In 2023, the Machinery Plant of the Mining Company successfully won the bidding to procure 1,600 tons of grinding balls for Shougang Hierro Peru S.A.A.. This is the second time that the plant has won the bidding for a large order in an overseas market after winning the bidding for a series of grinding section procurement test projects amounting to 10 million tons for Shougang Hierro Peru S.A.A.'s concentration plant in August 2022.

Different from previous bids, this grinding ball bid was directly quoted at a single ton price, resulting in fierce competition. The bidding team carefully studied the bid invitation documents, actively communicated with the customer to understand the urgent and key needs, and finally formulated the bidding documents in such aspects as delivery efficiency, material customization, scientific pricing and after-sales services.

First, prepare in advance and organize efficiently. The customer required the first batch of 400 tons of goods to be in stock, namely that the goods would be shipped immediately after the contract was signed. In order to meet this demand, the bidding team organized production and stocked goods in advance during the bidding process. Second, strengthen contacts and meet needs. The material composition required by the customer was slightly different from the existing materials. Therefore, the bidding team actively contacted the upstream suppliers to find spot inventory that met the material requirements, actively integrated resources, improved the arrival speed of raw materials and ensured that the products would meet the customer's time limit requirements. Third, plan carefully and set the price scientifically. The bidding team predicted the bidding quotations of its competitors and judged the market price changes of raw materials during the delivery cycle according to the delivery requirements to scientifically formulate the bidding price. Fourth, provide honest services and after-sales tracking services. In addition to the regular quality warranty of products stipulated in the document, the Machinery Plant pledged to provide high-quality on-site application guidance and after-sales tracking services. Finally, the bidding team formulated a 257-page bidding document and won the bidding with the first total score.

Along the way, from only producing forged steel balls and rolled steel balls to developing new products, the Grinding Ball Project Department of the Machinery Plant has continuously explored overseas markets.

As early as the beginning of 2021, the Machinery Plant of the Mining Company started market research, actively tracked the use of grinding sections for iron ore in Peru so as to understand the annual demand, and embarked on a journey of product R&D ahead of schedule. From "ball" to "section", the difference in words suggests great changes in technology and equipment. Under the condition that the drawings, experience and technology are blank, it is a great challenge for any machinery factory to realize the expansion of new production lines. In the face of difficulties, the innovation team analyzed the data to optimize the quenching process of small steel balls, learned the processing principle of rolling sections from roll manufacturers, mapped the field equipment dimensions and designed the drawings. Through intensive research, at the end of April 2022, the 40 × 30 mm new specification grinding section products were successfully produced, laying the foundation for serving Shougang Hierro Peru S.A.A.. In July 2022, in the bidding work of the grinding section procurement test projects amounting to 10 million tons for Shougang Hierro Peru S.A.A.'s concentration plant, the Machinery Plant carefully organized the bidding and thoroughly studied the bid invitation documents and bid evaluation criteria. Combined with its own reality, it accurately selected the bidding price and successfully won the bidding amidst fierce competition with five other bidders by virtue of its comprehensive advantages in technology and price. After winning the bidding, the Machinery Plant strictly controlled quality and increased productivity. In December 2022 and March 2023, the products were shipped to Peru in two batches amounting to 2,700 tons of grinding sections, successfully completing the production and delivery tasks. At the same time, technicians were arranged to go to Peru to provide on-site technical services and ensure that the testing of the grinding section products progressed smoothly, winning the customer’s recognition.

The Grinding Ball Project Department of the Machinery Plant actively adapted to the "ever-changing" market, actively underwent "thousands of refinements" through innovation and developed rolling products from scratch, thereby expanding the market and completing the automation and intelligent transformation of the production process; the automation degree of the grinding ball production line was raised from low to high in pursuit of perfection; and the grinding ball market was expanded from small to large with fruitful results, winning overseas orders twice and gaining overseas markets.

Continue to deepen industrial and product focus. At present, the Machinery Plant has the ability to produce various types of grinding balls (grinding sections) such as forged steel balls with diameters of 80–125 mm, rolled steel balls with diameters of 20–60 mm, rolled sections of 30 × 35 mm and 40 × 50 mm, etc., and has accumulated nearly 8,000 tons of overseas orders, making solid steps to deeply cultivate overseas markets for its grinding ball products.