The compound rubber national standard is formulated to cause the competition of the rubber content rate standard
Time：2014-09-19 10:28:57 Page view (1913)
On August 22, the National Standardization Administration issued the National Standard for General Composite Rubber Specifications (Draft for Comment) (hereinafter referred to as the “Specifications”). The "Specifications" were formulated under the requirements of the National Standardization Administration Committee National Standards Committee [2014] No. 54. According to the China Rubber Network, the National Standards Commission has initiated a rapid procedure for this, and it is required to formulate the National Standard for the General Technical Specification for Composite Rubber as soon as possible.
The most interesting content of the "Code" is the regulation of raw rubber content in composite rubber, which is also the most controversial issue in the formulation of the national standard. The "Specifications" stipulate that the raw rubber content should not exceed 88% (mass fraction), which is far from the natural rubber content of 95% to 99.5% specified in the Composite Rubber Self-Regulation Specification formulated by the China Rubber Industry Association in 2006. This adjustment has caused great repercussions for rubber products companies such as tires and rubber processing enterprises. So, how big is the impact of the new standard on the rubber industry? The reporters of China Rubber Network conducted in-depth interviews with people involved in the production, use and trade of composite rubber.
88% of the raw rubber content, can the composite rubber still be used?
In an interview with the China Rubber Network reporter, the industry insiders said that the composite rubber with a natural rubber content of more than 95%, the tire companies do not need to adjust the process and formula too much, can meet the production requirements of various parts of the tire. However, the standard of raw rubber in the standard is not more than 88%, so that the performance of composite rubber is greatly reduced. Tire enterprises must carry out a large number of processes and formula adjustments, re-test product verification, supplier certification, etc. Increased technical difficulty, management cost, capital occupation and quality control difficulty, while increasing product safety risks, making China's tire industry facing the "double-reverse" of the United States worse, and these changes require at least 2 to 3 years of technical adjustment. Period, not immediately.
Shen Jinrong, chairman of Zhongce Rubber Group Co., Ltd., told the China Rubber Network reporter: “Composite rubber with non-glue components below 5% can be adjusted by adding compounding agent again. Non-adhesive ingredients are easy to add, but they are Can not be taken out. Non-glue ingredients more than 5% is the masterbatch, must be customized, that is, rubber products companies need to order the production of rubber processing factory custom processing. In the current situation, it is clear that the custom processing is not Yes, because Southeast Asian countries do not have large-scale mixing capacity, unless the domestic tire factory moves the rubber mixing process to Southeast Asia, which is unrealistic."
Ren Fujun, deputy director of Zhongze Rubber Group's radial tire research institute, has been engaged in tire formulation research for a long time. According to him, the use of composite rubber after standard adjustment will be limited, and enterprises must carry out a large number of formula adjustment work. "In the original standard, it is better to add a small amount of styrene-butadiene rubber, stearic acid, etc. to the raw rubber. After the standard adjustment, it is definitely more carbon black, so the scope of application is narrower." He introduced that only the medium-cement semi-steel tires produce more than 100 tons of rubber per day, while the all-steel tires, engineering tires and other varieties with large amount of glue will definitely be affected.
As a formula engineer, Wang Zhiyuan of the R&D department of Guangzhou Huanan Rubber Tire Co., Ltd. told the China Rubber Network reporter that “the rubber content is reduced, and the quality of raw materials is difficult to control. Who knows what ingredients are added in addition to the original rubber? Will affect the quality and performance of the finished tires." The technicians of Cooper (Chengshan) Tire Co., Ltd. also believe that the current application of composite rubber natural rubber content is not less than 95%, basically no need to make excessive adjustments to the formula. If it is carried out according to the new standard, the quality of the blending agents such as carbon black and white carbon black mixed is not good. In addition to the need to re-adjust the formula, the company also greatly increases the difficulty of quality assurance.
Tianjin International United Tire Co., Ltd. also raised objections to the new standard. “The original compound glue can satisfy the whole factory production. Now we have to purchase several kinds of dozens of special customized compound glues, which greatly increases the enterprise. The difficulty of procurement and management will have a great impact on the company's technical production system."
Wang Yuxiang, director of the Science and Technology Department of China National Chemical Rubber Corporation, believes that the production of carbon black and rubber compounding agents in Southeast Asia is very low, while China is a major producer and exporter of carbon black and rubber additives. “If the rubber compounding rate is greatly reduced to 88%, then many carbon black and other compounding agents need to be exported to Southeast Asia and then with the composite rubber. The cost of the compounding rubber will definitely rise and be passed on to the tire companies, plus the US China's passenger and light truck tires have launched a double-reverse investigation, and the production and operation situation of China's tire industry next year is definitely difficult."
Zhu Hong, director of the Technical and Economic Committee of China Rubber Industry Association, said in an interview with China Rubber Net reporter that the rubber compound content of composite rubber is reduced, which greatly increases the complexity of processing and use of tire enterprises. First, it is technically difficult to achieve. Tires are multi-component products. Different types of tires are used in different specifications and different uses. Generally, large tire companies have hundreds of rubber compounds. If the new standard is implemented, the rubber compound formula and process control of each part of the tire must be re-tested and adjusted. The finished tires must be re-tested. Since the tire is a safety component of the car, it must be certified and reviewed by the car manufacturer. This adjustment takes a long time. The second is to increase the management costs of the factory. In order to meet various product design requirements, tire companies have to purchase a variety of composite rubbers, which increases the complexity of use management and processing energy consumption, and increases the management of process control, warehouse management, and factory inspection. cost. The third is to increase the use of liquidity. Due to the increase in the amount of rubber inventories, it will bring greater capital turnover difficulties to enterprises, making it more difficult for tire companies that are already marginally profitable to operate. Fourth, procurement management is more difficult. Not all composite rubber manufacturers have special production equipment that incorporates 12% carbon black and other compounding agents into rubber. This forced the tire companies to re-select the compound suppliers and re-investigate the suppliers for business inspections, negotiations and quality system audits.
Zhu Hong believes that due to the above reasons, tire companies may no longer choose to use composite rubber, the new standard is equivalent to closing the door of composite rubber imports. This will not only increase the price of natural rubber, but will cause trade chaos. As a result, the first will be a heavy blow to the tire rubber industry; the second is to force downstream companies to seek other natural rubber substitute products such as synthetic rubber, resulting in further decline in global natural rubber prices.
Downstream tire companies generally believe that the natural rubber industry and the tire industry are closely related to each other. Reducing the rubber content of the composite rubber can only push the tire industry to a more difficult situation, and the results will also affect the healthy development of the domestic natural rubber industry.
Rubber production and trading companies, will business be affected in the future?
In recent years, under the guidance of the national go-out policy, in the context of the sharp increase in domestic demand for natural rubber, many companies have gone out to grow rubber in Southeast Asian countries, set up processing plants, and then import their rubber into the country, including Many companies have established compound rubber processing plants. So, what is the impact of the change in composite rubber standards on these companies?
Guangqi Rubber Group Co., Ltd. is the first enterprise in China's natural rubber industry. It has completed the staged overseas rubber industry layout and built 7 rubber processing plants in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries to form an annual output of 30. 10,000 tons of natural rubber processing capacity. Zhang Rong, the company's deputy general manager, told the China Rubber Network reporter that “the increase in non-glue components is a subversive change in composite rubber. This adjustment not only affects the production of composite rubber, but also affects the production of raw rubber. Because Hirose's overseas factories not only produce compound rubber, if the carbon black is added when the compound rubber is produced, the production environment is easily contaminated, which will affect the production of the original rubber."
Zhang Rong believes that Guangzhao will import 200,000 to 300,000 tons of composite rubber imported overseas every year. If the rubber content rate standard is really reduced, it may affect the contract supply with the tire company at the beginning of the year. In the long run, the tire company will definitely not buy it, and the trade will not be done. The smaller domestic processing plants operating in Southeast Asia will be more difficult and likely to be eliminated.
However, some traders believe that they have little effect on themselves. “The standard adjustment of compound rubber is not good news for domestic tire factories. However, in the long run, the total demand for rubber will not decrease, so there will be no loss to traders. Tire companies will switch to import through general trade and processing trade. Rubber." Li Shiqiang, general manager of Shanghai Shidong Trading Co., Ltd. told the China Rubber Network reporter.
Li Xiangou, general manager of Qingdao International Rubber Trading Market Co., Ltd. said that the current standard has not been formally implemented and it is not convenient to express opinions.
Does restricting the use of composite rubber affect the price of natural rubber?
Shen Jinrong believes that "the current rubber price formation mechanism is caused by the global oversupply, which has nothing to do with the natural rubber's choice tax and the zero tariff of composite rubber." He explained the natural rubber K-line chart, "In early 2009, According to the tariff reduction process of China and ASEAN, the tariff of compound rubber is adjusted to 0. It is said that rubber prices should fall, but the price is always going up, there is no turning point. To two years later, February 14, 2011, the price It has risen to the highest point of 42,000 yuan/ton. At present, the global oversupply is phased and cyclical, and the law is a cycle of 6 years. Pushing forward for 3 years, February 14, 2011, is the highest point of rubber price; Pushing forward for another 3 years, the end of 2008 is the lowest point of the previous cycle.” He believes that natural rubber is now at the lowest point of the six-year cycle, and the space for price decline is very small. According to the laws of previous years, the price will be Slowly go up. Therefore, the rubber industry should not be panicked and fussed.
"If you limit the compound glue, or block the import channel of the compound glue, it is to limit the consumption of natural rubber in China, which is equivalent to limiting the global consumption of natural rubber. Then the global natural rubber supply and demand relationship is more unbalanced, and the price really falls to 1000. "Under the dollar / ton." He explained to the China Rubber Network reporter, "Because China's natural rubber self-sufficiency rate is only 20%, and rubber consumption accounts for 35% of the world, such a large market is not traded, the only The result is that prices continue to fall."
The national standard should take into account the interests of all parties, and the rubber-containing rate standard deserves further scrutiny.
Zhu Hong said, “The standard setting rarely starts the rapid procedure, and it is only used occasionally in the military standards. The formulation of the national standard for composite rubber is somewhat rushed, and it does not fully take into account the various capabilities and standard adjustment enterprises. Preparation, and there is no corresponding technical support for the raw rubber content of the composite rubber."
At present, the China Rubber Industry Association has already reflected the opinions of the tire companies to the relevant state departments, and expressed strong opposition to the “standard” to reduce the raw rubber content to 88%. China Rubber Association believes that in the past two years, due to the continued low price of natural rubber, the market price of tires has been falling, and natural rubber manufacturers and tire manufacturers have been hurt. The reason for the low price of natural rubber is that the country's current import tariff is too low, and the import of composite rubber is large. It is proposed to adjust the raw rubber content of the composite rubber from 95% to 99.5% to 88%. This brings great harm to downstream rubber companies. China Rubber Association believes that the root of all this is precisely because of the high import tariffs on natural rubber.
The China Rubber Association believes that the formulation of standards should be based on the actual situation of the industry, taking into account the interests of stakeholders, and considering the stability of the upstream and downstream, sustainable development. To this end, the natural rubber content of the composite rubber should not be lower than 95%, in order to ensure the usable performance of the composite rubber, reflecting the scientific, authoritative and enforceable nature of the national standard.
The most interesting content of the "Code" is the regulation of raw rubber content in composite rubber, which is also the most controversial issue in the formulation of the national standard. The "Specifications" stipulate that the raw rubber content should not exceed 88% (mass fraction), which is far from the natural rubber content of 95% to 99.5% specified in the Composite Rubber Self-Regulation Specification formulated by the China Rubber Industry Association in 2006. This adjustment has caused great repercussions for rubber products companies such as tires and rubber processing enterprises. So, how big is the impact of the new standard on the rubber industry? The reporters of China Rubber Network conducted in-depth interviews with people involved in the production, use and trade of composite rubber.
88% of the raw rubber content, can the composite rubber still be used?
In an interview with the China Rubber Network reporter, the industry insiders said that the composite rubber with a natural rubber content of more than 95%, the tire companies do not need to adjust the process and formula too much, can meet the production requirements of various parts of the tire. However, the standard of raw rubber in the standard is not more than 88%, so that the performance of composite rubber is greatly reduced. Tire enterprises must carry out a large number of processes and formula adjustments, re-test product verification, supplier certification, etc. Increased technical difficulty, management cost, capital occupation and quality control difficulty, while increasing product safety risks, making China's tire industry facing the "double-reverse" of the United States worse, and these changes require at least 2 to 3 years of technical adjustment. Period, not immediately.
Shen Jinrong, chairman of Zhongce Rubber Group Co., Ltd., told the China Rubber Network reporter: “Composite rubber with non-glue components below 5% can be adjusted by adding compounding agent again. Non-adhesive ingredients are easy to add, but they are Can not be taken out. Non-glue ingredients more than 5% is the masterbatch, must be customized, that is, rubber products companies need to order the production of rubber processing factory custom processing. In the current situation, it is clear that the custom processing is not Yes, because Southeast Asian countries do not have large-scale mixing capacity, unless the domestic tire factory moves the rubber mixing process to Southeast Asia, which is unrealistic."
Ren Fujun, deputy director of Zhongze Rubber Group's radial tire research institute, has been engaged in tire formulation research for a long time. According to him, the use of composite rubber after standard adjustment will be limited, and enterprises must carry out a large number of formula adjustment work. "In the original standard, it is better to add a small amount of styrene-butadiene rubber, stearic acid, etc. to the raw rubber. After the standard adjustment, it is definitely more carbon black, so the scope of application is narrower." He introduced that only the medium-cement semi-steel tires produce more than 100 tons of rubber per day, while the all-steel tires, engineering tires and other varieties with large amount of glue will definitely be affected.
As a formula engineer, Wang Zhiyuan of the R&D department of Guangzhou Huanan Rubber Tire Co., Ltd. told the China Rubber Network reporter that “the rubber content is reduced, and the quality of raw materials is difficult to control. Who knows what ingredients are added in addition to the original rubber? Will affect the quality and performance of the finished tires." The technicians of Cooper (Chengshan) Tire Co., Ltd. also believe that the current application of composite rubber natural rubber content is not less than 95%, basically no need to make excessive adjustments to the formula. If it is carried out according to the new standard, the quality of the blending agents such as carbon black and white carbon black mixed is not good. In addition to the need to re-adjust the formula, the company also greatly increases the difficulty of quality assurance.
Tianjin International United Tire Co., Ltd. also raised objections to the new standard. “The original compound glue can satisfy the whole factory production. Now we have to purchase several kinds of dozens of special customized compound glues, which greatly increases the enterprise. The difficulty of procurement and management will have a great impact on the company's technical production system."
Wang Yuxiang, director of the Science and Technology Department of China National Chemical Rubber Corporation, believes that the production of carbon black and rubber compounding agents in Southeast Asia is very low, while China is a major producer and exporter of carbon black and rubber additives. “If the rubber compounding rate is greatly reduced to 88%, then many carbon black and other compounding agents need to be exported to Southeast Asia and then with the composite rubber. The cost of the compounding rubber will definitely rise and be passed on to the tire companies, plus the US China's passenger and light truck tires have launched a double-reverse investigation, and the production and operation situation of China's tire industry next year is definitely difficult."
Zhu Hong, director of the Technical and Economic Committee of China Rubber Industry Association, said in an interview with China Rubber Net reporter that the rubber compound content of composite rubber is reduced, which greatly increases the complexity of processing and use of tire enterprises. First, it is technically difficult to achieve. Tires are multi-component products. Different types of tires are used in different specifications and different uses. Generally, large tire companies have hundreds of rubber compounds. If the new standard is implemented, the rubber compound formula and process control of each part of the tire must be re-tested and adjusted. The finished tires must be re-tested. Since the tire is a safety component of the car, it must be certified and reviewed by the car manufacturer. This adjustment takes a long time. The second is to increase the management costs of the factory. In order to meet various product design requirements, tire companies have to purchase a variety of composite rubbers, which increases the complexity of use management and processing energy consumption, and increases the management of process control, warehouse management, and factory inspection. cost. The third is to increase the use of liquidity. Due to the increase in the amount of rubber inventories, it will bring greater capital turnover difficulties to enterprises, making it more difficult for tire companies that are already marginally profitable to operate. Fourth, procurement management is more difficult. Not all composite rubber manufacturers have special production equipment that incorporates 12% carbon black and other compounding agents into rubber. This forced the tire companies to re-select the compound suppliers and re-investigate the suppliers for business inspections, negotiations and quality system audits.
Zhu Hong believes that due to the above reasons, tire companies may no longer choose to use composite rubber, the new standard is equivalent to closing the door of composite rubber imports. This will not only increase the price of natural rubber, but will cause trade chaos. As a result, the first will be a heavy blow to the tire rubber industry; the second is to force downstream companies to seek other natural rubber substitute products such as synthetic rubber, resulting in further decline in global natural rubber prices.
Downstream tire companies generally believe that the natural rubber industry and the tire industry are closely related to each other. Reducing the rubber content of the composite rubber can only push the tire industry to a more difficult situation, and the results will also affect the healthy development of the domestic natural rubber industry.
Rubber production and trading companies, will business be affected in the future?
In recent years, under the guidance of the national go-out policy, in the context of the sharp increase in domestic demand for natural rubber, many companies have gone out to grow rubber in Southeast Asian countries, set up processing plants, and then import their rubber into the country, including Many companies have established compound rubber processing plants. So, what is the impact of the change in composite rubber standards on these companies?
Guangqi Rubber Group Co., Ltd. is the first enterprise in China's natural rubber industry. It has completed the staged overseas rubber industry layout and built 7 rubber processing plants in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries to form an annual output of 30. 10,000 tons of natural rubber processing capacity. Zhang Rong, the company's deputy general manager, told the China Rubber Network reporter that “the increase in non-glue components is a subversive change in composite rubber. This adjustment not only affects the production of composite rubber, but also affects the production of raw rubber. Because Hirose's overseas factories not only produce compound rubber, if the carbon black is added when the compound rubber is produced, the production environment is easily contaminated, which will affect the production of the original rubber."
Zhang Rong believes that Guangzhao will import 200,000 to 300,000 tons of composite rubber imported overseas every year. If the rubber content rate standard is really reduced, it may affect the contract supply with the tire company at the beginning of the year. In the long run, the tire company will definitely not buy it, and the trade will not be done. The smaller domestic processing plants operating in Southeast Asia will be more difficult and likely to be eliminated.
However, some traders believe that they have little effect on themselves. “The standard adjustment of compound rubber is not good news for domestic tire factories. However, in the long run, the total demand for rubber will not decrease, so there will be no loss to traders. Tire companies will switch to import through general trade and processing trade. Rubber." Li Shiqiang, general manager of Shanghai Shidong Trading Co., Ltd. told the China Rubber Network reporter.
Li Xiangou, general manager of Qingdao International Rubber Trading Market Co., Ltd. said that the current standard has not been formally implemented and it is not convenient to express opinions.
Does restricting the use of composite rubber affect the price of natural rubber?
Shen Jinrong believes that "the current rubber price formation mechanism is caused by the global oversupply, which has nothing to do with the natural rubber's choice tax and the zero tariff of composite rubber." He explained the natural rubber K-line chart, "In early 2009, According to the tariff reduction process of China and ASEAN, the tariff of compound rubber is adjusted to 0. It is said that rubber prices should fall, but the price is always going up, there is no turning point. To two years later, February 14, 2011, the price It has risen to the highest point of 42,000 yuan/ton. At present, the global oversupply is phased and cyclical, and the law is a cycle of 6 years. Pushing forward for 3 years, February 14, 2011, is the highest point of rubber price; Pushing forward for another 3 years, the end of 2008 is the lowest point of the previous cycle.” He believes that natural rubber is now at the lowest point of the six-year cycle, and the space for price decline is very small. According to the laws of previous years, the price will be Slowly go up. Therefore, the rubber industry should not be panicked and fussed.
"If you limit the compound glue, or block the import channel of the compound glue, it is to limit the consumption of natural rubber in China, which is equivalent to limiting the global consumption of natural rubber. Then the global natural rubber supply and demand relationship is more unbalanced, and the price really falls to 1000. "Under the dollar / ton." He explained to the China Rubber Network reporter, "Because China's natural rubber self-sufficiency rate is only 20%, and rubber consumption accounts for 35% of the world, such a large market is not traded, the only The result is that prices continue to fall."
The national standard should take into account the interests of all parties, and the rubber-containing rate standard deserves further scrutiny.
Zhu Hong said, “The standard setting rarely starts the rapid procedure, and it is only used occasionally in the military standards. The formulation of the national standard for composite rubber is somewhat rushed, and it does not fully take into account the various capabilities and standard adjustment enterprises. Preparation, and there is no corresponding technical support for the raw rubber content of the composite rubber."
At present, the China Rubber Industry Association has already reflected the opinions of the tire companies to the relevant state departments, and expressed strong opposition to the “standard” to reduce the raw rubber content to 88%. China Rubber Association believes that in the past two years, due to the continued low price of natural rubber, the market price of tires has been falling, and natural rubber manufacturers and tire manufacturers have been hurt. The reason for the low price of natural rubber is that the country's current import tariff is too low, and the import of composite rubber is large. It is proposed to adjust the raw rubber content of the composite rubber from 95% to 99.5% to 88%. This brings great harm to downstream rubber companies. China Rubber Association believes that the root of all this is precisely because of the high import tariffs on natural rubber.
The China Rubber Association believes that the formulation of standards should be based on the actual situation of the industry, taking into account the interests of stakeholders, and considering the stability of the upstream and downstream, sustainable development. To this end, the natural rubber content of the composite rubber should not be lower than 95%, in order to ensure the usable performance of the composite rubber, reflecting the scientific, authoritative and enforceable nature of the national standard.
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