Tire Manufacturing Tech Race

As the global automotive industry accelerates its transformation towards new energy and high-end products, tires, as a key core component, face increasingly stringent performance requirements. In tire manufacturing, calendering and compounding, as core processes, are increasingly becoming the commanding heights of technological competition and a key indicator of international competitiveness in the global tire industry.

Currently, tire companies worldwide are increasing investment in process research and development, accelerating technological iteration, and fiercely competing in areas such as precise control, green energy conservation, and intelligent integration. The speed and quality of process upgrades are profoundly impacting the position of companies and even nations in the global tire industry landscape.

The compounding process, as the "source process" of tire production, directly determines the stability of the rubber compound and the core performance of the tire, making it paramount in process upgrades. Addressing the bottlenecks of high energy consumption, uneven filler dispersion, and low production efficiency in traditional compounding processes, companies worldwide are focusing on breakthroughs in key technologies.

The wet compounding technology introduced by Chinese companies achieves energy savings of over 60% compared to traditional dry compounding, significantly improves the overall performance of tires, solves problems such as high filler loss and heavy pollution in traditional processes, and achieves green manufacturing with zero wastewater and exhaust emissions.

Zhongce Rubber's 5G digital factory employs a low-temperature mixing process, reducing emission temperatures from 165℃ to 140℃, achieving a 15% energy saving. Combined with the application of environmentally friendly additives, it curbs pollutant generation at the source. International giants are also actively investing in this area.

Michelin's Shanghai "Future Factory" has achieved intelligent and precise control of the mixing process through technological optimization, strongly supporting the continuous improvement of high-end new energy tire performance.

Calendar processing, as a key step in tire forming, directly affects the uniformity of tread and sidewall thickness and surface smoothness, becoming a core technological barrier in high-end tire manufacturing. The current global calendering equipment market exhibits a multi-layered competitive landscape: German and Japanese companies maintain a strong position in the high-end market thanks to their precision control technology, while Chinese companies have achieved large-scale breakthroughs in niche mid-range segments.

A German company's intelligent calendering production line integrates an AI thickness prediction system, achieving thickness tolerance control within ±0.005mm; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan possesses significant competitiveness in the four-roll composite calendering system field, maintaining roll temperature control stability within ±0.3℃. 

Meanwhile, Chinese companies are accelerating their technological catch-up. Companies like Zhongce Rubber and Michelin's Shenyang plant have effectively improved the automation level and processing precision of their calendering processes by deploying digital solutions. Michelin's Shenyang plant, in particular, was successfully selected as a global "Lighthouse Factory" based on its related technological applications.

The deep integration of green and intelligent technologies is becoming a core trend in tire process upgrades and a frontier of international competition. Driven by "dual carbon" goals, companies worldwide are actively incorporating green concepts into the entire process of process upgrades.

Zhongce's Qiantang plant adopts a fully enclosed, low-pressure design, achieving a 95% waste gas collection efficiency and reducing VOC emissions by 80.92% compared to traditional plants. It also features a photovoltaic power supply system, achieving partial energy self-sufficiency.

In terms of intelligent technology, AI is gradually penetrating all aspects of process control. Zhongce Rubber launched an AI formulation system to achieve precise control of raw material ratios; Michelin's Shanghai plant introduced digital twin technology to simulate the production process, optimize calendering and mixing process parameters, and effectively shorten the trial production cycle.

Comerio Ecoli of Italy has won the 2026 International Tire Technology Award for its new-generation ZEUS® calendering production line, demonstrating its outstanding process stability and production efficiency, further highlighting its competitive strength in high-end technology.

Currently, global competition in tire manufacturing processes is becoming increasingly fierce, with technological barriers constantly rising. China has become the world's largest producer of rubber calendering equipment, but it still lags behind leading companies in Europe, America, and Japan in high-end precision control technology.

In the future, as new energy vehicles continue to demand higher performance from tires, such as wear resistance and low rolling resistance, upgrades to calendering and compounding processes will focus more on precision, greening, and intelligentization.

Only by continuously increasing R&D investment, promoting technological innovation, and strengthening supply chain collaboration can we gain the initiative in global competition and drive the tire industry towards higher-quality development.