What is the Quality Standard of Steel Products after J3 Intensively Outbreak?

200 series stainless steel (also called chromium manganese), was created to solve scarce supply of the nickel resources during the second world. After the end of world war ii, the United States nickel supply conditions gradually improved, so the 200 series haven't get bigger development. Several Indian people had involved in the development of 200 series stainless steel, and brought 200 series stainless steel which was developed in the United States back to India, which causes a historical phenomenon that 200 series stainless steel was developed in the United States but actually put into use in India. In Europe and the United States and other developed countries, the production and consumption of the proportion of 200 series is only about 2 %, most of which are for the production of flagpole, automobile wheel hub, etc. At home, only in the last half year, the production and consumption of proportion of 200 series reached 33 % (data from the [I want stainless steel] industry research center ), from which we can see the importance of 200 series stainless steel in domestic stainless steel market. However, the circulate on the domestic market of 201 is too far from the international standard. For example, in American standard, 201 nickel content shall not be less than 3. 5, and usually about 4; But the circulation of 201 in domestic market is generally between 1.1 to 1.5, and the nickel content of the products of small factories even not meet this standard. At the same time, domestic steel mills more or less make some adjustments to the other elements of 201, so the processing performance and corrosion resistance is reducing in different degrees. Especially since the second half of last year, with the intensification of competition between the steel mills, and to achieve purposes of reducing costs and suppressing intermediate frequency furnace market, some steel mills are poured into the tide of J3 production and promotion. Today, J3 has reached to the big board area, and form a trend of substituting J1. It can be declared that 201 fully embraces the “high carbon,low chromium, low copper" J3 era. The time of stainless steel manufacturers in Foshan region applying the J3 material of large steel mills is in recent two or three months. At present, according to the feedback information by the downstream pipe factories and processing factories, whatever the origin of J3, rust and peeling is much more serious than J1. So, the intensively outbreak of product quality is expected in the near future. Some stainless steel processing manufacturers told to [51 stainless steel] that since they began to use J3, unprepared problems came in the subsequent processing link not only the surface sand holes but also the dinginess of the surface. And at the same time, some decorative materials manufacturers also find that soon after the films are tore by some users to get the plating color J3 materials to decorate, the materials begins to rust, so that the problem of customer complaint is very serious... Over the years, the downstream manufacturers production line are used to produce processing J1, so in order to tie in with the processing and production of J3 , almost all of the devices need to debug and running-in. Should the steel mill pay this account? Seemingly the price of raw materials is reducing, but actually the unexpected problems take much more cost of manpower and material resources and time. What is the point of this “innovation” that sacrificing the product quality and industry standard? I really can't think of it. Once there were some domestic factories attended exhibition abroad , trying sell 201 product to foreign merchants and they were rejected on the spot because the merchants said: NO, this is China's 201 tube，not international standard 201. We can’t use it! Not long ago in a food fair held in South Korea,there is a similar phenomenon: few people came to China pavilion, but in South Korea, Taiwan and other regions of the exhibition hall were packed with people-China emerges a lot of bad events such as gutter oil, substandard milk powder, Sudan red all of which are prohibitive. Resulting from this, shall we be aware of the seriousness of the problem only if we waited until all consumers heard of 201 and went away immediately? Sitting in front of the desk, the author is an ordinary consumers. I am not surprised of the birth of J3. But what surprises me is that J3 was spread to the market so quickly and instantly that there are no longer J1 materials available in the industry. More to my surprise, in China such a big country, there are many big steel mills, without exception, all defected to the J3, afraid to suffer if slowly! What a sad thing! I used to ask a lot of industry guidance why this kind of phenomenon happens so fiercely?

The answer is almost the same--no standard, disorderly competition and doing whatever they want! Basically, tube and plate factories can only use what steel mills produce. May any board factory or pipe factory dare say with steel mills: I just want J1, not J3? Don’t be silly, the steel mills will only produce J3! It’s most terrible and sad that there is no standard from the top to the down process.

As a raw material manufacturers, steel mills have larger social responsibility than the pipe factory and plate factory rather than go with the flow and degrade themselves! Moreover, until today in development of stainless steel, the proportion of production and consumption of 200 series is as high as thirty percent. It’s necessary to make a national standard of 200 series as soon as possible. Don't really wait until J100 develops and cry that Chinese people don't like stainless steel. And from the point of long-term development , industry standards are emergent to be formed. Existing 201 steel should be comprehensive upgraded. The state-owned large steel mills and private steel giant have the responsibility and obligation to form an unified agreement to urge the stainless steel standard of 200 series form early and realize sustainable development. On July 27, four big state-owned steel mills met each other and released an information of " remaking the 200 series standard ". Whether it may has an epoch-making significance? Let’s wait and see......