According to the China Rubber Association Skeleton Materials Committee, Carbon Black Industry Network:

1. The production and sales volume of rubber skeleton materials hit a new historical high

In 2023, with the smooth transition of the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control and the implementation of the national package of policies to expand domestic demand, stabilize growth, and boost consumer confidence, my country's economy has achieved a steady recovery, and the industrial chain and supply chain have accelerated recovery. The rubber skeleton material industry has shown the characteristics of strong supply and demand, and the production and sales volume has hit a new historical high. According to statistics from the Skeleton Materials Committee of the China Rubber Industry Association on 41 member companies: From January to November, the industry completed a total output of 4.6238 million tons of skeleton materials, an increase of 14.55% over the same period last year (the same below), of which steel cord production was 2.7321 million tons, an increase of 17.02%; bead wire production was 994,900 tons, an increase of 18.16%; hose wire production was 245,500 tons, a decrease of 3.15%, polyester cord cloth production was 345,600 tons, an increase of 13.42%; nylon cord cloth production was 253,600 tons, an increase of 1.05%; canvas production was 52,000 tons, an increase of 2.59%.

2. Many skeleton material companies increased their production capacity layout

Shandong Xingda Phase II was successfully put into production, Thailand Xingda Phase II and the steel cord project in cooperation with Huaqin were steadily advancing.

Shandong Daye expanded its bead wire production capacity by 50,000 tons, and Daye New Materials Plant I successfully completed the relocation.

Shoujia Technology announced plans to build overseas factories, and the 100,000 tons/year Phase II project of Tengzhou Oriental Steel Cord was gradually put into production.

Zhongtian Steel (Huai'an) Project, the first plant with a designed 240,000 tons/year steel cord capacity has been put into production one after another, and the seventh plant with a designed 280,000 tons/year steel cord capacity has successfully rolled off the first batch of finished products and achieved small-scale production. The 200,000 tons of tire bead wire project of the second plant is being built as scheduled and is expected to be put into production in the second quarter of 2024.

Jiangsu Shengda Technology Co., Ltd. expanded its tire bead wire production capacity by 60,000 tons/year.

Shandong Jingwei Steel Cord Technology Co., Ltd. plans to increase its tire bead wire production capacity from 150,000 tons to 300,000 tons.

Shandong Chuangda Steel Wire Products Co., Ltd. successfully completed the upgrade and transformation of the tire bead wire production line, forming a production capacity of 100,000 tons.

In order to expand overseas markets, Junma Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. established Junma New Materials (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in Thailand. After the project is completed, it can add 30,000 tons of high-performance tire cord production capacity. Zhangjiagang Junma Polyester Products Co., Ltd.'s 40,000 tons/year high-performance passenger car tire polyester cord project was publicly announced for environmental impact assessment.

Zhejiang Hailide New Materials Co., Ltd. announced plans to expand its production base in Vietnam and implement a project to produce 18,000 tons of high-performance tire cord fabric per year.

Haiyang Technology Co., Ltd.'s 45,000 tons/year high-modulus low-shrinkage polyester cord fabric project was completed and put into production.

Hangzhou Dikai Industrial Fabric Co., Ltd. has expanded its production capacity of 20,000 tons/year of nylon dipped cord fabric for high-performance passenger car tires through technical transformation.

Yindu Rama (Qingdao) High-Performance Fiber Co., Ltd. has successfully put into operation its new annual production of 1,200 tons of dipped single-end cord.

Miller Germany's 1,000-ton multifunctional single-line dipped line was put into production in July, mainly producing air springs for passenger cars, dipped yarns for rubber couplings, etc., to meet the growing market demand for related applications.

3. Adhere to innovative development to meet market demand

Jiangsu Xingda's two scientific and technological achievements, "Cable-type bead production technology for aviation tires and ultra-high-strength new structural steel cord for green tires", have successfully passed the new technology and new product appraisal of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology. The "High-strength fatigue-resistant bead steel wire (ring) for heavy-duty tires R&D and industrialization" project has been supported by the Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Special Fund; Shandong Daye Co., Ltd. has been awarded the National Intellectual Property Demonstration Enterprise; Shenma Industrial Co., Ltd. has been rated as the Polyamide Industrial Silk Technology Innovation Center in the Textile Industry; Henan Hengxing Technology Co., Ltd.'s Technology Center has been rated as a national-level enterprise technology center; Jiangsu Taiji has been approved to build the Jiangsu Fiber Skeleton Material Engineering Technology Research Center, and its development and application of bio-based polyamide 56 industrial silk and dipped cord for radial tire cap bands has been shortlisted in the list of the top ten scientific and technological advances in the industry field (new materials, chemical textiles) of Jiangsu Province; Zhejiang Youfu's "High-performance fiber reinforced skeleton material R&D and application-high-performance polyester industrial silk reinforced skeleton material R&D and application" project has been included in the Zhejiang Province "Pioneer" and "Leader" R&D Research Plan"; Dongping Jinma Cord Fabric Co., Ltd., developed low-density and high-density nylon 6 dipped cord fabric, which has been applied in the market and won the national-level science and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises in 2023; aramid pulp masterbatch products are mass-produced in Heilongjiang Hongyu Short Fiber New Materials Co., Ltd.

4. Deeply cultivate the subdivided fields, skeleton material enterprises won the honors of "specialization and innovation" and "single champion"

Hangzhou Dikai Industrial Fabric Co., Ltd. and Shandong Kangwei Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. were shortlisted for the fifth batch of national specialized and new "little giant" enterprises; Jiaxing Oriental Steel Cord Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Shengda Technology Co., Ltd. Company, Shandong Jingwei Steel Cord Technology Co., Ltd., Zibo Aogu Technology Co., Ltd., Jinhua Yalun Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., Changzhou Chaofeng Rubber Wire Technology Co., Ltd., Baoding Huayang Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., Heilongjiang Hongyu Short Fiber New Materials Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Yatai Chemical Co., Ltd. won the honor of provincial-level specialized and new small and medium-sized enterprises in 2023; Qingdao Tianbang New Materials Co., Ltd. and Baoding Huayang Chemical Fiber won the provincial-level individual championship in 2023.

5. The industry continues to explore and strive in the field of sustainable development

Skeleton material companies actively participate in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility ratings. In 2023 In the EcoVadis rating, Jiangsu Xingda, Bekaert, Zhejiang Hailide, and Teijin Aramid won gold medals, Shenma Industrial, Junma Chemical Fiber, Yadong Industrial, and Ningbo Xinglun won silver medals, and Jiaxing Oriental Steel Cord, Tengzhou Oriental Steel Cord, Jiangsu Taiji, Jiangsu Shengda, Junma Steel Cord, and Jiangsu Yatai won bronze medals.

Jiangsu Xingda CDP obtained a B rating, which is higher than the industry average; joined the United Nations Global Compact Organization, and is the first steel cord company to join under the automotive parts catalog; was approved to pass the SBTi target audit, and is the first company in the Chinese industry to pass the SBTi audit; became the only company in the industry to be selected in the first issue of S&P Global's "Sustainable Development Yearbook (China Edition) 2023".

The 2023 Bekaert Sustainability Day Forum was held for the first time at the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange, aiming to gather consensus from all walks of life and help build a more resilient and sustainable industrial chain. In October 2023, Bekaert and Shagang Group reached an agreement to jointly launch a steel wire rod recycling project and jointly develop a new type of short-process electric arc furnace wire rod. At the skeleton annual meeting held in November, Bekaert released the "Bekaert's Sustainable Development and Recycled Steel Project Plan". On December 14, Bekaert Group announced that it had obtained the "third-party certification" for high recycled steel content for tire reinforcement and delivered the first batch of tire skeleton materials containing recycled steel to Bridgestone for the tire manufacturer's pilot project.

Daye and Baosteel signed a low-carbon strategic cooperation agreement. Through the joint efforts of both parties, Daye's products have achieved the production and application of green wire rods with 60% recycled iron, and it is expected to mass-produce low-carbon products containing 80% recycled iron before 2025.

Jiangsu Taiji's world's first 5,000 tons/year high-performance bio-based polyamide 56 industrial yarn production line was put into production, achieving a breakthrough in the application of this technology in industrial yarn manufacturing and rubber skeleton materials, and playing an important role in reducing the carbon footprint of the entire life cycle of tires.

Shandong Hailong Bolet CDP has obtained a B rating, joined the United Nations Global Compact Organization since 2021, and passed the carbon neutrality system certification in 2023.

6. Skeleton material enterprises are on the national green manufacturing list

Many skeleton material enterprises are on the green manufacturing list released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Jiangsu Xingda Steel Cord Co., Ltd., China Bekaert Steel Cord Co., Ltd., Pingdingshan Shenma Cord Fabric Development Co., Ltd., Zhongwei Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. and others have won the honor of national green factories; Henan Hengxing Technology Co., Ltd. has been shortlisted as a green supply chain management enterprise and a green product design demonstration enterprise.

7. The third China Rubber Industry Association Skeleton Material Professional Committee Expert Group has completed the term change

Since its establishment in 2019, the China Rubber Association Skeleton Material Professional Committee Expert Group has played an important role in the industry's technological progress and innovative development. The expert group will complete the biennial term change in 2023. The third expert group is composed of more than 30 experts from the skeleton material industry and the tire industry, and will continue to contribute to the high-quality development of the industry.

8. Standardization construction promotes high-quality development of the industry

Two group standards, T/CRIA 26003-2023 "Energy consumption limit per unit product of steel cord" compiled by Bekaert (China) Technology Research and Development Co., Ltd. and T/CRIA 26004-2023 "Test method for gram weight of dipped cord cloth" compiled by Pingdingshan Shenma Cord Fabric Development Co., Ltd., were released in May 2023. The release of these two standards is of great significance to the industry's dual control of energy consumption and the coordinated high-quality development of upstream and downstream.

ISO 16650 "Bead Wire" revised by Shandong Daye Co., Ltd. was successfully approved on April 21, 2023, and has now entered the draft solicitation and discussion stage. The group standard "Energy consumption limit per unit product of bead wire" led by it has passed the review of the China Rubber Association's group standard project, and various compilation work is being carried out as scheduled.

The national standard GB/T 19390-2023 "Polyester dipped tire cord fabric" revised by Jiangsu Taiji Industrial New Materials Co., Ltd. was released in March 2023. Its leading industry standard "Bio-based polyamide 56 dipped cord fabric" has passed the review and the draft for approval has been submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for release.

Under the leadership of Bekaert and the Metallurgical Industry Information Standards Research Institute, the domestic working group of the ISO standard "Carbon Footprint Accounting and Reporting of Steel Cord Products" was established.

9.10 skeleton material companies were shortlisted in the list of China's top 100 rubber industry companies

Shenma Industrial Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Xingda Steel Cord Co., Ltd., Junma Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., Bekaert China, Shandong Daye Co., Ltd., Haiyang Technology Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Hailide New Materials Co., Ltd., Yadong Industry (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., Shoujia Technology Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Henan Hengxing Technology Co., Ltd.