Hold on to the last hurdle

When I came to REPT BATTERO, I found that the company was very big, with seven entrances and exits. Entering through door 2, production manager Zhao Feng is already waiting in the lobby on the first floor. "Today, we have to deliver 30,000 50 Ah lithium-ion batteries to customers. You are just in time. Go to the formation testing workshop to help."

On the way to the workshop, Zhao Feng explained to me that our company's energy storage lithium-ion batteries have become the first choice for energy storage markets in Asia, Africa, Europe, America, and Australia. "The 50 Ah energy storage lithium-ion battery is our order king. At the end of last year, the number of production lines increased from 3 to 6, with a monthly production capacity of 2.48 million." Zhao Feng said, "There are more orders this year. To ensure on-time delivery, every day The production must meet the planned volume.”

After listening to the introduction, I couldn't help but quicken my pace and soon arrived at the testing workshop.

The production of a lithium-ion battery requires 15 processes including loading, coating, slitting, top cover welding, liquid injection, formation, and coating. As one of the companies shortlisted for the first batch of future factories in Zhejiang Province in 2022, REPT BATTERO's production workshop has basically achieved automation. The inspection workshop has the largest number of workers. "This is the last process before the product is handed over to the customer. The quality of the product must be checked by sight and touch to ensure zero defects."

The lithium-ion batteries in front of you are wearing blue coats, with positive and negative poles on the top cover, product traceability QR codes, and explosion-proof valves. The overall size is small. "It looks very delicate. How do I test it?" Seeing my doubts, Shi Yang, a visual inspection operator born in 2000, leaned down, picked up a battery from the robot assembly line, and taught me the essentials: "Look at the poles first, second Check whether the QR code is corroded by the electrolyte, secondly, whether the explosion-proof valve is corroded or damaged, and thirdly, whether there are foreign objects, bubbles or wrinkles on the blue film on the surface of the battery." Shi Yang pointed to the foam piled up to a height of 1 meter and said: " If there is no problem, place the battery gently in the foam. Also pay attention to the positive and negative electrodes to be unified and orderly. After placing a layer of foam, you can arrange shipment. "

After studying, I put on my work clothes and gloves and went to work with confidence. Following Shi Yang's actions just now, I carefully picked up a battery and squinted my eyes to look for flaws. But looking left and right, I found no corrosion, damage or bubbles in the electrolyte. I took a battery that I thought was qualified to Shi Yang for inspection. She looked at it and said slightly seriously: "There is a little electrolyte left on the QR code. If this battery is sent out, customers should complain."

I stared at the battery for a while, and finally found a tiny trace of electrolyte corrosion on the QR code. I gained wisdom every time I learned something, so I cheered up and continued working, but the speed could never keep up with Shi Yang. After an hour, my eyes and hands were sore, but the "record" was only 80 batteries. Turning around to look at Shi Yang, she had already tested 200 of them.

"To do a good job in testing, you need to practice your reaction and concentration." Shi Yang told me, "Although it is tiring, product quality is the lifeline of the company, and we cannot make any mistakes."

All employees compete in innovation

After finishing work in the morning, my "colleagues" took me to the staff canteen for dinner. During the dinner, I asked Zhao Feng: "Why are there so many orders from REPT BATTERO?"

"The secret to seizing the market is in the R&D building. Let's go and take a look." After the meal, Zhao Feng took me into the R&D building without taking a rest.

Arriving on the third floor, Xie Mei, an engineer from the Process Development Department, was holding a regular work meeting with team members. "The first batch of cars equipped with 'Wending' batteries have successfully passed the winter standard test in Heilongjiang." Xie Mei said, "Everyone has made suggestions on how to improve automated welding equipment before the mass production of 'Wending' batteries. Bar."

Seeing my curiosity as a "new employee", Xie Mei explained that the winter standard test is to test the stability of the battery in an extremely low temperature environment. "Wending" battery is a blockbuster product officially released by REPT BATTERO in August 2022. The cell technology of this power battery can enable the new generation of lithium iron phosphate batteries to have a cruising range of more than 700 kilometers. Just because the energy density is different from other power batteries, welding equipment needs to be redesigned.

It turns out that during the trial production phase of the "Wending" battery, REPT BATTERO used a manual production line to complete the battery core welding process, and it took 10 minutes to weld each battery. "Our direction this year is very clear. We will use automated equipment to increase the welding speed of 'Wending' batteries. The average welding time of each battery will be controlled within 30 seconds, so as to gain the opportunity for new products to seize the high-end market."

After walking around the R&D building, I found that Xie Mei’s team was not the only one busy working on the Wending battery. Coming to the laboratory on the second floor, Yu Feng, senior manager of cell structure development, was conducting high-temperature tests on the "Wending" battery. Wearing work clothes and thick gloves, he was seen putting dozens of battery top covers into a 400-degree Celsius high-temperature box. "Before a new product is put into mass production, at least 1,000 hours of experiments must be conducted to confirm whether the safety and reliability of the battery can meet customer needs, and there is no room for error." Yu Feng said.

"It's not just engineers and R&D personnel who strive for innovation in our company." Taking the elevator downstairs, Zhao Feng said that since the founding of REPT BATTERO, a "big arena" for technological innovation has been set up within the company every year, and employees have voluntarily declared innovation Project, the winning team can receive an innovation award of up to 1 million yuan.

The innovative projects with large financial rewards have activated the enterprise's "pool of spring water". Today, REPT BATTERO has obtained 848 patent authorizations. Not long ago, the "Wending" battery was officially announced for mass production at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition. This battery that has overcome many technical problems has attracted widespread attention. In addition, the company has many high-tech products under development.

Intimate service ensures production

If technological innovation is the "hard support" for enterprise development, then the business environment is the "soft power". In order to ensure the smooth production of enterprises, local government departments are working hard.

When I was experiencing REPT BATTERO, I met members of the special team of Ruipu Office in Wenzhou Bay New District. They came to follow up on the construction progress of the third phase of REPT BATTERO project. "After coordination with many parties, the planning permit and construction permit and other pre-construction approvals have been successfully applied for. If there are any problems that need to be solved in the subsequent construction, we will hold a brief exchange meeting today for everyone to talk about it."

Zhang Zhiming, the executive director and assistant to the president of REPT BATTERO, was deeply moved by the dedicated team members. "I just hope that the new factory will be constructed as soon as possible and put into production as soon as possible." Zhang Zhiming said that with the professional guidance of the dedicated team members, he believed that the construction of the new project would go smoothly. After the third phase of the project is completed and put into operation, the company's production capacity will be nearly doubled.

With the development of the enterprise, the number of employees in REPT BATTERO has increased year by year, and people staying has become a new focus. At the exchange meeting, members of the special class organized by Ruipu also brought good news: In order to allow the children of migrant workers in enterprises to have books and read well, Wenzhou City is comprehensively relaxing the admission requirements for the children of migrant workers in enterprises. Children of corporate employees who need to enroll in school or transfer to Wenzhou Bay New Area can make overall arrangements for enrollment in the area where they live based on the principle of relative proximity. The process is optimized and the registration method is simplified.

"This is a good measure to retain employees. With this policy, employees can work with peace of mind." Zhang Zhiming applauded.

These measures have further strengthened REPT BATTERO’s confidence in development. "In 2023, we will move towards the goal of an output value of 18 billion yuan." Zhang Zhiming is full of confidence.