China Phosphate Industries Corporation

Phosphorus is not only an indispensable element in animal and plant life, but also has many important uses in industry. The phosphate industry is a basic chemical producer of various organic and inorganic compounds for use in the manufacture of such products as fertilizer, feed, pharmaceuticals, metals, paper, ceramics, refrigeration equipment, glass, cement and petroleum products. During the recent rapid economic development in Taiwan, demand for phosphorus compounds has been increasing. In order to reduce the need for imports, the state-owned China Phosphate Industries Corp. was established in Kaohsiung in 1971 to produce various kinds of phosphorus materials. The original plant covered an area of 15 hectares and involved an investment of US$44 million. Under an expansion program, the corporation completed four major extensions last year, producing 120,000 tons of sulfuric acid, 30,000 tons of phosphoric acid, 25,000 tons of dicalcium phosphate and 20,000 tons of sodium tripolyphosphate respectively. Dicalcium phosphate is used as a nutrient for addition to feed for hogs and cattle, and has therefore become more important as demand for meat has increased in Taiwan alongside the improvement in living standards. Since most housewives have long ago switched from soap, demand has also been increasing for sodium tripolyphosphate, a main constituent in detergent making. The corporation has also opened a plant with annual production of 120,000 tons of gypsum for use by the cement industry. While building the plant and its extensions over the past few years, local engineers and designers have been given many opportunities to show their ingenuity. For instance, when some equipment shipped from France for the factory arrived in Kaoshiung, it was found to be short of spare parts, and the French engineers who were supposed to have assembled it had gone on leave for three months. Rather than wait, local engineers commissioned factories in Taiwan to make the needed parts, and did the assembly themselves. Not only did the equipment function perfectly, but it was also ready ahead of schedule.