Innovative breakthroughs in overseas layout, strong rise of Qingdao rubber tire industry cluster
Recently, the Senturin Spain project has ushered in new progress again. Senturin tires signed an agreement with two Spanish energy giants to jointly build a future green hydrogen plant in Spain to provide hydrogen for the Senturin Spain project.
Under the background of "double carbon", this Qingdao tire company entering Europe is at the forefront of the green development trend of the industry. In recent years, under the "restraint" of rising rubber raw material prices and soaring sea freight rates, domestic tire companies have gone through a rather difficult trough period. The industry has accelerated integration and reorganization, and the Matthew effect of "the strong man is always strong" continues. Reshape the industry development pattern.
The performance of Qingdao tire companies is particularly impressive. At present, 3 of the 9 listed tire companies in the A-share market are Qingdao companies. The total market value of the three listed companies, Double Star, Sentirin and Sailun, exceeds 60 billion yuan, accounting for "half of the total market value" of the national tire listed companies.
In recent years, Qingdao tire enterprises have made continuous innovations and breakthroughs in overseas layout, new material research and development, brand building and other aspects, leading the development of the domestic tire industry. From rubber machinery, tires to rubber products and other sub-fields, the Qingdao rubber tire industry has precipitated a complete industrial chain ecology, and is rising strongly as a cluster.
Launched new material "representative works" one after another
New material research and development technology and capability is one of the core competitiveness of a tire company. New catalysts and mixing technologies continue to improve the performance of tires. In the context of "big but not strong" tires in China, the research and development and use of new materials by tire companies is the main way to improve the quality of tires in China.
In terms of new material research and development, Qingdao tire companies have frequently launched industry "representative works" in recent years. At present, two kinds of synthetic rubbers, styrene-butadiene rubber and cis-butadiene rubber, are mainly used in tire tread materials. Tire companies may develop new catalyst technology and mixing technology around these two synthetic rubbers, or find new technologies and new materials to complete the replacement.
Shuangxing Group recently launched a new "rare earth gold" rubber composite material, using special rare earth neodymium-based butadiene rubber + natural rubber + high-performance carbon black and other formulas to produce new tire materials with a special mixing process. On this basis, Shuangxing Group has launched "rare earth gold" tires, which can reduce the rolling resistance of tires to 4.5-3.8, and have significant fuel-saving and wear-resistant performance.
The new material "Liquid Gold" launched by Sailun Group is also a revolutionary innovation in the field of filler and mixing technology. "Liquid gold" new material mixes rubber, filler and compounding agent uniformly under the condition of continuous liquid phase. Compared with traditional dry mixing technology (physical mixing technology), "chemical mixing" technology can make filler in It is uniformly dispersed on the nanoscale to improve various performance indicators of the tire.
"At least half of the R&D energy of the formulation development team in our technology center is on new materials, and tire companies' research on new materials is the top priority." said Qin Jingbo, director and deputy general manager of Qingdao Senkylin Tire Co., Ltd., Recently, Qingdao Energy Institute has created a new iron-based branched butadiene rubber material, which has been verified by pilot demonstration tests to completely replace imported solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber. In the next 3-5 years, Sentury will work with Qingdao Energy Institute to develop new materials based on this new The four-season tires and winter tires of the material will accelerate the industrialization of new materials. The two parties also plan to jointly build the "Senkylin-Zhongke Tire New Material Industry Technology Innovation Center".
In the past two years, the explosive growth of new energy vehicles has also promoted the technological innovation of tire companies. The change in driving mode has put forward new requirements for performance indicators such as tire noise, grip, and rolling resistance. , body weight and other characteristics, the research and development of new materials and new formulas has been carried out.
"New energy vehicle tires are a new technological breakthrough, not a simple upgrade of traditional tire technology." Qin Jingbo said, Sentury has carried out technological innovation from five aspects of outline, pattern, formula, structure and material. At present, new energy vehicle tires Mass production has been achieved, successfully supporting GAC New Energy Aian series models and new energy car companies such as Hechuang and Qingcheng. It has jointly developed a flying car project with Xiaopeng Huitian. Recently, it has also obtained the supporting project of German Volkswagen new energy automobile tires. The research and development work of supporting various new energy models of international first-tier car companies is also in progress.
In the field of aviation tires, Senturin has become one of the few aviation tire manufacturers in the world after more than ten years of continuous R&D investment. In April of this year, Sentury signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Qingdao University of Science and Technology to jointly tackle the most difficult to break through in the field of aviation tire materials.
Doublestar Group’s pace in research and development is also accelerating. After launching the “full explosion-proof” safety tire for the passenger car tire market, it is currently developing innovative mining tires, and will also leverage Kumho Tire’s leadership in the global non-pneumatic tire field. advantage to commercialize non-pneumatic tires as soon as possible.
From Southeast Asia to Western Europe
The tire industry is globalized in sales and procurement, which requires a matching global production and R&D layout to avoid trade barriers and integrate production factors. Chinese tire companies that have gone abroad have "experienced" the changes in the international market earlier, and have more experience in the process of market, management, and product internationalization. Qingdao tire companies were the first to go abroad to "take root" in the land of Southeast Asia, and also the first to build factories in Western Europe, looking for new incremental development space.
In 2012, Sailun Group took the lead in going abroad and established the first domestic overseas tire production base in Vietnam. In 2018, Doublestar Group held a 45% stake in South Korea's Kumho Tire for about 3.9 billion yuan and officially became its controlling shareholder. In 2021, the "rising star" Sentirin announced that it plans to raise 523 million euros of self-raised funds in Spain to invest in a project with an annual output of 12 million high-performance car and light truck radial tires, becoming the first tire company in China to enter Western Europe.
From Southeast Asia to Western Europe, the rapid expansion of Qingdao tire companies is just the proof that Qingdao tire industry leads the development of the industry.
Double Star Group "falls" in Vietnam. In 2021, Qingdao Double Star completed a capital increase of US$92.3 million to Kumho Vietnam through its wholly-owned subsidiary Hong Kong Double Star International Industry Co., Ltd., which will be used for the construction of Kumho Vietnam's annual production of 3 million car tires and 800,000 truck tires.
Sailun continues to "deeply cultivate" the Southeast Asian market, and has established modern tire production bases in Vietnam, Cambodia and other places. In the first half of this year, Sailun actively expanded production, continued to build the third-phase project in Vietnam and the semi-steel project in Cambodia with an annual output of 9 million pieces, and also invested in the construction of Cambodia's "annual production of 1.65 million pieces of all-steel radial tire project".
Senturylin's expansion "ambition" is fully demonstrated in the "833Plus" strategy. At present, the output of Sentirin Thailand Phase II project is increasing month by month, and the Spanish factory will start construction before the end of the year. Sentury proposed that in the next 10 years or so, 8 digital tire intelligent manufacturing bases (3 in China, 2 in Thailand, 1 each in Europe, Africa and North America) and 3 global R&D centers (China, Europe, 1 each in North America) and 3 global user experience centers, Plus chooses an opportunity to acquire a world-renowned tire manufacturer.
In recent years, the rapid rise of domestic tires, bid farewell to the fierce competition in the low-end market, the next key is high-end breakthrough. Sentirin, who went to Western Europe to build a factory, "declared" Qingdao tire companies' determination to enter the international high-end market.
Build a complete industrial chain
The active force of Qingdao's rubber tire industry continues to rise. In addition to the three listed tire companies, Qingdao also has Sino-foreign joint ventures such as Nexen Tire and Greda Tire, as well as Qingdao Xiyingmen Shuangtuo Tire, Qingdao Fulin Tire, and Taikaiying Tire. The total number of enterprises in various tire industries has reached More than 700.
Looking at the entire industrial chain, from rubber machinery, tires to rubber products such as conveyor belts and hoses, from rubber raw material trade to personnel training, Qingdao rubber industry has a sound industrial foundation and an excellent development ecology.
In the field of rubber machinery, the rubber machinery products of MESNAC have covered 80% of the key equipment required for tire production. In June 2021, "European Rubber Magazine", an authoritative magazine in the rubber industry, reported that MESNAC ranked first in "Global Rubber Machinery Manufacturing" with a sales performance of US$373.3 million in 2020. The intelligent manufacturing business of Qingdao Hailang Special Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Double Star Group, has extended from the traditional rubber tire industry to various industries such as automobiles, home appliances, electronics, cold chain, medical care, logistics and warehousing.
In the non-tire rubber products industry, Qingdao is an important production base for domestic rubber hoses, tapes, rubber dams, rubber fenders, seals and other products. It has Qingdao Rubber Six Conveyor Belt Co., Ltd., Qingdao Sanxiang Technology Co., Ltd., Qingdao Rubber Six Rubber Hose Co., Ltd. and many other leading enterprises in the subdivision fields of conveyor belts and rubber hoses.
In the field of rubber trade, relying on its port advantages, Qingdao has become a large natural rubber import port and an important natural rubber resource distribution center in China. The throughput of rubber raw materials and products in Qingdao Port accounts for more than 60% of the country's total.
In the field of scientific research, Qingdao University of Science and Technology is known as "the cradle of Qingdao rubber industry" and "the Huangpu Military Academy of China's rubber industry". scientific research basis.
From subdivisions to the entire industrial chain, from strong leading companies to rich industrial layouts, Qingdao's rubber tire industry has accumulated a lot. Since the beginning of this year, the prices of the main raw materials of tires and shipping freight have gradually dropped, and the profit margins of tire companies have increased. Qingdao's rubber tire industry will also usher in new opportunities for development. (Qingdao Daily/Guanhai News reporter Wang Wei) Source - Lightning Qingdao Official Account
Qingdao Wanxiang Rubber Machinery Co., Ltd. finishing
