals in 2012, the company has gradually established a sound intellectual property management system and introduced the idea of intellectual property strategy.

In 2013, the “Rubber Antioxidant H-TMQ and S-TMQ Synthetic Process and Industrialization” of Sennics made significant achievements, and both the product quality and technical level reached the international advanced level, which had a profound influence on the synthesis process and industrialization of rubber antioxidant TMQ, and won the second prize of Scientific and Technical Invention Award of Sinochem Group in 2013.

In 2013, researchers developed a new kind of catalyst, which was successfully used in the synthesis of 6PPD, an antioxidant containing no heavy metal with high quality, low energy consumption and high performance. Sennics became the first domestic enterprise with a set of antioxidant 6PPD precious metal catalytic hydrogenation production technology through independent research and development.

In 2015, the content of 6PPD in the antioxidant produced with the “antioxidant 6PPD new process and industrial technology by precious metal catalytic hydrogenation and synthesis” researched and developed by Sennics was high to over 98% at the international advanced level in terms of quality, which promoted the green development of the rubber and plastic additives and even the fine chemical industry, and won the second prize of the Scientific and Technical Progress Award of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation and the first prize of the Scientific and Technical Progress Award of Sinochem Group.

In 2017, Sennics launched the new brand Sennics and reoriented its development strategy from a company focusing on the production of single rubber antioxidant to a diversified, multi-product portfolio of polymer additives supplier and service provider covering a more complete industrial chain.

Advocating the “Best and Green” Development View

Creating Quality Products in the Whole Chain Sennics has innovated and optimized the whole supply chain, pursuing “new strategy for green products” in the research and development, “keeping highly responsible for the source” in the purchase, “strict management for high quality” in the production, “keeping stable for efficiency” in the logistics, and “good faith for trust” in the service to realize the revolution of the operation management system to “customer-oriented”.

For example, in terms of product research and development, Sennics has always gives priority to “energy saving, consumption reduction, green production and environmental protection” in its research, development and production work. It has invested a lot of money and manpower to constantly innovate technologies and processes, and devoted itself to the research and development of energy-saving, environment-friendly and efficient green polymer additive products.

In terms of R&D system construction, the R&D Center of Sennics in Shanghai is engaged in synthesis, analytical research and basic application research. Each subsidiary is equipped with the technical center and pilot plant for the study of industrialization, which also established an open innovative system of “industry-university-institute” cooperation with the well-known colleges and universities at home and abroad to further improve the independent innovation ability and digestion, absorption and innovation ability of the imported technologies. On March 16, 2018, Sennics established an academician workstation to carry out the systematic work focusing on the whole industrial chain of rubber and plastic chemicals for the core technological breakthroughs and the studies on application, engineering and industrialization of scientific and technological achievements. On August 28, 2018, Sennics held an innovation project signing ceremony in Shanghai, which joined hands with well-known Chinese universities and research institutions to comprehensively deepen cooperation in overcoming innovation difficulties as well as breaking environmental and resource bottlenecks.

In the process of production and manufacturing, it creates excellent "intellectual" strength. Through progressive promotion of its company process and information system reengineering, with SAP information system construction as the starting point of breakthrough and in combination of the DCS automation transformation and MES system construction, Sennics strives to take informatization construction as the core measure and concentrates resources and strength on building a green innovative enterprise in the fine chemical industry. In 2017, Sennics achieved a breakthrough in product upgrading by embedding informatization and automation technologies into production lines, gradually promoting the application of “intelligent manufacturing” technologies.

In 2015, Sennics initiated the construction of intelligent factory, focusing on the construction of six aspects including production control, equipment management, safety and environmental protection, energy management, logistics management and auxiliary decision-making. Through the launch of SAP system, upgrading of DCS system, and new construction of SIS system and central control room, the intelligentization of process industry was realized; the whole process of product packaging, measurement, transportation, stacking and packaging on the production line of 6PPD workshop was automated; and operators in RT base workshop use DCS system to calculate the material quality automatically. In 2017, Anhui Sennics also took the lead in the construction of MES system and integrated production planning management, production execution, material management, process management, quality management, energy management, etc. into MES system, greatly improving the efficiency of production management and implementation.

As a result, Anhui Sennics was listed in the pilot enterprises for standard implementation in “informatization and industrialization” integration management system in 2017.

Building HSE Core Competitiveness

Updating health, safety and environmental protection (HSE) management to strategic height, Sennics comprehensively improves the level of risk prevention and control, refines the HSE management to HSE 24 entire factor system with effective operation, and strictly implements the HSE Examine Management Control Procedures, Safety Management Regulations for the Related Parties, Safe Visual Management Standard and other systems, to continuously improve its own HSE management. At the beginning of each year, the CEO of Sennics signs an annual responsibility document of HSE targets with the general manager of each subsidiary and each business department to make the HSE work has definite targets.

Sennics integrates HSE into the whole production and operation process, introduces advanced management methods in the world-Dupont Safety Management System, and implements the full cycle of safety management. Based on the front workshops and teams, Sennics actively carries out a series of improvement actions including inductive leadership, territorial management, linear responsibility and total participation, and improves essential safety degree of production equipment to promote the improvement of safety management level. Three subsidiaries have realized “zero” personal injuries for three consecutive years. In the HSE safety examination of the micrometer system of Dupont, such companies have achieved more than 750 points, and won the title of “Five-star Factory” of Sinochem Group, truly enabling HSE to directly create value for the company and bring core competitiveness. In 2017, the total investment of Sennics in safety production was RMB 13,327,000 Yuan, and the total investment in HSE was RMB 24,127,000 Yuan.

Sennics actively responds to the concept of green development, adheres to the principle of “green operation and green production”, takes “safe and green” production process as the guideline, continuously improves the process, continuously strengthens its own resource and energy management, and reduces production cost. In December 2017, Anhui Sennics won the honorary title of “Green Factory” in the petroleum and chemical industry.

Contributing to a Sustainable and Harmonious Society

Taking contributing to a harmonious society as its own mission, Sennics promotes the coordinated development of industrial chain partners with its own strength, encourages employees to realize their self-value and ideal, and actively develops social public welfare undertakings, sharing development results with industries, employees and communities.

“In Science We Trust” Leading the Second Venture of Sennics

In March 2018, Ning Gaoning, the president of Sinochem Group, put forward the core value concept of “In Science We Trust”. As a member of Sinochem Group, Sennics strives to achieve the coordinated development of anti-aging, anti-oxidation, vulcanization systems and other products so as to create the dual growth engine of rubber and plastic and to drive the leapfrog development of ten billion-level Sennics by innovation.

“New Targets” for Old Products

Facing the future, Sennics will continue upgrading and developing the existing three production bases in Caoxian County, Tai’an and Tongling, laying emphasis on rubber antioxidant products, further improving quality and scale, and expanding and continuously improving around rubber chemicals, advantageous resources and upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

Steady Progress towards “Intelligent Manufacturing 2020 of Sennics”

According to the plan of “Intelligent Manufacturing 2020 of Sennics”, through the deep integration of digitalization and intellectualization, based on digital factories and taking enterprise portal as the platform, the optimization of organizational structure and process remodeling will be promoted to eventually build the core competitiveness of “customer service oriented”. 

Second Venture & Setting out Again of Sennics

Lianyungang Base of Sennics takes the mission of “re-creating a Sennics” as a new starting point of “the unicorn”. Centering on the “green and recycling” industry chain, this project will realize the industrialization of its independently researched and developed green eco-friendly technology. In the first phase of the project, the investment was about RMB 5.2 Billion Yuan. By the middle of 2020 when it is established and put into production, it will achieve the production capacity of 400,000 tons of rubber additives such as promoter and insoluble sulfur annually, becoming a leading rubber additive production base with global scale, high quality and considerable benefit.

Adhering to the global brand positioning and the “best and green” innovative development view, Sennics will take “In Science We Trust” as the core value of the driving force, bear the mission of “leading the green development of polymer additives industry”, and pursue the vision of “becoming the optimal choice for the polymer additive users in the world” to create a more beautiful future.