Rubber production clusters in China

youlian

After a century of ups and downs, China's rubber industry has shown distinct regional and contemporary characteristics since its early development. In the early days of the Republic of China, Guangzhou, located in the budding place of national industry and commerce, took the lead; in the middle of the last century, the three northeastern provinces, which had the fastest economic growth rate in Asia, nurtured the largest rubber industrial base at that time...

Hengshui
The first in engineering rubber

Hengshui's industrial cluster has made the domestic engineering rubber industry famous, and engineering rubber has made Taocheng District, Hengshui City, Hebei Province famous throughout the country.

Hengshui engineering rubber is present in more than 80% of the country's new roads, railways, bridges and culverts, water conservancy, light rail, construction and other infrastructure projects. Hengshui-produced engineering rubber products have been used in major projects such as the Shantou Bay Bridge, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Nanjing Yangtze River Second Bridge, the National Grand Theater, and the National Stadium (Bird's Nest). In the words of Ju Hongzhen, former president of the China Rubber Industry Association, "It is meaningless to talk about engineering rubber without Hengshui and Taocheng District."

As the first engineering rubber base in China, Hengshui has the earliest engineering rubber R&D base in China. Its products cover more than 100 varieties in five series, including plate rubber bearings, basin rubber bearings, spherical bearings, rubber waterstops, and bridge expansion joint devices.

But when time goes back to 2000, Taocheng District, which already had more than 1,200 engineering rubber production and distribution companies, has never had a complete professional circulation market. Enterprise transactions have to go to Henan, Yunnan and other places, and the cost and market risk of enterprises are very high. The large group, small scale, serious lack of investment in scientific and technological research and development, and constant malicious competition in the industry have highlighted problems and contradictions. Hengshui engineering rubber, a traditional characteristic industry, has come to a crossroads.

In fact, the companies here have long had the need to establish a market locally. But relying on one factory and one store alone is not enough, and the calculations of each company have repeatedly caused joint construction to fail. Therefore, the government took the lead and coordinated the financial sector, enterprises and society to raise more than 90 million yuan to build professional markets such as Hebei Hengshui Rubber City. This move not only ended the history of the local rubber industry having a "market" but no "market", but also attracted more than 70 enterprises from outside the district to operate here, and rubber product suppliers from Henan and Guangdong also came here to trade and find information.

In 2002, Hebei Hengshui Rubber City, the largest rubber and chemical raw and auxiliary material distribution center in the country, was built; in 2004, China (Hengshui) Engineering Rubber Industry Manufacturing Base was promoted to national level; in December 2005, China (Hengshui) Engineering Rubber Industry Manufacturing Base Expo Center was built; in 2007, 53 engineering rubber enterprises in the city passed ISO9000 international quality system certification.

Now, Taocheng District of Hengshui City still attracts national attention with its five major advantages: the largest engineering rubber industry in the country, the most patents, the most complete product types, the strongest comprehensive strength and the widest market coverage.

Liaoning
Former largest base

Although Liaoning's rubber processing industry is not prominent in China now, Liaoning was once the largest rubber industrial base in China.

In 1921, the prototype of Dalian Rubber General Factory, Xiesheng Rubber Factory, was established in Dalian. In the 1930s, three rubber industrial production sites were formed in Shenyang, Liaoyang and Dandong, and enterprises such as the Three Provinces Rubber Factory, Manchuria-Mongolia Rubber Factory, Fushun Humo Industrial Institute, Dali Rubber Factory, and Liaoyang Rubber Factory emerged one after another. Around 1940, Liaoning's rubber industry entered a period of great development. In 1941, Shenliaodan had an annual production capacity of 60,000 automobile tires, 60,000 carriage tires, 30 million pairs of rubber shoes, and 620,000 bicycle tires, ranking first in the country.

Unfortunately, Liaoning's rubber industry was severely damaged in 1945, with more than half of its equipment lost and only 20% of its production capacity left; the Northeast Rubber Company was established in 1948, and later adjusted to 9 rubber factories and 1 rubber machinery factory. Although it was hit hard, the Northeast Rubber Company, the largest rubber enterprise in the country, still belongs to Liaoning.

In 1950, Shenyang's No. 1, No. 2, No. 6 and Liaoyang No. 9 were all moved to Mudanjiang and Harbin, Dandong No. 8 was moved to Changchun, and two local rubber factories were moved north to Tumen, Jilin and Tieling, Liaobei. In this way, 90% of the means of production and 50% of the rubber products of the Liaoning rubber base were moved to other places; the two bases of Dandong and Liaoyang no longer exist; Shenyang only has No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 7 and the rubber machinery factory, and its strength has been greatly weakened.

From 1965 to 1970, the few factories in Shenyang were moved out again. Shenyang No. 7 was moved to western Liaoning and Liaoning Chaoyang Tire Factory was established. The personnel and equipment of Shenyang Rubber Machinery Factory were moved to Guilin and Yiyang. The equipment and personnel of Shenyang No. 3 supported Yinchuan and Guilin. The old factory moved to Shenxi Industrial Zone after 2000, and the newly established Heping Radial Tire Company was acquired by Qingdao Sailun in 2012. In 1958, Shenyang Factory No. 4 merged with Factory No. 5 to form the New Factory No. 4, and in 1959, Shenyang Rubber Industry Design and Research Branch was established, which was later changed to Product Research Institute.

Later, all its civilian product production equipment was moved to Shijiazhuang and Tieling, military rubber products supported the Northwest Rubber Factory and Northwest Rubber Industry Research Institute, and the Special Tire Research Laboratory was separated and became the Shuguang Rubber Research Institute. The Silicone Fluorine Rubber Research Laboratory of Shenyang Rubber Products Institute merged with the First Laboratory of Beijing Institute to form the Northwest Rubber Industry Research Institute.

Today, Shenyang, an old state-owned rubber industry base, not only does not have a central enterprise, but the original state-owned enterprises have also been almost all privatized during the restructuring.

Guangzhou
Birthplace of China's Rubber Industry

Where did China's first pair of rubber shoes come from? Where did the first condom come from? The answer is Guangzhou. China's first Guangdong Brothers Rubber Company, established in Guangzhou 100 years ago, became a symbol of the birth of China's rubber industry. At its peak, bicycle and motorcycle tires made in Guangzhou were world-renowned, and 8 out of 10 tires were once produced in Guangzhou.

In 1931, the rubber industry in Guangzhou developed to 15 companies. Except for Nanqiang, a company with a capital of 100,000 yuan, all of them were family-style handicraft workshops; in 1942, it increased to more than 120 companies. Except for Dahua Rubber, which was slightly larger, "traditional glue making" and "fire vulcanization" became the unique scene of Guangzhou's rubber industry. In 1945, the number of small traditional factories in Guangzhou increased to 200. After several rectifications, the number of factories decreased, but the backward appearance did not change.

The turning point of Guangzhou's rubber industry appeared in 1964. In this year, China Rubber Industry Corporation established a branch in Guangzhou and established a formal base for Guangzhou Rubber Industry consisting of 12 rubber factories, 1 machinery factory and 1 research institute. Among them, 4 factories were built in Huaxian County, northern Guangdong, forming a new rubber industry base in southern China, which changed the backward appearance of Guangzhou's rubber industry.

Afterwards, the branch was transferred to the local Guangzhou Rubber Industry Bureau, and a new Panyu tire industry base, South China Rubber Tire Co., Ltd., was built. However, with the abolition of the Guangzhou Rubber Industry Bureau and its name change to Guangzhou Rubber Industry Company, the nature of the company changed, and the unified management of factories and enterprises no longer existed. 100 years later, China has become the world's largest rubber industry country, but Guangdong's rubber industry is declining, and it is difficult to find Guangdong companies among the top 100 rubber industry companies in China.

At present, there are only more than 10 rubber companies left in Guangzhou, and most of them are private and foreign-funded. Several cities around Guangzhou have formed multiple rubber industry cluster bases. For example, bicycle tires and contoured body equipment in Shenzhen, tires in Huizhou, shoes in Dongguan, electronic rubber parts in Zhongshan, and industrial and agricultural and terrain tires in Meizhou are all quite large.

Dongying
China's Tire Capital

"The world's tires look to China, China's tires look to Shandong, Shandong's tires look to Dongying, and Dongying's tires look to Guangrao." Although the development of Dongying's tire companies has encountered some troubles now, this jingle is widely circulated and even familiar to foreigners.

There is a Guangrao County in Dongying City, Shandong Province. Here, a "tire nest" dominated by private enterprises was born. Every family makes tires, factories become companies, and companies become groups - Guangrao tire companies have roughly experienced such a process.

Most of Guangrao's tire companies started around 1994 and 1996, and developed almost without anyone noticing. 2002 was the fastest period of development of Guangrao's tire industry. That year, Dongying City, where Guangrao is located, put into operation 6 all-steel radial tire production lines. These 6 all-steel radial tire production lines are all from private enterprises, mainly concentrated in Dawang Town and Daozhuang Town in Guangrao County. By 2007, Dongying City's all-steel radial tire production capacity had reached 13.3 million, with Guangrao's tires being the most popular.

There is a figure that illustrates the problem: According to local statistics, in 2006, Guangrao's annual tire production capacity reached 10 million. This is equivalent to the national tire production in 1978. In other words, starting from the birth of the first Double Coin brand automobile tire in 1935, it took more than 30 years for Chinese tire companies to reach the scale, while Guangrao tire companies only took more than a decade to achieve it. And this was achieved without any investment from the state.

Although the more than 100 Guangrao tire companies have their own characteristics, a careful analysis shows that they have many things in common. For example, none of these enterprises were built with state investment. Some were restructured from former county-run enterprises, and some were developed by villagers’ fundraising. The main source of funds for these enterprises has always been private fundraising. When these enterprises started their businesses, they relied on poaching for talent. These enterprises basically took the path of "export-oriented economy", with raw materials, equipment, and sales all outside. These enterprises also set radial tires and large production lines as their goals. These enterprises rarely advertise, and the brand effect mainly relies on word of mouth from users. These enterprises have family characteristics in management.

Today, Dongying City has developed into an important national radial tire production base, a national rubber tire export base, and a professional demonstration base for foreign trade transformation and upgrading (tires) in Shandong Province. It is known as the tire capital of China.

Shanghai
The fire spreads across the country

The Chinese rubber industry was born in Guangzhou and developed in Shanghai. In the 1940s, more than 130 rubber factories of all sizes gathered on the Bund in Shanghai. They were distributed in the streets and alleys of various districts, becoming a scene of Shanghai's rubber industry. Its density is unique to China and rare in the world. The rubber enterprises here have radiated the whole country through relocation, and have embarked on a distinctive development path.

First, Shanghai Zhengtai Rubber Factory went south to Guangdong in 1943 and established the Guangzhou Branch of Zhengtai Rubber Factory in Guangzhou in a joint venture with Xinglong. The Greater China Rubber Factory went north to Tianjin in 1948 and acquired the Tianjin Second Chemical Factory with its own capital. Then, Zhengtai cooperated with Guangzhou Dahua to produce bicycle tires.

Starting from 1954, in order to solve the problem of over-concentration of production plants, Shanghai rubber enterprises not only merged and reorganized, but also took measures of switching and embedding. One is to transfer more than 10 rubber factories to electronic companies and pen companies. The second is to move some enterprises to the inland to support rubber blank areas. From 1954 to 1965, they were relocated to all parts of the country in four batches, including people and equipment, from Hunan, Hubei, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Anhui, Fujian, Guizhou, Shanxi to Lanzhou in the northwest, covering more than 10 regional cities, and their production capacity accounted for 1/4 of Shanghai. Shanghai's rubber industry really "went out", spreading the fire from the coastal area of ​​Shanghai to all parts of the country.

Entering the 1980s, Shanghai's rubber industry began a new round of expansion, and 50 joint ventures were established in the suburbs and other provinces and cities. At the peak, the number of rubber factories in Shanghai reached 342.

After the 1990s, a large number of enterprises moved from the urban area to the suburban counties and merged and reorganized with enterprises from other provinces and cities; internally, they were transformed into joint-stock companies. For example, the tire company acquired two tire factories in Haikou and Xuzhou to become a cross-regional enterprise; the tape company acquired several tape factories in Wuhan, Nanchang and Chongqing, and jointly established enterprises with foreign capital; the rubber shoe company was reorganized into two shoe factories, Huili and Shuangqian.

Today, almost all of Shanghai's rubber factories have moved to various districts and counties in the suburbs, leaving only a few company headquarters. At the same time, foreign-funded enterprises continue to increase, and it has become the headquarters of many foreign companies.

In addition, the rubber product production clusters in recent years include:

1. Boye and Lixian in Baoding, Hebei, and Sanmen and Tiantai in Zhejiang
Conveyor belt production bases.

2. Jingxian in Hengshui, Hebei
Rubber hose production base.

3. Wenzhou in Zhejiang, Jinjiang in Fujian, Guangzhou and Dongguan in Guangdong, Anxin and Qingdao in Baoding, Hebei
Shoe production distribution centers;

4. Weixian and Qinghe in Xingtai, Hebei
Sealing strip production distribution centers.

5. Ningbo, Taizhou and Wenzhou in Zhejiang; Wuxi in Jiangsu, Qingdao and Rizhao in Shandong, Xingtai in Hebei,
Rubber sealing parts and auto parts production distribution centers.

6. Dongguan in Guangzhou
Silicone product production and application distribution center.

7. Gaomi in Shandong
Labor protection gloves distribution center.

8. Xiongxian in Baoding
Latex balloon village