1915: The Guangdong Brothers Rubber Manufacturing Company was established, producing rubber dentures and rubber shoe soles, becoming the first rubber manufacturing plant in China. 1934: Shanghai Dazhonghua Rubber Factory, building on its production of bicycle tires, began trial production of automobile tires. Initially, it procured Japanese equipment to conduct test runs in Kobe; the following year, it returned to China to formally establish a dedicated workshop, producing the country’s first automobile tire, named “Shuangqian.” The product came in two specifications—30×5 and 32×9—with a daily output of 7–9 tires. 1951: The State-owned No. 1 Rubber Factory developed bulletproof self-sealing tires and produced 600 units for use by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army. At its 100th meeting, the Government Administration Council adopted the “Decision on Cultivating Rubber Trees,” initiating rubber tree planting in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Fujian provinces. In Hainan, military and civilian efforts were launched to cultivate and process natural rubber. 1956: At its 40th session, the Standing Committee of the First National People’s Congress decided to merge the former Chemical Industry Administration of the Ministry of Heavy Industry, the Pharmaceutical Industry Administration of the Ministry of Light Industry, and the Rubber Industry Administration into the Ministry of Chemical Industry of the People’s Republic of China (referred to as the Ministry of Chemical Industry), appointing Peng Tao as Minister. 1958: China’s independently developed 2,000-ton-per-year chloroprene rubber production facility was completed and put into operation at the Changshou Chemical Plant, producing the nation’s first batch of synthetic rubber. 1960: The Lanzhou Synthetic Rubber Plant was completed and commissioned, producing the country’s first batch of styrene-butadiene rubber. 1964: Shanghai Dazhonghua Rubber Factory developed China’s first 9.00R20 all-steel radial tire. Following successful trials with steel-belted bias-ply tires, the factory embarked on developing all-steel radial tires. With no existing documentation or equipment available, engineers relied on a single photograph of a radial tire forming drum to design and fabricate their own prototype, continuously refining it through repeated testing. After numerous experiments and improvements, they finally succeeded in producing China’s first “Shuangqian” brand all-steel radial tire. 1966: The State Science and Technology Commission, the Ministry of Petroleum, and the Ministry of Chemical Industry jointly organized a major technological campaign focused on butadiene rubber. Using Jinzhou Petrochemical Plant No. 6 as the primary site, they successfully developed butadiene rubber from butadiene feedstock and built an industrial plant capable of producing 1,000 tons per year. 1982: Shanghai Zhengtai Rubber Factory imported a second-hand production line from Germany’s Maizler, capable of producing 500,000 passenger car radial tires annually. With strong support from institutions such as the Beijing Rubber Industry Research and Design Institute, the “Huilì” brand passenger car radial tire was successfully launched and certified, supplying tires for Volkswagen’s Santana model. 1985: A breakthrough in new technologies for producing butadiene rubber earned the “Special Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award” for that year. 1989: The Ministry of Chemical Industry issued the “Measures for Implementing the Decision of the State Council on Key Current Industrial Policies (Trial),” establishing an internal priority order for chemical industry development: agricultural chemical industry, raw materials chemical industry, fine chemical industry, and rubber processing industry. 1993: A large-scale domestically produced radial tire production line was completed and put into operation at the Rongcheng Rubber Factory in Shandong Province. The “Large-Scale Construction Machinery Tire,” a key national science and technology project under the Eighth Five-Year Plan, manufactured by the Henan Tire Factory, passed national acceptance and entered mass production, achieving international advanced quality standards. 1995: The Yanshan Petrochemical MTBE cracking unit for producing polymer-grade isobutylene was completed and commissioned, providing an economical and reliable source of raw material for butyl rubber production. In December 1999, a 30,000-ton-per-year butyl rubber production facility utilizing Italian PI technology was also brought online, ending China’s complete reliance on imported butyl rubber. 1996: Yanshan Petrochemical constructed a 10,000-ton-per-year solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) production plant—the first of its kind in China using solution polymerization technology. 1999: Responding to market demand, Tianjin Tire Company developed a large agricultural radial tire using domestic technology. After nearly a year of intensive research and trial production, the first “Haidun” brand 12.4R28 agricultural radial tire rolled off the assembly line, paving a new path toward radialization of agricultural tires in China. By 2014, approximately four enterprises nationwide were producing agricultural radial tires, with an annual output reaching 37,000 units. 2002: Shanghai Tire & Rubber (Group) Co., Ltd.’s Shuangqian Heavy-Duty Tire Company, drawing on expertise in heavy-duty radial tires, independently developed China’s first “Shuangqian” brand engineering machinery radial tire—14.00R24-20PR (tubeless)—marking the beginning of domestically produced engineering machinery radial tires. 2008: The giant engineering radial tire technology and equipment development project jointly completed by Shandong Sanjiao Group Co., Ltd. and Tianjin Sai’ang Technology Co., Ltd. won the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award for 2007. Lanzhou Petrochemical Company commenced chemical feeding operations at its 100,000-ton-per-year styrene-butadiene rubber plant, making it the largest domestically built styrene-butadiene rubber production facility entirely based on indigenous technology. China’s first “Sanhuan” brand aviation radial tire successfully passed all dynamic tests stipulated by national standards, meeting installation requirements. This achievement made China the fourth country in the world capable of researching, manufacturing, and testing aviation radial tires. That same year, a domestically produced aircraft equipped with this type of tire made its maiden flight. 2009: The Qilu Branch of Sinopec commissioned a styrene-butadiene rubber production plant, bringing the total annual capacity of the company’s styrene-butadiene rubber facilities to 230,000 tons—an unprecedented scale at the time, entirely powered by domestically developed technologies. A joint venture between China’s Blue Star Shanxi Synthetic Rubber Group Co., Ltd. and Armenia’s Irith Company—the largest Sino‑Armenian joint project—built a 30,000-ton-per-year chloroprene rubber production facility, producing SN232 grade qualified chloroprene rubber products. PetroChina Lanzhou Petrochemical Company completed and commissioned a 50,000-ton-per-year nitrile rubber production plant, fully utilizing domestically owned intellectual property technologies. 2010: Shandong Yuhuang Chemical Co., Ltd. brought online an 80,000-ton-per-year butadiene rubber production plant—the first large-scale synthetic rubber facility built by a private enterprise in China. Maoming Luhua Chemical Co., Ltd. completed and commissioned a 15,000-ton-per-year isoprene rubber production plant, entirely based on independently developed technologies, filling a critical gap in domestic isoprene rubber production. 2013: A 15,000-ton-per-year trans‑isoprene rubber production plant was completed and put into operation—the world’s first industrial-scale facility of its kind. 2015: A thousand-ton hydrogenated nitrile rubber production plant was completed and commissioned in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, ending China’s historical dependence on imported hydrogenated nitrile rubber. With this milestone, China became the third country globally to possess independent intellectual property rights for the industrial production of hydrogenated nitrile rubber. Excerpted from “Chronicles of Major Events in China’s Rubber Industry” and “A Century of Development in the Chemical Industry.”

The implementation of a tight monetary policy has led to rigid procurement and settlement practices, placing immense cost and liquidity pressures on tire manufacturers. Key raw materials for tire production—such as natural rubber, synthetic rubber, steel wire, steel cord, various chemical additives, and coal—are repeatedly hitting record highs, while supply remains severely constrained. The average price of imported #20 standard rubber was $2,051 per ton in 2007; by early this year, it had risen to $2,200 per ton, reached $2,800 per ton by late April, and stood at $3,280 per ton as of June 18—more than a 49% increase compared with the beginning of the year. Domestic #5 rubber averaged 19,341 yuan per ton in 2007; by early this year, the price had climbed to 20,400 yuan per ton, surged to 23,000 yuan per ton by late April, and hit 28,000 yuan per ton by June 18—an increase of over 37% since the start of the year. Chlorinated butyl rubber averaged 48,800 yuan per ton in 2007 and at the beginning of 2008; by late April, its price had jumped to 79,000 yuan per ton, and by June 18 it had reached 100,000 yuan per ton—more than a 104% rise from the start of the year. Re‑tempered steel wire averaged 6,000 yuan per ton in 2007; by early this year, the price had increased to 6,700 yuan per ton, rose to 8,000 yuan per ton by late April, and stood at 10,500 yuan per ton by June 18—a more than 56% increase from the beginning of the year. By June 18, prices for various auxiliary materials had all risen by more than 30% compared with the start of the year. Overall, the current prices of raw and auxiliary materials represent a comprehensive increase of over 40% compared with the 2007 average, directly driving up tire production costs by more than 25%.

Recently, we’ve noticed that many users have limited knowledge about conveyor belts, and even less understanding when it comes to selecting the right type. Here, we’ll briefly outline some key tips for choosing conveyor belt specifications and models based on different operating conditions: 1. **Width-Based Classification**: Conveyor belts are categorized by width into common models such as B500, B600, B650, B800, B1000, B1200, and B1400 (where “B” denotes width in millimeters). Currently, Huaxia Rubber’s maximum production capacity reaches conveyor belts with a width of 2700 mm. 2. **Environmental Resistance**: Depending on the operating environment, conveyor belts can be classified into types such as standard rubber belts, heat-resistant belts, cold-resistant belts, acid- and alkali-resistant belts, oil-resistant belts, and flame-retardant belts. (Huaxia Rubber’s flame-retardant belts have successfully passed both domestic coal safety certification and U.S. coal safety certification.) 3. **Tensile Strength**: Conveyor belts are further divided into standard‑strength and high‑strength varieties. Examples include standard canvas belts and high‑strength canvas belts; standard steel‑cord core belts and high‑strength steel‑cord core belts. High‑strength canvas belts are available in nylon (NN belts) and polyester (EP belts). At present, Huaxia Rubber primarily produces high‑strength steel‑cord core belts, with its ST‑HHE lightweight, high‑strength steel‑cord core energy‑saving belts taking center stage. The ST‑HHE lightweight, high‑strength steel‑cord core energy‑saving belt is an independently developed product by Huaxia Rubber. The application of ST‑HHE technology and products represents a technological breakthrough in the field of belt conveyors. According to statistics, while fully meeting all technical requirements—including conveying capacity, service life, and safety—ST‑HHE belt conveyor systems can reduce equipment investment by more than 30% compared to traditional ST systems, and cut operation and maintenance costs by over 30%, with average electricity savings exceeding 26%.

Belt slippage occurs due to reduced frictional traction at the pulleys, overload conditions, or belt jamming. ① After prolonged use, the belt elongates due to plastic deformation, resulting in insufficient tension, reduced frictional traction, and subsequent slippage. ② When the contact surface between the belt and the drive drum becomes contaminated with mud, water, or dust, the coefficient of friction drops sharply, leading to belt slippage. ③ Damage to idlers, entanglement with debris, or material buildup can cause many idlers to fail to rotate. Additionally, damaged belts or splice joints experience increased resistance as they pass over these idlers, causing severe belt misalignment. Overloading the conveyor also increases belt resistance, further contributing to slippage.