Xingda has become the first Chinese steel cord and bead wire maker to release a sustainability report.

The sustainability report 2021 details the goals, plans, actions and latest progress of its key sustainability initiatives, such as green products, circular economy and low-carbon operation, with key information.

With "Sustainable and High-quality Development" as the core and responsible operation as the foundation, Xingda will deliver high-quality, innovative and green products and solutions, promote green transformation of the industry, and contribute to the social development and community prosperity. 

Four major areas of sustainable development:

 Green products and solutions 

 Sustainable supply chain 

 Shared social values 

 Robust operation model 

Seven substantive topics and progress of sustainable development：

1. Green products

 By 2025, increase the proportion of green products in total sales to 30% 

Progress in 2021: ST/UT tyre cord products accounted for 28% of total sales. The ST/UT tyre cords can reduce tyre weight, lower rolling resistance, and prolong tyre service life.

2. Tackling climate change

 By 2025, reduce carbon emission per unit of product by 18% in comparison to 2020

 By 2025, reduce energy consumption per unit of product by 14% in comparison to 2020

 By 2025, achieve a 30% green energy ratio

Progress in 2021:

a) Carbon emission per unit of product of Jiangsu base was 1.42 tons of CO2e, down 3.73% year- on-year 

b) Energy consumption per unit of product was 1.43 MWH/ton , down 1.38% year on year Meanwhile, energy consumption per unit of product of the Jiangsu base in 2021 dropped by 2.69% from 2020 

c) Approved the CAPEX of 7.6MW rooftop solar power station, with an expected annual electricity generation up to 8 million kWh 

3. Circular economy

 By 2030, raise the proportion of recycled steel to 40% 

Progress in 2021: The purchased steel wire rod contained 18.50% recycled steel 

4. Responsible procurement

 By 2025, include 100% of Xingda’s suppliers in sustainability assessment

Progress in 2021: 11.48% of suppliers finished environmental and social evaluation, while the evaluation ratio of major raw material and auxiliary product suppliers was 90.9% 

5. Community and human capital development

 By 2025, provide on average 40 hours of vocational training for each employee per year 

Progress in 2021: Employees received 34 hours of training on average 

6. Compliance and business ethics

 By 2025, provide business ethics trainings for 100% of our employees and suppliers 

Progress in 2021: 857 employees (11% in total) received anti-corruption training

7. Sustainability governance

 Continuously improve information transparency and capital market performance

Progress in 2021:

a) Xingda established Sustainable and High-Quality Development Strategy Committee and the Xingda International Green Vanguard Team 

b) Released Xingda's first sustainability report 

c) Achieved score B for CDP Climate Change Questionnaire rating and won Bronze Medal for Ecovadis rating 

Along with the report, Xingda also shared the current status of its pioneering ‘from tyre, back to tyre’ project, in which steel cord and bead wire shall be recycled from used tyres to make wire rod and then new steel cord and bead wire, so as to achieve a true circular economy. At present, Xingda is working closely with tyre recyclers, steel makers and tyre makers to assess the technical feasibility of such cycle, and look to conclude the assessment in the coming months before moving to the mass trial phase. Once completed, it will mark one of the greatest breakthroughs the industry has seen in recent years and offer a remarkable boost to the quest for circular economy by tyre makers around the globe.  

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As Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks expand globally, the tyre industry is undergoing a structural transformation. Collection systems are improving, traceability is increasing and investments in recycling technologies are accelerating. However, one critical tension remains insufficiently addressed: the speed of industry evolution is outpacing the agility of public policy. And within that gap, one key question emerges: where does retreading fit in this new circular economy architecture?

A STRUCTURAL PARADOX

Retreading represents one of the most efficient forms of resource optimisation in the tyre lifecycle. It extends product life, reduces raw material consumption and lowers emissions. Yet, in many regulatory frameworks, it is still treated ambiguously – often grouped with recycling rather than recognised as prevention or preparation for reuse. This distinction is not semantic. It is strategic. Because when policy fails to differentiate, markets fail to prioritise.

A FAST-MOVING INDUSTRY, A SLOW-MOVING FRAMEWORK

The tyre market is evolving in real time:

1. Increasing penetration of low-cost imports.
2. Growing variability in product quality.
3. Accelerated turnover cycles.

Retreading, in this context, becomes more than a circular solution. It becomes a filter of industrial quality. Not all tyres are equally retreadable. And that difference defines their real contribution to circularity. Yet most EPR systems continue to operate with uniform economic signals, failing to distinguish between products that enable multiple lifecycles and those that exit the system after a single use.

SIGNALS FROM EUROPE

Recent developments in countries like Portugal – where eco-fees applied to retreaded tyres approach those of low-cost, non-differentiated new tyres – highlight a concerning trend. Similarly, in Spain, industry representatives continue to advocate for a clearer institutional recognition of retreading within EPR systems. These cases illustrate a broader issue: circular policies can unintentionally undermine higher-value circular strategies.

THE MISSING LINK: PERFORMANCE-BASED POLICY

What is missing is not regulation. It is regulatory precision. EPR systems have successfully organised waste flows. But they have not yet evolved to reward performance within the lifecycle. This is where eco-modulation becomes critical.

ECO-MODULATION AS A STRATEGIC LEVER

Eco-modulation should not be a marginal adjustment. It should be a core industrial policy tool. Properly designed, it can:

• Differentiate tyres based on real circular
• performance.
• Incentivise durability and retreadability.
• Penalise short-lifecycle, non-recoverable products.
• Align market behaviour with system objectives.
• To operationalise this, we need new metrics.

FROM COMPLIANCE TO PERFORMANCE: A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK

The next step for EPR systems is to move towards performance-based differentiation. This could be implemented through instruments such as:

• Retreadability Index (RI)
• Performance Score (CPS)

These would measure:

• Number of effective retreading cycles per tyre.
• Structural durability and casing quality.
• Real contribution to lifecycle extension.

Under such a system:

• Tyres with higher retreadability would receive lower eco-fees.
• Products that systematically fail to re-enter the cycle
• would face higher costs.
• This is not just a technical refinement. It is a shift from:
• Generic compliance.
• To intelligent market shaping.

THE LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE

In Latin America, the stakes are even higher.

The region faces:

• Structural dependence on imported tyres.
• Strong presence of low-cost, low-durability products.
• Emerging EPR frameworks (Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador)

Chile, for example, through its EPR law (Ley REP), has made significant progress in structuring collection and recovery targets. However, like many systems, it still faces the challenge of fully integrating reuse strategies into its economic logic. Under these conditions, retreading is not just an environmental solution. It is a strategic industrial capability.

BEYOND WASTE MANAGEMENT

Latin America has a unique opportunity to design EPR systems not only to manage waste

but to govern resources and shape markets.

This means:

• Incentivising retreadable tyres
• Strengthening local retreading industries
• Reducing dependence on short-lifecycle imports
• Building resilience into supply chains

But this requires something critical: policy agility. Because if regulation lags behind market dynamics, it will not transform the system – it will merely formalise its inefficiencies.

A STRATEGIC CONCLUSION

If EPR systems are designed without properly integrating retreading – and without differentiating based on actual circular performance – they risk reinforcing a linear logic under a circular narrative. For emerging regions, this would be a critical mistake

The discussion around repair, reuse and retreading can no longer be treated merely as a waste management issue. It is increasingly becoming a matter of industrial resilience, strategic autonomy and economic security.

As global supply chains face growing pressure from geopolitical fragmentation, logistics disruptions and volatility in raw material markets, extending the useful life of products is emerging as a strategic capability for nations and industries alike.

In this context, Right to Repair should not be understood only as a consumer right but also as an industrial policy tool capable of strengthening local economies, reducing external dependency, preserving technical capabilities and supporting more resilient production systems.

Retreading, remanufacturing and reuse are part of a broader transition where value creation is no longer based exclusively on extraction and disposal but increasingly on intelligence, efficiency and lifecycle management.

CIRCULARITY WITHOUT HIERARCHY BECOMES INEFFICIENCY. REGULATION WITHOUT DIFFERENTIATION BECOMES DISTORTION.

Final note

The future of the tyre industry will not be defined only by how we recycle, but by how intelligently we extend the life of what we already produce. And that requires alignment between:

• Industry dynamics.
• Policy design.
• And strategic vision.

In that equation, retreading must move from the margins to the centre. Because properly understood, it is not just a process. It is a strategic filter, an industrial policy tool and a geopolitical lever.

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The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) has released its market report for May 2026, depicting a sector characterised by sustained price strength and firm fundamentals. The global natural rubber market received additional upward momentum from a decline in Brent crude oil prices, which averaged USD 107.14 per barrel during the month. This represented a month-on-month decrease of 8.65 percent, attributed to easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which collectively bolstered the commodity's outlook.

Global production projections for 2026 stand at 15.337 million tonnes, marking a 2.4 percent increase from the previous year, with growth driven by Thailand, China, India and Malaysia, even as output moderates in Indonesia and Vietnam. Monthly production, however, fell to 997,000 tonnes in May, a year-on-year decline of 4.7 percent, due to seasonal wintering and dry weather conditions across South and Southeast Asia. Concurrently, worldwide consumption is forecast to rise by 1.3 percent to 15.550 million tonnes for the year, with May's consumption reaching 1.310 million tonnes, a 4.6 percent annual increase. This demand was underpinned by steady tyre manufacturing, electric vehicle-related consumption and resilient purchasing managers' indices in China and India, alongside record auto retail sales in India.

Physical prices for all major grades recorded broad-based gains throughout May, with SMR-20, STR-20, RSS-3, RSS-4 and latex all experiencing increases. Trade flows showed a mixed pattern, as imports from China and India contracted month-on-month, while Malaysia and Vietnam registered significant gains. On the export front, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand recorded increases, whereas Indonesia and Malaysia saw declines. Currency movements saw the Malaysian ringgit ease slightly, while the Thai baht traded within a stable range, and both nations reported decelerating GDP growth for the first quarter of 2026. Futures contracts on the SHFE and SGX reflected tightening supply and firm demand, posting notable month-on-month gains.

The market outlook remains cautiously balanced against a backdrop of several macroeconomic factors. Elevated trade tensions between United States and China, ongoing geopolitical conflicts and a steady United States Federal Reserve interest rate policy present potential headwinds. However, these are being offset by supportive elements, including the accelerating adoption of electric vehicles, tight feedstock supply due to adverse weather and the positive market sentiment generated by the European Union's decision to lower anti-dumping duties on Chinese tyres.

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Zeon Corporation has introduced a novel data management system specifically designed for elastomer research and development, marking the company’s first foray into a subscription-based service model. The platform is engineered to centralise and streamline R&D data pertaining to rubber products, with the primary goal of enhancing operational efficiency and accelerating developmental processes for its clientele. The initial phase of the rollout will concentrate on the Japanese market, with a strategic plan to broaden access to other regions in the future.

The elastomer industry frequently grapples with the fragmentation of data across disparate systems, which complicates the effective utilisation of historical information. Through extensive experience in elastomer supply and sustained client engagement, Zeon has identified this operational hurdle as a pervasive issue affecting the entire sector. This recognition has been the catalyst for developing a solution that directly confronts these data management deficiencies.

The newly launched system incorporates specialised functionalities that are finely attuned to the nuances of rubber product R&D. It integrates a comprehensive database that combines master data for key compounding agents available in Japan with extensive catalogue information, facilitating rapid and efficient data access for daily research tasks. The platform’s intuitive interface and user experience are meticulously crafted to optimise usability and data visualisation, with a commitment to ongoing enhancements based on evolving customer requirements.

Zeon has formally designated this data management solution as a growth driver for its strategic initiatives, extending beyond the Phase 3 objectives of its STAGE30 medium-term plan. The company envisions this business becoming a cornerstone of its strategy to augment the value proposition of its elastomer operations. By synergising its deep-seated elastomer expertise with advanced data utilisation technologies, Zeon is poised to foster innovation in client R&D and propel the overall advancement of the elastomer industry.

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A new bio-based cut & chip resin for the most demanding applications.

NaugaShield BIO-TR 30 is SI Group’s latest advancement in bio-based performance resins designed to significantly improve cut and chip resistance in high-severity rubber applications. With approximately 75 percent bio-based content, this innovative material delivers on sustainability targets while exceeding the performance typically associated with petroleum-derived resins, making it a strong choice for applications such as OTR tyres in mining, construction and agriculture, mining conveyor belts, rubber tracks and mill linings.

Cut and chip resistance is a complex set of material behaviours, including static mechanical strength, dynamic response under deformation and ability to withstand sharp impacts and abrasive environments. In demanding applications such as mining or agriculture, materials must tolerate repeated high-strain loading and resist the initiation and propagation of tears. NaugaShield™ BIO-TR 30 was developed precisely to meet these conditions, demonstrating notably low dynamic heat buildup and excellent tear strength – characteristics closely tied to enhanced cut and chip resistance and long-term durability under cyclical loads.

To evaluate its performance, NaugaShield BIO-TR 30 was benchmarked in an Off-road Rib Tread formulation against two widely used industry references: a gum rosin/semi-aromatic C5/C9 resin combination and a styrenated DCPD resin. All materials were tested at an equal loading of 10 phr to provide a direct and unbiased comparison. Under these conditions, the bio-based resin consistently outperformed both alternatives, offering a stronger balance of reinforcing behaviour, improved tear propagation resistance and superior resistance to thermal degradation during dynamic flexing. Further improvements were achievable by reducing the amount of free extender oil in the compound, underscoring the resin’s adaptability in formulation design and its ability to unlock even greater performance when optimised.

These laboratory indicators were corroborated through extended Coesfeld Cut & Chip testing (see chart), in which compounds were subjected to up to 3,000 cycles at 200 rpm under a 200N applied force. Formulations containing NaugaShield BIO-TR 30 exhibited substantially lower mass loss and maintained tread surface integrity more effectively than the hydrocarbon and gum rosin-based-benchmarks. The performance advantage was even more pronounced in compounds adjusted for lower free oil content, confirming that the resin can be tailored to meet the durability requirements of the most challenging operating conditions.

The strong performance of NaugaShield BIO-TR 30 in OTR tread compounds can be readily transferred to other rubber goods that encounter similar wear mechanisms. Applications such as mining belts, agricultural and construction tracks or mill linings benefit from the resin’s ability to reinforce the rubber matrix, reduce crack growth under repeated impact and maintain structural cohesion under high-strain deformation. This versatility allows manufacturers to integrate a 75 percent bio-based resin that supports sustainability by reducing fossil-based content and helping end products last longer while maintaining – and often improving – operational performance across multiple product lines.

NaugaShield BIO-TR 30 is currently available in commercial quantities, enabling compounders and manufacturers to move directly from laboratory evaluation to pilot- and production-scale trials.

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