JINAN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Inside the Jinan Satellite Assembly, Integration and Testing Base in east China's Shandong Province, cutting-edge facilities such as 20-tonne vibration test stands and anechoic chambers now occupy the former grounds of major steel producer Jigang Group following its transformation into a manufacturer for the aerospace industry.

"At the beginning of this year, the first satellite rolled off the production line at the satellite assembly base," said Xu Qiang, general manager of Jigang Group. At present, it has received orders for 12 satellites, and plans to produce at least 20 more satellites in 2026.

The group's satellite production line has an annual output capacity of 100 satellites, each weighing up to 500 kilograms. The facility is capable of providing full-process manufacturing and testing services for communication and remote sensing satellites.

Satellite manufacturing was not Jigang's original business. Founded in 1958, the group once produced over 12 million tonnes of steel annually at its peak, ranking among the top 10 steelmakers in China. It was once the country's largest production base for medium and heavy plates.

However, with overcapacity of the steel industry and the country advancing supply-side structural reform, Jigang Group shut down its main steel operations and embarked on a path of transformation.

In 2019, Shandong Province and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) signed a cooperation agreement on major projects for the conversion of old and new growth drivers. Seizing this opportunity, Jigang Group forged a partnership with the Aerospace Information Research Institute under the CAS, making aerospace its primary business focus.

"The aerospace industry is a typical representative of the country's efforts to develop new quality productive forces, with broad market prospects," Xu said.

For Jigang, the transformation is not merely a matter of replacing one industry with another. Rather, it is about redirecting its original production capacity toward new quality productive forces, and transforming the industrial heritage from its steelmaking era into manufacturing capabilities for the aerospace age.

The group has creatively transformed its existing industrial resources. Among its 5,700 mu (approximately 380 hectares) of industrial construction land and 810,000 square meters of factory space, part has been converted into satellite assembly workshops and rocket testing facilities.

Meanwhile, many of its more than 3,000 skilled workers have been retrained and transitioned into jobs in the aerospace sector.

"Electric welders from the former steel plant have passed assessments and mastered space-grade welding techniques, while maintenance mechanics have been retrained as satellite assembly technicians," said Xu. The skilled workers are exactly what the aerospace components manufacturing sector needs.

In the field of rockets, Jigang Group has built a 168-mu test base for liquid rocket engines and rocket propulsion systems. The base currently operates 20-tonne and 100-tonne dual-position engine test stands, as well as a 600-tonne liquid rocket propulsion system test stand, providing testing services for companies such as Deep Blue Aerospace and CAS Space.

Shandong Province has been deepening the conversion of old and new growth drivers. Over the past five years, the number of high-tech enterprises has exceeded 35,000 in the province, and the output value of high-tech industries accounts for 53 percent of the province's total.  ■