Did you know that the most critical structural frameworks of the aircraft we ride and the cars we drive may be forged by a "10,000‑Ton Giant Hammer"?

Just how powerful is this giant hammer?

Recently, a five‑story‑high machine has passed performance tests at an aerospace enterprise. It is the world’s first and largest 10,000‑ton servo direct‑drive CNC electric screw press, with a maximum blow force of 20,000 tons and 100% domestically‑manufactured core components.

“Imagine more than 200 heavy‑duty trucks crashing down simultaneously from a height of 10 meters onto an area of one square meter,” said Feng Yi, General Manager of Newwish.

The world’s first and largest 10,000‑ton servo direct‑drive electric screw press has completed all performance tests at an aerospace enterprise.

This machine manufactures structural components for aircraft and aero engines where no errors can be tolerated.

The company that developed it is Newwish. Its new plant is soon to be put into operation in Optics Valley, neighboring the Xiaomi Smart Home Factory.

The founder of the enterprise is Huang Shuhuai, former president of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (formerly Huazhong Institute of Technology).

In 1993, Huang Shuhuai stepped down as university president. This great "tree" chose to keep sowing seeds, making early layouts in three technical routes: material forming, material removal and additive manufacturing.

In the same year, Huang Shuhuai founded Newwish. He also led the R&D of the Huazhong-I CNC system, laying the foundation for the establishment of Huazhong CNC. He was one of China’s earliest scientists engaged in the independent R&D of 3D printing technology and founded Binhu Machinery & Electronics in 1996.

Those seeds have now grown into thriving forests. According to incomplete statistics, the scientific research achievements under his leadership have generated an output value of over 600 million yuan.

He was a native of Hunan, straightforward‑spoken and never bore grudges. Even when his students argued fiercely with him, he would quickly let it go. Xia Juchen, who witnessed his Party membership admission, once told him frankly that “his working methods were sometimes too simplistic”. “Whether for young teachers or students, you should not always treat them like scolding children.” Huang Shuhuai replied: “I just regard them as my own children…”

Feng Yi was Huang Shuhuai’s last‑generation student. Majoring in automation for his undergraduate studies, he got to know people from the School of Materials Science and Engineering through playing football. Huang Shuhuai attached great importance to interdisciplinary integration and encouraged students to become compound‑talented professionals, which greatly inspired Feng Yi. He therefore chose the School of Materials Science and Engineering for his postgraduate recommendation.

In 2015, Newwish hit rock bottom. Not a single order was received within a month, and Feng Yi took up the post amid the crisis.

“I was often assigned to take over difficult and nearly stalled projects back at university,” he recalled. “Professor Huang was from Hunan and carried great presence. He was straightforward‑spoken, never bore grudges, and focused only on facts. Everyone held rigorous attitudes, with the sole goal of getting things done.”

In 2007, Huang Shuhuai fell seriously ill. Even lying in hospital bed, he kept thinking about the commercialization of scientific research achievements and was concerned about Feng Yi’s graduation thesis.

Earlier, shortly after getting married, Feng Yi wanted to buy an apartment in Wuhan and borrowed 50,000 yuan from his teacher. Huang Shuhuai agreed readily: “No problem, but you need to sign a five‑year contract with Newwish.”

The contract expired long ago, yet Feng Yi is still at Newwish. “We Hunan people have that tenacious spirit. Once we set our sights on a goal, we will stick to it to the end,” he remarked.

In 2016, he secluded himself for more than half a year to reflect on the company’s development direction and strategy, devoting full efforts to the R&D of servo direct‑drive technology. Since then, Newwish has reached new heights year after year: 160‑ton, 1000‑ton, 4000‑ton, 6300‑ton … all the way up to today’s 10,000‑ton unit.

Now at the age of 85, Xia Juchen remains active on the industrial frontline. As Chief Consultant of Newwish, he has just returned from the installation site of the 8000‑ton servo direct‑drive electric screw press at Hubei Sanhuan Forging. He is already exploring new processes to forge aluminum‑alloy components with better performance.

More than 60 years ago, Huang Shuhuai began delving deep into the forging‑and‑pressing industry. Thirty‑three years ago, he founded Newwish. From the campus of Huazhong University of Science and Technology to Gedian, and then to Optics Valley Intelligent Manufacturing Park, the seeds kept marching forward and took firm root in broader spaces.

A well‑known remark is still passed around at Huazhong University of Science and Technology: “Zhu Jiusen left behind a forest of trees; Huang Shuhuai left behind clusters of buildings.”

In truth, Huang Shuhuai himself was also a great tree. The seeds he sowed have now grown into a thick forest.