Lu Renfeng teaches welding techniques to colleagues. [Photo/Baotou news network]

Lu Renfeng, a veteran welder who enjoys a reputation as the "one-handed welder" at Inner Mongolia First Machinery Group Co – located in Baotou, a city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – recently won a national honor.

Lu received an honor at the 2021 Great Country Craftsman event organized by China Media Group.

In 1986, Lu suffered a work-related injury and his left hand was disabled. After returning to his post, he set himself the task of doing 100 electrodes a day.

To overcome the technical problems brought about by the accident, he made a sort of iron ring to go on his left wrist for fixed support. To get up to speed on the shop floor, while eating during breaks, he treated his chopsticks as welding rods and the table as a practice test board – repeatedly picking up food on the table with the chopsticks to restore his technical ability.

He mastered many operational skills and has also researched and had a number of achievements, one of which earned him a national patent.

In 2015, Lu undertook scientific research and looked into the production of equipment. After more than 100 repeated tests, he made a 360-degree rotatable fixture, which overcame the problem of welding deformation effecting parts of the equipment.

This innovation is understood to have saved profiles and costs, and provided accurate data and manufacturing experience for mass production.

It won him recognition from China North Industries Group Corporation – an enterprise directly managed by the central government.

Over the past 40 years, Lu has taken the lead in solving 152 technical problems and put forward more than 200 suggestions for improving work processes. He has trained 24 senior technicians and 14 technicians, who have gone on to win 37 national welder competitions.

In recent years, Baotou has been exploring using the advantages of skilled human resources in old industrial bases. His latest recognition is seen as helping to promote Baotou as a "city of craftsmen".