Workers install pipes for the National Speed Skating Oval. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

China claimed its first gold at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games – in the 2,000m mixed team relay for short-track speed skating on Feb 5 – and the National Speed Skating Oval where the event took place witnessed the moment of glory.

As the only supplier of stainless steel pipes for the complex's skating rink ice-making equipment, Zhejiang Chuangyue Metal Material Co – located in Jingning She autonomous county, administered by Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province – provided more than 100 tons of ultra-long seamless stainless-steel pipes with a total length of more than 120 kilometers.

"The longer the stainless-steel pipe is and the fewer joints it has, the more stable and safer the skating rink's ice-making will be," said Chen Weiguang, head of the company. He said that the stainless-steel pipes used in the National Speed Skating Oval are 51 to 80 meters long each. 

According to Chen, winning the Olympic Winter Games order was due to the company's unshakeable focus on research and development. Each year 5 percent of its total sales revenue goes into R&D.

With the national-level order, the company ushered in a new stage of its development. The order volume increased greatly and the sales orders are now backed up until about May, Chen added.     

It is understood that as the only newly built competition venue for the Games in downtown Beijing, the National Speed Skating Oval has adopted a cooling system using carbon dioxide as a clean refrigerant, instead of the harmful freon, to make safe ice for the skating rinks.