Establishment of a joint laboratory for wear-resistant materials between China and Europe
In January 2026, Jinan Haoyang Forging & Casting Co., Ltd. and the German SMS Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Jinan. The two parties will jointly invest 5 million euros to establish the "China-Europe Wear-resistant Materials Joint Laboratory", focusing on the optimization of forging steel ball material formulas and the research and development of intelligent production technologies. This is the first time that a Chinese forging steel ball enterprise has carried out in-depth technical cooperation with a top European metallurgical equipment manufacturer.
According to the agreement, the joint laboratory will focus on developing "ultra-fine grain alloy forging balls", aiming to increase the fatigue life of the steel balls to 1.8 times the international advanced level. The SMS Group will provide advanced roll forging equipment and digital control systems, while Haoyang Casting and Forging will contribute 15 years of technical accumulation in the field of wear-resistant materials. The laboratory plans to develop 3 core technologies within three years, apply for 5 EU patents, and increase the share of Chinese forged steel balls in the European high-end market to 25%.
"This cooperation represents a crucial step for Haoyang Forging in 'exporting its technology'." said Engineer Li, the director of the company's R&D department. The company's first laboratory product - a 120mm wear-resistant steel ball for the German ThyssenKrupp steel plant - has completed a 2,000-hour bench test, with a hardness of 63-65 HRC and a crushing rate of less than 0.5%. Its performance exceeds the German DIN standard. After the project is put into production, it is expected to increase the annual export volume by 120 million yuan, driving the upgrading of the wear-resistant material industrial cluster in Zhangqiu District.
