Workers assemble new-energy heating pumps at a manufacturing company in Taiyuan. [Photo by Sun Rongxiang for China Daily]

Innovation highlighted

Wang Zhiwei, head of the BNGPE branch company, said innovation is a principal concept of the plenary session.

"The communique of the plenary session said China will continue to seek high-quality development,"Wang said. "In my understanding, innovation is crucial for such a growth pattern."

The executive noted that innovation is also a powerful engine to drive the growth of an enterprise.

The BNGPE Shanxi branch is in charge of the construction, operation and maintenance of the Shanxi section of a pipeline system linking the natural gas producers in Northwest China's Shaanxi province and natural gas consumers in North China's Shanxi and Hebei provinces as well as the national capital of Beijing.

The total length of the pipelines in Shanxi is 1,027 kilometers, starting from the border of Shaanxi and Shanxi in the west and ending at Shanxi's border with Hebei in the east. It supplies 98 percent of the total natural gas demand in Beijing and 35 percent of the demand in Shanxi.

Wang said the BNGPE Shanxi branch has applied more than 90 innovative technologies to its construction and operation of the project, including one invention patent and 26 patents for utility models.

"One of the patents is related to the autonomous maintenance of natural gas compressors, which has generated a benefit of nearly 40 million yuan ($6.18 million)," he said.

In addition to economic benefits, the system has helped to improve efficiency and safety for maintenance mechanics, Wang said.

Also regarding innovation as a cornerstone of a company's success is Huayue Machinery, based in Yangquan city in the east of Shanxi province.

Huayue Machinery has grown from a small firm for the maintenance of coal-mining machines in the early 1950s to one of China's top 50 coal-mining machinery companies. Its sales revenue of 3.1 billion yuan in 2019 ranked it ninth on the list.

The company now has a team of young but experienced technology professionals. Shi Yanbo is a core member of the team.

Shi, in his 30s, is the head of a group of engineers and technicians who have designed and developed a number of systems to improve production efficiency.

One of their innovative achievements is a comprehensive testing and maintenance platform for the electrohydraulic system, which Shi said can lead to a 200 percent increase in testing efficiency and a 35 percent increase in accuracy.

As the electrohydraulic system is a key element of coal mining, its testing and maintenance is a frequent task of coal-mining companies.

"The platform uses automatic testing to replace traditional manual methods. We can complete the testing and maintenance mission for 300 sets of electrohydraulic equipment in just one month," Shi said.

Shi has worked with the research team for electrohydraulic equipment maintenance since graduating from a local university in 2012.

He said one of his reasons for staying with the team is the company's incentive policies that encourage innovation.

In 2019, the company awarded 303,000 yuan in total to employees who made outstanding contributions to research and development.

"Shi has been a frequent award winner over the years," said Ma Haili, a senior executive of Huayue Machinery.

Shi said he is even more encouraged by the central authorities' determination to prioritize innovation in the nation's development, as evidenced by the Fifth Plenary Session.

"I am optimistic about my career development as an R&D professional," Shi said."The central authorities are requiring enterprises to expand innovation, and the enterprises are doing it by creating a friendly environment for innovators," Shi said.