The Innovative Pathway of Linglong Tire

The military parade for the commemoration of 70th anniversary of victory of Chinese people's resistance against Japanese aggression and world anti-fascist war held on Sept. 3, 2015 attracted the whole world's attention.

But few people knew that the CrossWind tires used by Hongqi limos at the parade are characterized by compression resistant, wear resistant and bulletproof. The special-purpose tire model was researched and devised independently by Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd..

From low-end wagon tires production to manufacturing of truck tires, engineering tires and sedan tires, to today's special-purpose tires, semi-steel radial tires, all-steel radial tires series, Linglong's 40-year development history is splendid.

Innovation is its spirit, which pushes Linglong from a small factory close to failure to an international company of tire industry.

Wisdom within Tire Tread

In the tire tread carving lab of Linglong Tire R&D Center, two workers are carving tire tread carefully according to drawings covered on the tire.

The carved tire will be used for internal experiment. It costs two days to finish carving an ordinary road tire, and for snow tire with more complicated treads, it takes a week.

Li Liang, engineer of Linglong Tire R&D Center, said traditionally, internal tire experiments need to create modes, and creating a mode costs about three months and 300,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan. Instead, Linglong's innovative tire tread carving method spends less time and needs almost no cost.

In another lab where the wall is covered with thousands of wedge foams, when the door is closed, the sound of machines outside the room died immediately.

Li pressed down the button, wheels installed on the experiment equipment started to run, there was only sound of the tire rubbing with the floor. In the front of the lab, four microphones recorded parameters of the noises.

Li said it was China's first indoor noise lab. Comparing with traditional outdoor noise experiments, the data acquired indoor is also precise while the space occupation is less.

Today, a number of China's tire producers have established their indoor labs.

During the manufacturing process, Linglong wasn't content with production depending on foreign technology. With unique experimental technology, its indigenous Green-max UHP tire received the same rating with Michelin and Dunlop's in Finland's world tire rating in 2011.

Linglong's 445/95R25 all-steel engineering radial tire program became an industrial demonstrative program of the National Torch Program by the Science and Technology Ministry. Linglong Tire R&D Center was recognized as a provincial corporate technology center of Shandong in 2004 and became a national corporate technology center in 2012.

Innovation Rooted in Industrial, Academic, Research Institutional Cooperation

Innovation brings about quality products, while quality products become the ground and resources for Linglong's further innovation.

To lower the dependence on rubber, Linglong and 14 scientific and research institutions established "Innovative and Strategic Alliance of Dandelion Rubber Industrial Technology" and the plantations have covered Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Heilongjiang, Shandong, Guangdong and Hainan province.

Commercial development of Dandelion Rubber is to provide abundant natural rubber materials for China's tire industry.

Linglong started to operate radial tire program in 2001, and its all-steel, semi-steel radial tires formed scale with more than a decade's development.

Recently, Linglong initiated a graphene tire R&D program with Beijing University of Chemical Technology and South China University of Technology. The program is dedicated to strengthen the rubber material of tire tread and successfully worked out China's first graphene low rolling resistant semi-steel radial concept tire.

The tire model is close to the highest level of the world's tire manufacturing. Its success broadens the field of graphene application and offers new material and formula for production of low rolling resistant tires.

Li said the innovation of Linglong rooted in cooperation among the industry, academic and research institutions as well as the company's 40-year accumulation in technology.Currently, Linglong develops more than 700 new products each year, at least two new products are put into the market each day.

Technical Support for Internationalization

Linglong made eyecatching achievement in tire production, its innovative moves in some "key programs" are also remarkable.

The company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with ADIADA, a word-class tire testing company, with regard to the Central Asia Tire Test Field program in 2013.

The test field consists of a variety of roads, which will offer strong technical support for Linglong to enter into the international market.

Linglong's innovation also feeds the industry back. The company has undertaken two special innovative programs of Shandong province, namely the R&D and industrialization of key technology concerning radial tires for green high-performance cars, and the ultra-low-profile skid-resistant low-noise radial tires for passenger cars.

Both the programs have passed the acceptance check by Shandong province with 20 domestic and international patents.

Linglong have participated in formulating and revising 58 national and industrial standards, more than 20 of its new products and technology fill the gap of China, and obtained more than 400 patents in China, America, and Australia.

Linglong today is one of China's top 500 large companies and one of China's top 500 manufacturing companies, with its subsidiaries covering Dezhou, Shandong province, Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as Thailand.

Strong momentum generated from innovation is the driver for Linglong's development.