China is a big country in tire production and sales. In 2023, the total output of automobile tires in China was 0.786 billion, up 17.8 percent year on year. While new tires continue to be put into the market, a large number of waste tires are produced every year. The main component of waste tires is rubber, and tire retreading is internationally recognized as the first choice for tire reduction, reuse and recycling. What is the current situation of the first line of tire retreading industry in China? Two or three people propped up a small workshop to retread tires all by experience The reporter followed the boss into the workshop, the ground was dirty and messy, and rubber dust and scraps were everywhere. According to the boss, these old tires are used for retreading.

According to the national standard of "tire retreading process", a series of equipment is needed to detect and evaluate the tire to be retreaded in the tire selection process before tire retreading. But in this small workshop, the boss replied: Tires that cannot be used are not needed when you come back. It is based on industry experience.
In the workshop, the reporter saw two tank-shaped equipment, which is the core equipment for tire retreading. The boss told reporters that the old tires were wrapped in multiple layers of rubber and were put into this specific closed equipment to pressurize and heat, that is, vulcanize, to re-make the tire pattern.
The boss said that small workshops are necessary for tire retreading. Vulcanizing tanks, grinding machines and dough presses used to compact tread rubber are necessary. After a calculation of about 150,000 yuan and 3 to 5 people, a tire retreading workshop has been set up, and the production cost is much lower than that of regular tire retreading manufacturers.
The reporter learned that there are two common methods in the process of tire retreading in small workshops. One is the all-inclusive retreading method, which is called "live mold", and the other is called "twin" retreading. Both have security concerns.

During the investigation, the reporter also found a worrying phenomenon. That is the tire retreading workshop, and there is no basic quality inspection equipment. The key words heard most here are "by hand" and "by experience". Owner of small tire retreading workshop: normal new tires, defective products in 1% to 2%, refurbished defective products are higher, after all, our workshop is not too formal.

It is understood that regular manufacturers in the sale of retreaded tires, the general will be issued to the buyer tire factory inspection report. The tires will be marked with the manufacturer and conformity identification code, and traceable production records and sales records will be established to ensure the factory quality and after-sales service of the retreaded tires. In addition, according to national standards, retreaded tires should have the word "retreaded", and the number of retreads and the batch number should be indicated.

However, there are no such signs on the retreaded tires of small workshops. The non-compliant and substandard retreaded tires flowing out of small workshops aggravate the safety risks of vehicle driving. Regular tire retreading is at the "freezing point". 80% of the production capacity is idle. Regular enterprises engaged in tire retreading told reporters that their retreading process is very complicated. The first process "manual testing" is divided into seven steps, and those that meet the standards will enter the next process.

Manual testing: according to the national tire retreading technical standards, the initial selection of retreading value of the tire, the obvious does not meet the requirements of the elimination.

Machine inspection: the equipment checks out the subtle nail holes in the tire crown that cannot be found by naked eyes.

Flaw detection: check the carcass with an X-ray machine. Only by checking out all the damage in the old tires can we judge which tires can be retreaded and ensure that all the damage can be repaired in the subsequent retreading process. Once the hidden damage is missed, it may be buried security risks.

After a series of inspections, it is the polishing process. After polishing, press the middle pad rubber with the machine, heat and squeeze the rubber to the polished tire tread, and then start to lay the tread rubber, that is, press the new tread tightly onto the tire. Finally, it is sent to the vulcanizing tank for vulcanization.

However, the reporter found that the enterprise can hold 22 tire vulcanizing tanks at a time, but only one tire is pushed forward. The person in charge of the enterprise explained that this tire retreading production line was imported more than ten years ago, with a set worth more than 6 million yuan, but recently there was too little business and the production line was seriously underfed.

In the huge workshop, there is another production line, which is covered with dust, which seems to have been idle for a long time. Han Qingfu, deputy general manager of an automobile tire enterprise in Zhengzhou: more than 10,000 pieces were refurbished in 2023, equivalent to 80% of the production capacity being idle.

The person in charge of this company told reporters that since entering the retreading industry in 2009, the company's tire retreading business can be said to be in the lowest period. Zhang Xiuli, chairman of an automobile tire enterprise in Zhengzhou: At the freezing point, so far there is no refurbished carcass, so the production volume has been declining.

Li Weidong, president of the China Tire Recycling Association, told reporters that the current difficulties encountered by this tire retreading company in Zhengzhou is a microcosm of the entire tire retreading industry.
Li Weidong, President of China Tire Circular Economy Utilization Association: Our country's automobile industry has been growing steadily in recent years. The number of tires is increasing, and the number of waste tires is also increasing. But according to our industry incomplete statistics, the number of tire retreading is declining year by year. In fact, Article 40 of the "the People's Republic of China Circular Economy Promotion Law", which was implemented in January 2009, clearly stipulates that the state supports enterprises to carry out remanufacturing and tire retreading of motor vehicle parts, construction machinery, machine tools and other products. The National Development and Reform Commission issued successive documents in 2017 and 2019, with special emphasis on incorporating the construction of resource recycling bases, including waste tires, into urban planning. In 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also issued a series of documents to guide the tire recycling and retreading industry.

In addition, the national standards of "construction machinery retreaded tires" and "truck retreaded tires" have also been formally implemented. Li Weidong, President of China Tire Circular Economy Utilization Association: Rubber itself is a strategic resource, and refurbishment is the best saving of this strategic resource.

"Disposable tires" flooding the market industry calling for new national standards Since regular retreaded tires are both economical and environmentally friendly, the policy also encourages, but why is the output value of the tire retreading industry declining year by year? Li Weidong, President of China Tire Recycling Economy Utilization Association: Many new tires do not have retreading, that is, one-time use. There is no refurbishment performance at the time of manufacture, and there is very little for the supply of refurbished tires. There are other reasons. For example, some small workshops have indeed made some refurbished tires that do not conform to the national technical specifications, which may have some negative effects.

Zhang Xiuli, chairman of an automobile tire enterprise in Zhengzhou: the average renovation rate in society is less than 5%, so think about this gap.

Since the beginning of this year, many new tire manufacturers sales growth is far greater than revenue growth. In other words, most domestic tires have not yet come out of the living environment of "relying on low prices to continue their lives. The price of new tires is getting lower and lower, and the living space of retreaded tires is also squeezed. In addition, the cost of retreaded tires has been controlled by others, and most of the production equipment and main raw materials such as tread rubber and cushion rubber rely on imports.

Since 2013, this enterprise in Hangzhou has realized all independent research and development and production of raw materials, the raw material cost of each refurbished tire can be saved by about 100 yuan. From 2019 to 2023, their tire retreads were 17000, 19000, 20000, 22000 and 25000 respectively. Although it is growing every year, the output value of the tire retreading business is negligible.

During the interview, industry insiders told reporters that in order to promote the healthy and orderly development of the tire retreading industry, in addition to cracking down on small workshops and standardizing the tire retreading market, it is also necessary to determine the corresponding standards to ensure that the new tires currently on the market have the conditions for retreading after use. Shen Jinrong, chairman of a rubber group in Hangzhou: The refurbishment rate of new tires is now declining because tires become disposable tires when they are made cheaper. The current situation of renovation should be integrated. Li Weidong, President of China Tire Circular Economy Utilization Association: When manufacturing new tires, the country should formulate indicators that can have retreading performance. If this mandatory standard is not met, the new tires are unqualified, so there will be great for retreading tires. Great development.
 

from: rubber technology network, rubber industry portal!