Jinan Haoyang Forging and Casting Secures a Major European Order of the Year; Forged Steel Ball Contract Opens Up High-End Market
Jinan Haoyang Forging and Casting Secures a Major European Order of the Year; Forged Steel Ball Contract Opens Up High-End Market
On November 8, 2025, Jinan Haoyang Forging and Casting Co., Ltd. signed a one-year supply contract for forged steel balls with a European customer integrator through an online international matchmaking platform. This is the first time that the company has reached a long-term cooperation with a high-end European mining customer, marking a breakthrough for Chinese mining forged consumables in the European market's technical and brand barriers.
European Customer: A "Equipment Matching Expert" Focused on Non-ferrous Metal Mines
The European customer that signed the contract this time is an integrated service provider that has been deeply involved in the European mining equipment field for over 20 years. It mainly provides overall matching of crushing and grinding equipment for non-ferrous metal (copper, nickel, zinc) mines, with a service range covering 12 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Germany, Austria, and Poland. The annual procurement amount of mining equipment and consumables exceeds 200 million euros. According to the customer's purchasing director, previously, its forging steel ball suppliers were mainly German and Swedish brands. The core reason for turning to a Chinese enterprise for cooperation this time is the dual advantages of Haoyang Forging's products in "wear resistance" and "cost control".
Contract Signing Opportunity: From "Case Attention" to "On-site Verification"
"We first noticed the low wear characteristics of Haoyang Forging's forged steel balls through a cooperation case of exporting to a gold mine in Southeast Asia in 2024," the German customer representative said at the signing ceremony. To verify the product's compatibility, the customer specially visited Haoyang Forging's production base in Zhangqiu, Shandong in June 2025, witnessed the fully automatic rolling production line and precise heat treatment process on-site, and conducted wear resistance tests on three batches of 100mm specification steel balls - after continuous grinding for 300 hours, the wear rate of the steel balls was only 1.8%, far lower than the average level of 3%-5% of similar European products.
During the Tanzania Mining Exhibition, the "125mm specification steel balls zero damage" demonstration data displayed by Haoyang Forging further dispelled the customer's concerns. "Real-time technical communication on the exhibition's online platform confirmed that the products could be adapted to the large ball mills in European mines, and we finally decided to sign the annual contract," the customer representative added.
Core Terms of the Contract: Customized Supply + Stable Delivery Assurance
According to the "Annual Forged Steel Ball Supply Agreement" signed by both parties, the core terms focus on three dimensions:
Product Customization: Haoyang Forging needs to exclusively produce 100mm specification forged steel balls for the customer, using high-carbon manganese alloy steel (B3 material), with a surface hardness of 60-63HRC, an impact toughness of no less than 16J/cm², and must comply with the EU REACH environmental protection standards (harmful substance content less than 0.1%);
Supply Scale: The annual supply volume is fixed at 1,800 tons, to be delivered in 12 months, with 150 tons of goods to be delivered by the 5th of each month;
Logistics and After-sales: The products will be sent to Europe via Qingdao Port, and "monthly batch pick-up" will be realized through bonded warehouses at European ports. Haoyang Forging needs to provide quality inspection reports for each batch of products. In case of quality issues, it must respond to after-sales within 72 hours and bear the cost of returns and exchanges.
The total contract amount is 1.13 million US dollars, equivalent to approximately 7.93 million yuan at the current exchange rate, accounting for 10% of Haoyang Forging's overseas revenue target for 2025.
Strategic Significance: Opening a "Breakthrough" into the European High-end Market
"This is not just an annual contract, but a 'pass' for Chinese forged steel balls to enter the European high-end mining market," said the manager of Haoyang Forging's international trade department. The European mining market has much higher quality standards and environmental protection requirements than other regions. This cooperation will help the company accumulate "experience in adapting to EU standards". To consolidate the cooperation achievements, the enterprise has formulated three follow-up plans: First, a dedicated R&D team will be established to develop low-dust forging steel balls in response to the "low-dust operation" requirements of European mines. It is expected that the sample testing will be completed in the first quarter of 2026. Second, a European distribution center will be set up in Düsseldorf, Germany in 2026, equipped with 2,000 square meters of storage space, reducing the delivery cycle from the current 45 days to within 15 days. Third, efforts will be made to obtain the EU CE certification for the products, laying the groundwork for subsequent expansion into the southern European markets such as France and Spain.
According to data from the China Mining Machinery Association, China's export value of mining forging steel balls was approximately 1.2 billion US dollars in 2024, with the European market accounting for less than 5%, and mainly consisting of mid-to-low-end products. Industry insiders point out that Haoyang Cast and Forging's cooperation with European customers this time provides a replicable model for the "high-endization" of Chinese mining consumables going global - through "technology validation + customized services + local support", it is expected to gradually break the monopoly of European local brands.
