Worker helps turbine industry gather steam

One afternoon last month, Wu Guolin put on his blue safety helmet and walked into the factory workshop at Hangzhou Steam Turbine, where he and three other technicians oversaw the assembly line — part of a daily routine he has been doing for 40 years.

Born in 1959, the plain-looking, thickset 58-year-old is a man of few words, but he is a master fitter for China’s top steam turbine manufacturer in Hangzhou, capital of the eastern province of Zhejiang.

A steam turbine is a main driving engine, which transfers thermal and cold energy into kinetic energy, for refined oil plants, thermal power plants and garbage-powered stations, among others.

“The quality of a country’s steam turbines reflects how developed its manufacturing sector is,” said Zheng Bin, president of the company.

In the past, factories in China were incapable of assembling high-end precision machines.

“Domestic customers preferred to import machinery from international manufacturing giants,” Zheng said. Wu helped to change this. He is able to accurately assemble turbines with even the most complex structures, and efficiently root out faulty turbines by recognizing vibrations or sounds that indicate issues. “My skills are the result of 40 years of experience and patience,” Wu said.

He once spent three days studying a faulty turbine before eventually discovering what the problem was.

“I am most patient when I face my biggest challenges,” he said.

In recent years, many factories have installed robotic arms and machinery to replace production line workers and increase efficiency, but this has not affected Wu.

“The automatic assembly of industrial steam turbine rotors still faces challenges. One turbine set has more than 10,000 components, many of which can only be assembled manually by skilled technicians,” Wu said.

“More skilled workers are required in China to meet manufacturing demand.”

Wu has set up a workshop at thecompany, bringing together a dozen of the most experienced workers. They completed a manual that details all the problems they have encountered in their careers to help other workers develop their skills.

The workshop also provides consultancy services.

The workers refer to the workshop as a “hospital”, where they can go to consult “Doctor Wu” when they seek to cure “sick” machines.

“He is always able to provide solutions to any problem,” said Wu Jianhua, a worker at the factory.

Last year, Hangzhou Steam Turbine outshone its competitors, claiming 80 percent of the domestic high-end steam turbine market.

Wu Guolin is proud of the achievements he and the company have made, but he remains modest: “We are now capable of competing with the giants of the international market, but despite my many years of experience, I still have room for improvement. I also hope all my apprentices and fellow workers become masters of their trade.”

Working in a factory is all Wu has known and he hopes the family tradition will be passed down.

“My parents worked in this factory and my son is in this industry, too. Three generations of my family have been dedicated to the manufacture of steam turbines,” he said.

“I hope our knowledge, skills and spirit will be inherited by the younger generations.”

Wu Guolin in the workshop at Hangzhou Steam Turbine.