Kong Jianwei:Moulding a Craftsman’s Spirit with a Welding Spark

A recent welding workers’ recruitment conference organized by Dongfang Boiler Co. Ltd. of Dongfang Electric Corporation recorded an impressive turnout, drawing welders from all across the country. Apart from showcasing their skills on metals, the participants had another motive — to meet the main examiner and welding master Kong Jianwei.

Kong Jianwei has more than 30 years of welding experience under his belt. He is among the top rated innovators in Sichuan Province, winning the national award for outstanding contribution to the cultivation of skilled talents for many years in a row. 

According to Kong Jianwei, his 35 years of experience in the welding industry have taught him that focus is key, just like in any other job. “A person must have focus in life, he must be aware of what he wants to do.”

“If you didn’t go to college after high school, finding employment could be tricky. I had a simple idea that I could learn a skill and get a job. That’s how I was first introduced to welding.”

One must choose to learn a skill well and then persevere, he says. Over the years, working overtime has become the norm for Kong Jianwei.

Whenever we look for him, we find him buried deep in work in his office, collecting information, preparing a training plan and so on.

In the welding workshop, he himself checks and examines every welding link and plans ahead to avoid problems in any operation. He is always busy improving his skills through study or practice.

After years of hard work, Kong Jianwei has mastered welding technology for special materials in any structural form or position. He even researched the welding process for the first set of low-temperature chemical vessel, 300MW subcritical boiler, 121-C chemical vessel and 1000MW nuclear power equipment.

He has developed processes and operation technologies for welding of low temperature steel 066MnVAl, BHW35 thick plate, dissimilar steel welding, etc.

He also organized and carried out the project to open a skylight for the new gasifier

Kong Jianwei used data to constantly plug the gap in company's welding technology against market demands, coming up with one technological innovation after another.

The appreciation he has received from all quarters for his talent has not made him complacent, instead it is his inspiration to present the world with even more efficient techonology. 

Kong Jianwei has trained thousands of workers who form the technical backbone of the company and also some brother units. There are many technicians and senior technicians among his students. He teaches them the principles he abides by — to value morality and dedication. Along with his students, Kong Jianwei represents a new generation of workers.