1. 11 leading hose and tape companies focus on the development of the industry and issue an initiative for the industry's "involution"

Since March, the domestic epidemic has spread in many places, resulting in many hose and tape companies being unable to produce continuously, increasing production costs and further shrinking profit margins. In response to the severe situation facing the hose and tape industry, the Hose and Tape Branch of the China Rubber Industry Association organized an online meeting of entrepreneurs from the member units of the Hose and Tape Presidium in June to exchange the production and operation of the industry since this year and plan good strategies for the difficulties faced by the industry.

The serious "involution" phenomenon in the industry market and the low-price bidding policy implemented by downstream users have become prominent issues reflected by entrepreneurs. In order to regulate the market and jointly respond to challenges, the presidium companies of the Hose and Tape Branch of the China Rubber Association jointly issued an "Initiative", calling on companies to work together, be honest and self-disciplined, win the market with high quality and high prices, jointly safeguard the interests of the industry and companies, and promote healthy competition and healthy development in the hose and tape industry.

2. The hose and tape industry actively explores overseas markets, and exports maintain good growth

In 2022, with my country's economic growth weak and the demand for hose and tape shrinking, domestic companies actively turned to the international market to seek new breakthroughs. From January to November, the export volume and export value of conveyor belts and transmission belts achieved a double-digit year-on-year growth, and the export volume and export value of hoses also maintained a steady growth. The average export price of the three types of products has steadily increased, all reaching a new high since 2019.

According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China and Guomaotong Big Data, from January to November 2022, my country's total export volume of conveyor belts increased by 24.66% to 358,400 tons, the total export volume increased by 35.74% to US$834 million, and the average export price increased by 8.89% to US$2.33/kg; the total export volume of transmission belts increased by 12.71% to 76,000 tons, the total export volume increased by 14.72% to US$488 million, and the average export price increased by 1.79% to US$6.42/kg; the total export volume of hoses increased by 5.89% to 251,600 tons, the total export volume increased by 10.53% to US$1.286 billion, and the average export price increased by 4.38% to US$5.11/kg.

From the perspective of export regions, the market is geographically diversified, and exports are mainly to countries rich in natural resources such as the United States, Russia, Brazil, Australia, and Canada. The above regions occupy most of my country's hose and tape export markets. It is expected that the export of hose and tape products will maintain a good growth trend throughout the year.

3. The group standardization of hoses and tapes is advancing in an orderly manner, leading the green, low-carbon and intelligent development of the industry

In order to better promote the technological progress of hose and tape products and meet the diversified needs of the market, the Hose and Tape Branch of the China Rubber Industry Association actively cultivates and develops professional group standards for hose and tapes. With the joint efforts of experts from various standard compilation groups, three group standards of the China Rubber Industry Association, "Synthetic Fiber Integral Belt Core for Coal Mine Conveyor Belt" (T/CRIA 16011-2022), "General Purpose Aramid Fabric Core Flame Retardant Conveyor Belt" (T/CRIA 16012-2022) and "V-Belt for Plant Protection Equipment Transmission" (T/CRIA 16013-2022) were officially released on October 18, 2022 and will be implemented on January 18, 2023.

Three group standards, "Energy-saving Steel Wire Cord Tubular Conveyor Belt", "Environmentally Friendly Fabric Core Tubular Conveyor Belt" and "Radio Frequency Identification Electronic Tags for Conveyor Belts and Implantation Methods", have entered the compilation stage. The formulation of "Energy-saving Steel Wire Cord Tubular Conveyor Belt" and "Environmentally Friendly Fabric Core Tubular Conveyor Belt" conforms to the development trend of green and energy-saving conveyor belt products, and is conducive to the promotion of green products in the conveyor belt industry. The formulation of "Radio Frequency Identification Electronic Tags and Implantation Methods for Conveyor Belts" is conducive to the establishment of a widely adopted digital conveyor belt system, which will provide strong support for the digitalization and intelligence of the conveying industry.

In order to make the energy consumption limit more suitable for the subsequent development of the conveyor belt industry and enterprises, the Hose and Belt Branch organized the revision of the "Energy Consumption Limit per Unit Product of Conveyor Belts". At present, a consensus has been reached on energy consumption discount coefficients and calculation models. This standard is an indispensable technical foundation for the conveyor belt industry to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality. The high-quality completion of the compilation of this standard will provide strong support for the conveyor belt industry to achieve the goals of "dual carbon" and "double control of energy consumption".

4. Many hose and tape companies have expanded their capacity and increased production, leading companies have laid out transformation and upgrading, and the trend of intelligent development in the industry has become increasingly prominent

On May 11, the first production line of the high-strength energy-saving and environmentally friendly conveyor belt production line project of Tongxiang Desheng Belt Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Shuangjian Rubber Co., Ltd., was officially put into operation. The total investment of the project is 550 million yuan. After the project is fully put into production, the annual production capacity of conveyor belts will be 15 million square meters, and the annual total production capacity of Shuangjian Co., Ltd. will reach 90 million square meters. On May 31, Zhejiang Shuangjian Rubber Co., Ltd. established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Zhejiang Shuangjian Intelligent Conveying Technology Co., Ltd., to meet the company's strategic planning for transformation and upgrading and the needs of future business development. The establishment of Shuangjian Intelligence will enable the company to gradually expand from conveyor belt manufacturing to providing overall solutions for material conveying systems.

Sanlishi Co., Ltd. raised 900 million yuan for the "Annual Production of 500 Million A-meter Rubber V-Belt Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park Project" and the "Digital Smart Management Platform Construction Project". With the implementation of the investment projects of the raised funds, the production capacity and intelligent management level of the company's main products will be effectively improved, which will help achieve long-term sustainable development.

Sanwei Holding Group Co., Ltd. has completed the completion acceptance of its intelligent technical transformation and relocation project with an annual output of 200 million Am ordinary V-belts and 5 million automotive trimming belts. The project covers an area of ​​126 mu and a construction area of ​​60,513.1 square meters.

Ningshun Group Co., Ltd. has officially started a steel cord conveyor belt project with a total investment of 400 million yuan. After the completion of the project, it can form an annual production capacity of 16 million square meters of steel cord conveyor belts.

Qingdao Fuxiang Rubber Technology Co., Ltd. has started construction of a 60 million square meter high-grade and high-strength conveyor belt project with a total investment of 600 million yuan. After completion and production, it will form a production capacity of 55 million square meters/year of canvas core conveyor belts and 5 million square meters/year of steel cord conveyor belts.

The first phase of Shandong Energy Smart Manufacturing Park, led by Shandong Energy Group, has started construction of 8 major projects with an investment of 3 billion yuan, and is scheduled to be completed in early 2024. The project focuses on the research and development and production of smart mining equipment, and mainly produces 8 core products such as high-performance conveyor belts, hydraulic hoses, smart conveyors and accessories, and smart washing equipment.

5. Baotong's first "carbon neutral" conveyor belt product officially rolled off the production line

On July 7, Wuxi Baotong Technology Co., Ltd. officially announced that the first carbon neutral conveyor belt product jointly developed by Baotong Technology and the well-known mining company BHP Group officially rolled off the production line in Baotong's smart factory. The product was awarded the world's first steel cord conveyor belt product "PAS 2060 Carbon Neutrality Achievement Declaration Certificate" issued by SGS, a global leading certification agency.

Against the backdrop of the world's energy transformation, Baotong explored and actively responded to the BHP 2020 Climate Transformation Action Plan. The launch of the first carbon neutral conveyor belt product is an important milestone for Baotong to implement its green development strategy and practice the zero-carbon path.

6. Three hose and tape companies were selected into the list of single champion enterprises (products) in the manufacturing industry

In November, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China released the list of the seventh batch of single champion enterprises (products) in the manufacturing industry, among which Zhejiang Shuangjian Rubber Co., Ltd. and Tianjin Pengling Group Co., Ltd. were rated as the seventh batch of national single champion enterprises in the manufacturing industry, and the multi-V belt for passenger cars of Zhejiang Fengmao Technology Co., Ltd. was recognized as a national single champion product in the manufacturing industry. A single champion in the manufacturing industry refers to an enterprise that has long focused on certain product segments in the manufacturing industry, has internationally leading production technology or processes, and has a single product market share that ranks among the top in the world or in China. It is known as the "crown jewel of the manufacturing industry" in the industry, representing the highest level of development and the strongest market strength in the segment. Single champion enterprises are the cornerstone of the innovative development of the manufacturing industry and an important manifestation of the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry.

7. The industry's intellectual property development has made remarkable achievements, and new national intellectual property advantage enterprises have been added

In October, the State Intellectual Property Office released the evaluation results of national intellectual property advantage enterprises and demonstration enterprises in 2022. Sanlishi Co., Ltd., Sichuan Chuanhuan Technology Co., Ltd., and Hebei Dongjin Hydraulic Rubber and Plastic Products Co., Ltd. were awarded the title of national intellectual property advantage enterprises. "National Intellectual Property Advantage Enterprise" is one of the highest honors in China's intellectual property management field. It is an enterprise with certain comprehensive intellectual property strength, initial competitive advantages in the intellectual property market, and certain regional influence.

8. Two hose and tape companies' IPOs passed smoothly, and opportunities for fundraising and expansion came

In November, two hose and tape companies' IPOs passed smoothly. Among them, Zhejiang Fengmao Technology Co., Ltd.'s IPO project successfully passed the review of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's Growth Enterprise Market Listing Committee, and Qingdao Sanxiang Technology Co., Ltd.'s initial public offering application on the Beijing Stock Exchange passed smoothly.

According to the prospectus, Fengmao plans to issue 20 million shares and raise 436 million yuan, of which 295 million yuan will be used for the construction of a smart factory for transmission belts, 84.9356 million yuan will be used for the expansion of tensioner production, and 55.6416 million yuan will be used for the upgrading and construction of the R&D center. After the project is completed, the company will add 20.4 million belt production capacity per year, including 10.2 million automotive belts per year, 8.16 million industrial belts per year, 2.04 million agricultural belts per year, and 8.4 million sets of tensioner capacity; Qingdao Sanxiang Technology Co., Ltd. plans to raise 180 million yuan for automotive pipeline system manufacturing technology transformation projects and replenishment of working capital. The prospectus shows that the project construction period is 36 months. After completion, it will have an annual production capacity of 25 million meters of automotive hydraulic brake hoses, 11.6 million meters of automotive air conditioning hoses, 6.5 million special-shaped pipes such as cooling water pipes and fuel pipes, and 6.5 million meters of other pipes. The other 45 million yuan of the raised funds will be used by the company to supplement working capital.

9. 5 hose and tape companies are on the list of "little giants" of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

In August, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the fourth batch of "little giants" of specialized and new enterprises. A total of 40 companies in the rubber industry were on the list, including 5 hose and tape companies, namely: Anhui Zhongyi Tape Co., Ltd., Shandong Yuelong Rubber and Plastic Technology Co., Ltd., Codan Lingyun Automotive Hose Co., Ltd., Baoding Sanyuan Rubber Co., Ltd., and Luohe Litong Hydraulic Technology Co., Ltd.

"Little giants" refer to the best of the specialized and new small and medium-sized enterprises. They are leading enterprises that focus on niche markets, have strong innovation capabilities, high market share, master key core technologies, and have excellent quality and efficiency. In June 2019, December 2020, and September 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology successively released three batches of national-level "little giants" of specialized and new enterprises, totaling 4,762. Including the fourth batch of public announcements, the total number has reached 9,119, which is getting closer to the national goal of cultivating 10,000 national-level specialized "little giants" by 2025.

10. Foreign-funded companies have expanded their hose and tape businesses, and the trend of low-carbon intelligence is significant

Foreign rubber giants have announced investment and expansion in the hose and tape business segment this year to strengthen the profit structure of their non-tire "diversified products" business. The expansion is mainly carried out locally to respond to market changes, enrich product diversity and continue to improve their competitiveness.

Continental will invest approximately 5 million euros in Korbach, Germany, to build a new smart factory for the production of industrial hoses. The new production line will operate around the clock and will be put into production at the end of 2023. This is Continental's largest investment in Korbach in ten years. At the same time, Continental acquired NorrVulk, a Swedish company in the field of conveyor belt systems. Through this acquisition, Continental's product portfolio of conveyor belt systems and related services has been enhanced.

Austria's Semperit Group issued a statement that it plans to invest 110 million euros to build a carbon-neutral hose plant. The investment in the plant will focus on sustainability and automation and will be completed in the next few years.

Yokohama Rubber Company of Japan plans to expand the production capacity of its high-pressure hydraulic hose plant in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and the conveyor belt production capacity of its Kanagawa Prefecture plant, respectively. The new lines are expected to be put into production in 2023, and the expected production capacity will increase by 1.5 times and 1.3 times respectively.

Bridgestone Corporation announced that it will expand the production capacity of hydraulic hoses at Bridgestone NCR in Rayong, Thailand to increase its global hydraulic hose manufacturing capabilities. The project will invest 4.9 billion yen and is scheduled to be put into production in mid-2025. From the first quarter of 2026, its global hydraulic hose production capacity will increase by 30%.