“Small wheels” “spin out” a big market.

In recent years, this enterprise in Zhumadian has maintained an average annual growth rate of over 20% in all its key business indicators.

A small wheel “spins” a big market.

Workers are carefully measuring and inspecting the brake drums in the smart production workshop to ensure they meet the quality standards.

HJZD Company’s Smart Production Workshop

Composite brake drum product developed by HJZD Company

Commercial vehicle composite brake drum cross-section sample

　　□ Dahe Daily·Yu Video Reporters Li Zhao and Wang Yaocheng, Intern Qi Yu, Correspondent Zhao Xin, Text and Photos

　　In small wheels, achieve great braking feats.

　　Braking, commonly known as the brake, is the key component of a car.   One of the key components. For a car, the importance of the braking system goes without saying.

　　Since its inception, HJZD has been single-mindedly, intently, and professionally dedicated to one thing only: the R&D and manufacturing of commercial vehicle wheel-end products. It deliberately stays clear of any products beyond the tire industry. By focusing its energy and capabilities on tackling tough challenges within its own “circle,” HJZD has made remarkable breakthroughs in braking technology development, forging a path of “specialization, refinement, and innovation” for its growth.

　　Recently, a reporter visited HJZD’s smart production workshop and saw workers remotely controlling operations from their computers. Robot arms, following pre-set programs, precisely moved semi-finished and finished products to designated locations.

　　“Our production line was ‘hacked together’ by ourselves, making extensive use of CNC machine tools, CNC machining centers, and industrial robots—enabling fully automated, streamlined, and intelligent manufacturing. Our products boast robust, proprietary core technologies, which is precisely why our company has grown bigger and stronger over time,” said Zhou Ligang, founder and general manager of HJZD, reflecting to the reporter. He emphasized that once a company achieves a revolutionary breakthrough in technological innovation, its development will demonstrate boundless vitality.

　　Currently, only five companies worldwide have the capability to produce steel-composite brake drums. HJZD’s sales volume of steel-composite brake drums ranks far ahead of others globally!

　　Our flagship products—such as iron-steel composite brake drums and steel-iron composite brake discs—developed and manufactured with sustained R&D efforts, have withstood the rigorous tests of the market thanks to their outstanding performance. These products are primarily supplied to China’s top five automakers: Shaanxi HanDe, Dongfeng Dana, FAW, Sinotruk, and Beiqi Foton, and are also exported in large quantities to overseas markets including North America and Australia.

　　During repeated visits to HJZD, reporters discovered a “strange phenomenon”: despite the company’s enormous size, it doesn’t have a single finished-product warehouse. The company’s sales director revealed confidentially: “HJZD, which has been recognized as a National High-Tech Enterprise, a pilot unit for the commercialization of intellectual property rights by industrial enterprises, and a National Green Demonstration Factory, has now become China’s leading enterprise in the field of composite-material braking systems for commercial vehicles. Our products are so outstanding in quality that we never worry about sales—there’s no inventory buildup, and our finished-product warehouses are always empty.”

　　A research and development initiative ignites the “engine” for enterprise prosperity.

　　In China, traditional automobile brake drums have always been cast from gray cast iron. During use, these brake drums may develop cracks. Once cracked, they can lead to brake failure, with potentially disastrous consequences. As China is a major country in terms of automotive applications, could we develop and manufacture brake drums that will never crack, thereby benefiting the vast number of commercial vehicles in our country? After Zhou Ligang, who has spent over 20 years working and deeply immersed himself in the field of brake casting, raised this issue, it did not resonate widely within the industry.

　　In September 2013, HJZD was registered and established in Queshan County. In 2014, HJZD carried out infrastructure construction and installed and commissioned production-line equipment. In 2015, China’s first steel-composite brake drum for commercial vehicles successfully completed trial production!

　　The permanently developed steel-composite brake drum features an inner layer made of high-performance, wear-resistant gray cast iron, which significantly enhances braking performance and thermal conductivity. The outer layer is composed of high-strength, high-toughness hot-rolled steel, formed in a single spin-forming process to ensure the product’s unbreakable durability. The junction between the inner and outer layers incorporates the company’s core technology, enabling a perfect metallurgical bond between the two types of steel.

　　After entering mass production, the enduring steel-composite brake drum—with its outstanding quality—has sent ripples through the commercial vehicle industry: boasting three major advantages—unbreakable (never cracking), lightweight (20% to 30% lighter than conventional products), and exceptionally long service life (twice that of traditional products)—this product is not only safer but also better aligns with the trend toward lightweighting heavy-duty trucks, further enhancing energy efficiency and reducing emissions. At the same time, compared to conventional products, this new brake drum significantly reduces four key manufacturing processes: sand mixing, mold shaping, core making, and sand removal. This not only makes the production process more efficient and energy-saving but also cleaner and more environmentally friendly. It represents a revolutionary upgrade and replacement for traditional brake drums, marking a milestone in the industry’s evolution.

　　Thanks to this technology R&D, HJZD has achieved a revolutionary breakthrough and tremendous success, and its products quickly gained market favor: In 2016, HJZD’s sales revenue reached 2.8 million yuan; in 2017, sales revenue surged to 70 million yuan; and in 2018, sales revenue exceeded 100 million yuan, with the products making their way into the U.S. market.

　　A commitment to both R&D and production, with innovation always on the journey.

　　To date, HJZD is already 11 years old. Over the past decade and more, HJZD has launched several new products that have drawn attention from both China’s and the world’s automotive braking industry. In 2016—the most challenging and financially strapped year for HJZD—HJZD, which regards R&D as its very lifeblood, consolidated its limited funds and invested over 4 million yuan to launch a commercial-vehicle dynamometer test rig, thereby establishing a 1,000-square-meter laboratory dedicated to commercial-vehicle dynamometer testing.

　　The dynamometer is used to simulate a car driving on the road and to test the braking performance of newly developed products. In China, HJZD is the only company among brake drum manufacturers that owns a commercial vehicle dynamometer.

　　“Why do we insist on using this kind of equipment, even when it’s extremely challenging? Because when producing conventional brake drums, the standards are set by the automakers themselves—just follow their requirements and you’re good to go. But HJZD is always working on something entirely new, something that’s never been done before. It’s HJZD that creates and establishes industry standards.” Zhou Ligang explained that in R&D testing, without a dynamometer, the only option was to mount the brake drums onto vehicles and drive them for half a year before obtaining any data on braking performance. With a dynamometer, however, we can simulate a scenario where a vehicle weighing 100 tons brakes forcefully at 120 kilometers per hour—pushing the prototype to its absolute limits until it’s completely worn out. In just about half a month, we can gather crucial data on the brake distance, sensitivity, deformation, wear resistance, and crack resistance of the product under development. Based on this test data, we can continuously refine and improve the product’s technology, steadily enhancing its overall performance.

　　Zhou Ligang explained that the launch of a new braking product requires several stages, including bench testing, small-batch trials, vehicle-mounted testing, and pilot-scale production. Even after passing the bench tests, it still takes about a year to bring the product to market. In the course of continuously researching and developing steel-composite brake drums, HJZD has also successively undertaken technical breakthroughs in steel-composite brake discs and iron-iron composite brake drums.

　　The durable steel-composite brake disc, development of which began in 2015, achieved a major breakthrough in 2019 after overcoming countless difficulties and challenges. It was not until 2023 that it was launched onto the market and awarded a national invention patent.

　　The introduction of the durable iron-iron composite brake drum has filled a global gap, and this product—granted a national invention patent—was officially launched last year. The outer layer of this product is made from high-strength ductile iron or high-strength vermicular graphite cast iron, while the inner layer is composed of wear-resistant gray cast iron; the two layers are metallurgically combined. This product effectively addresses the challenges of brake cracking and top-layer shedding in heavy-duty engineering vehicles, making it particularly well-suited for engineering vehicles that require prolonged braking under harsh road conditions.

　　Zhou Ligang told reporters: "Thanks to the strong appeal of our products in both domestic and international markets, in recent years, HJZD's key business indicators have all maintained an average annual growth rate of over 20%!"

　　“In our country, annual consumption of automotive braking products exceeds 200 million units. Even with our products running at full capacity day and night, we still meet only a tiny fraction of market demand,” Zhou Ligang explained. He added that HJZD, which simultaneously focuses on R&D and production, remains committed to continuous innovation—and this October, they’ll be launching another major new product. Meanwhile, several key manufacturing processes have also achieved significant breakthroughs one after another.

　　In our province, there is a company like this: With each revolutionary breakthrough in its braking technology research and development, it has rapidly grown, transformed, and expanded from scratch, soon becoming a shining highlight in China's automotive braking industry. This company is Henan Valiant Braking System Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "HJZD"), which is located in the Advanced Manufacturing Development Zone of Queshan County, Zhumadian City.

Article reprinted from Dahe Daily.