From Jiaozhou Bay to the World Stage: Zhongrui Plastic Machinery's Decades-Long Internationalization Journey

Set sail: In the early 21st century, a seed of ingenuity began to sprout

In the early 21st century, in the important plastic machinery industrial base in northern China - Qingdao Jiaozhou City, Qingdao Zhongrui Plastic Machinery Co., Ltd. quietly set sail on the coast of the Yellow Sea. The company is located on the coast of Jiaozhou Bay, close to the Jiaozhi Railway and Jiqing Expressway. It is 45 kilometers away from Qingdao Port and only 15 kilometers away from Qingdao International Airport. The unique transportation network of sea, land and air seems to foretell the inherent openness of this enterprise.At the very beginning of its establishment, Mr. Wang Futing, the chairman of the company, set the core concept of "people-oriented and seeking development through innovation". At that time, the domestic plastic machinery market competition had become extremely intense. International giants dominated the high-end market by virtue of their technological accumulation, while local enterprises were engaged in fierce competition in the low-end market. Zhongrui chose a difficult but correct path: not competing on price but on technology, not being general but specialized. The company formed an experienced technical development team, starting from new types of environmentally friendly PET and PP packaging belt production lines, and determined to create differentiated value in the niche market. This step laid a solid foundation for Zhongrui to cross national borders and participate in global competition in the future.

Deepen: Spend five years perfecting "Chinese Precision"

During the first five years of the company's establishment, Zhongrui chose a path of "silent deep cultivation". The team was well aware that the plastic machinery industry is a technology-intensive sector. Without excellent product quality, internationalization is impossible. The company established close cooperation with several research institutions and repeatedly conducted experiments in the integration of plastic processing technology and mechanical design. Gradually, they overcame core technical challenges such as extrusion stability, temperature control accuracy, and automatic control.

During this period, the product range of Zhongrui gradually expanded: from PVC pipe production lines to PE sheet production lines, from plastic hollow grid plate equipment to PET packaging tape production lines. Each product underwent repeated laboratory tests and strict inspections by customers. Especially in the field of wood-plastic profiles, Zhongrui solved the industry pain point of uneven integration of wood powder and plastic by optimizing the screw combination and mold design, and the product performance reached the international advanced level. It was precisely during this period of "being left out" that Zhongrui accumulated the rapid response capability to complex process requirements and also forged a technical team capable of handling tough tasks, laying the most valuable "soft power" for its future overseas journey.

Breaking the Ice: The Hardships and Joy of the First Export Order

With the continuous advancement of China's "Belt and Road" initiative, China and Switzerland promptly pressed the "start button" for internationalization. However, the process of the first export order was far more challenging than expected. It was a customer from Southeast Asia who had specific customized requirements for the PE pipe production line: The local hot and humid climate environment demanded that the equipment must have stronger heat dissipation performance and moisture-proof capabilities; and the limited budget of the customer made the optimization of configuration a difficult problem.

The Chinese-Swiss team remained stationed in the workshop for three consecutive weeks, redesigning the cooling system, selecting high-temperature-resistant electrical components, and even installing a dehumidification device on the equipment. After the prototype was completed, they invited the client to conduct a video factory inspection, demonstrating the operation process step by step. When the equipment finally crossed the South China Sea and was successfully put into production at the client's factory, the team not only received payment but also received a "ticket" to enter the international market. This first order had a low profit margin, but it was of great significance - it proved that the Chinese-Swiss team was capable of meeting the special needs of different countries, and also opened a channel for word-of-mouth promotion "from a single point to the whole area".

Pioneering: Expansion of the market coverage in thirty countries

Starting from the first "base" in Southeast Asia, the overseas territory of Zhongrui has been steadily expanding at a rate of 3 to 5 countries per year. Up to now, the company's products have been exported to more than 30 countries and regions including Vietnam, Thailand, Russia, Denmark, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Kenya, etc., covering five major regions: Southeast Asia, Middle East, South America, Europe and Africa.

The exploration of each new market is a "hard battle". In Russia, the Chinese and Swiss team faced the extreme cold of minus 40 degrees Celsius. They customized low-temperature-resistant hydraulic oil and heating insulation systems for the equipment to ensure its stable operation in the severe cold. In the Middle East, due to the frequent occurrence of sandstorms, engineers designed multi-level filtration and sealing structures. In Africa, considering the unstable power supply in the region, they specially developed wide-voltage adaptation and power-off protection functions. These "tailored solutions" have enabled the Chinese and Swiss equipment to perform well under harsh conditions, gradually establishing the brand perception of "Made in China, as solid as a rock" among overseas customers.

What is particularly noteworthy is the breakthrough in the European market. Danish customers have extremely high requirements for equipment precision and environmental protection standards. The Chinese and Swiss teams spent six months, making dozens of parameter adjustments, and finally achieved the energy consumption indicators and waste rate of the wood-plastic profile production line to meet the EU standards. The completion of this order marks the successful entry of the Chinese and Swiss products into the high-end market, achieving a leap from "developing country" to "developed country".

Transformation: From "Selling Equipment" to "Outputting Standards"

After decades of international expansion, China-Renew has achieved a qualitative transformation from "product export" to "brand overseas expansion". Today, Qingdao China-Renew not only sells equipment but also exports a complete set of plastic processing solutions to overseas markets: from factory layout design, process planning, to operator training and raw material formula optimization, it has formed a complete "turnkey" engineering capability. In some specialized markets, China-Renew's technical standards have become the reference benchmark for local customers.

Standing at a new starting point in 2026, China-Russia is facing new opportunities and challenges. The global plastic industry is accelerating its green transformation, with circular economy, bio-based materials, and intelligent production becoming new trends. The company has increased its research and development investment in areas such as energy-saving extrusion technology, recycled plastic processing equipment, and digital twin control systems, and is actively laying out next-generation products. At the same time, relying on the policy benefits of the Qingdao Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Zone, China-Russia is exploring the establishment of local assembly bases in key markets such as Central Asia and Southeast Asia, upgrading from "Made in China for Export" to "Global Manufacturing Services".

Conclusion: Twelve years of arduous journey, embarking on a new chapter

From a start-up enterprise on the coast of Jiaozhou Bay to an international company with products sold in over thirty countries, the twelve-year development journey of Qingdao Zhongrui is a vivid illustration of the gradual accumulation and global expansion of China's plastic machinery industry. Along this path, there were nights spent working tirelessly on technological breakthroughs, efforts to expand overseas markets, and moments of tears welling up when customers recognized the quality.

Just as Mr. Wang often says, "Your success is our pride." In the future, this enterprise that originated from the coast of the Yellow Sea will continue to develop through innovation-driven strategies, and win trust through quality. It will write more splendid chapters of "Made in China" on the global plastic machinery arena.