Salt-alkali integration

　　In 2003, driven by the growing demand for high-purity vacuum salt and in accordance with the guiding principle set forth by Chairman Li Peng during his inspection of Sote Group—“Develop the salt chemical industry to support the Three Gorges migrants”—Sote Salt Chemical Co., Ltd. built a new vacuum salt production facility with an annual capacity of 1 million tons. As the largest single-unit facility of its kind in China, the project had a total investment of 194.15 million yuan and was completed and put into operation in December 2006. The facility employs an externally heated, forced-circulation, five-effect salt-making process, featuring energy-efficient five-effect evaporation tanks, heating chambers, circulation pumps, and fully automated small-bag and ton-bag packaging equipment. The company has established three major brands—“Sote” as the foundational brand, “Yan Xiao Chu” as the trendy brand, and “Yan Yin Ji” as the premium brand—to meet the public’s demand for healthy and safe salt products.

　　In 2006, Hubei Yihua Group reorganized its company and launched the “2060 Project.” The project was completed and put into operation in 2008, with a total investment of 466.16 million yuan. Thanks to the high quality of the salt used, the company produces soda ash products of the highest quality nationwide, with extremely low levels of heavy metal ions such as calcium, magnesium, sulfate, and iron ions. These products meet the most stringent quality requirements of downstream lithium-battery manufacturers and have become specialty alkali specifically designed for lithium-ion batteries.