First ‘smart’ rubber-products plant starts up in China

Hunan, China –China’s first ever ‘smart’ factory for the manufacture of rubber products has started operations, reported Mesnac which designed and built the mixing plant.

The rubber products facility in Hunan province is owned by a Sino-German joint venture, according to information from the machinery maker.

However, Mesnac did not disclose further information about the JV, the plant location or the rubber products being made there.

The mixing plant is equipped with automated systems for precision weighing, mixing and logistics as well as an MES system that tracks data-flow. Downstream equipment also features new technology for handling the rubber material.

Mesnac said it is the first time that it had integrated these capabilities for each of stage of the mixing process into a complete smart factory. The set-up, it added, meets the client’s requirements for producing a variety of categories in small batches.

The mixing plant is also said to include unique chemical-feeding capabilities that eliminate hazards from the manual handling of ingredients, particularly sulphur powder. It also uses a UV catalysed biotechnology that decomposes air-borne pollutants into carbon dioxide and water.

The waste-treatment system at the plant meets all national and local standards, according to Mesnac.