On April 22, at the CCIE 2025 SMM (20th) Copper Industry Conference & Copper Industry Expo - Copper Pipe and Billet Processing Industry Development Forum, Mo Xingde, General Manager of Guilin Lijia Metals Co., Ltd., shared his insights on the "Current Status and Improvement Directions of Copper Alloy Tube Production Technology."

With the official commissioning of the new factory of Zhongrong Intelligent Equipment (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhongzhu New Materials Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., the company has added 17,500 m² of workshop space, significantly boosting its production capacity. The company now boasts a robust manufacturing capability of 6,000 mt of precast components and 200 sets of high-end equipment. Additionally, the annual total capacity of its unshaped refractory materials will reach a new height of 100,000 mt. In 2024, in addition to the launch of the new Zhongrong Intelligent Equipment factory, as a leading professional high-temperature material manufacturer, Zhongzhu New Materials Industry, with its profound technical foundation, always places product R&D and technological innovation at the core of its development. The company has further increased investment in the field of technology R&D, not only mobilizing substantial human and material resources but also fully leveraging the platform advantages of its Jiangsu High-Efficiency Refractory Material Research and Development Center and provincial-level enterprise technology center, continuously promoting the development of new products and the innovation of production processes. On this basis, Zhongzhu New Materials Industry actively expands cooperation channels, establishing close R&D partnerships with multiple domestic research institutes and universities, and crossing borders to collaborate with several renowned European enterprises and top experts, jointly exploring the infinite possibilities of materials science. These efforts have yielded abundant results, with multiple innovative products being developed and gradually introduced to the market. In 2024, Zhongzhu New Materials Industry once again achieved a historic breakthrough in production and sales, with the sales growth of precast components and equipment exceeding 60%. This remarkable achievement is undoubtedly the best proof of the company's long-term commitment to R&D and innovation. Looking back at the solid steps and brilliant achievements of Zhongzhu New Materials Industry on the path of innovation and development in 2024: Zhongzhu New Materials 2024 Review Key Words - Government Support, Scientific Research Projects, Invention Patents 1. The Zhenjiang Municipal Government awarded Zhongzhu New Materials Industry special funds for the "Jinshan Talent Project," recognizing and strongly supporting the company's outstanding innovation capabilities and high-level talent team. 2. The company successfully completed and passed the acceptance of a municipal R&D project, actively participating in the "Zhenjiang Intellectual Property Strategy Promotion Plan." We were also honored to be selected for the "2024 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent of Zhenjiang" award. Zhongzhu New Materials Industry was recognized as a provincial-level enterprise technology center in Jiangsu Province. The company has taken various measures to strengthen its leading position in the technology field, including organizing technical training, hosting specialized lectures, and conducting in-depth R&D collaborations with domestic and overseas refractory material experts. 3. With relentless effort and an innovative spirit, the company's R&D and technical engineers have achieved significant accomplishments in the field of intellectual property, successfully applying for and obtaining multiple invention patents, utility model patents, and design patents, demonstrating the company's strong technological innovation capabilities and deep R&D strength. Key Words - New Products, New Technologies In 2024, Zhongzhu Company made significant achievements in the R&D field, initiating 45 new product development projects and successfully launching over 20 new products to the market, widely applied in casting, aluminum processing, special steel manufacturing, die-casting, copper semis processing, and power petrochemical industries. Some of these new products are specially designed to meet specific market demands, aiming to fulfill unique customer requirements; others are optimized upgrades of existing products, aimed at enhancing product life and performance. Some products, through technological innovation, have successfully overcome technical bottlenecks, with their technical parameters reaching international leading levels, showcasing Zhongzhu's technical strength and superior quality. New Product 1 Chromic Corundum Castable for Copper Troughs To meet the specific needs of a foreign copper smelting company, Zhongzhu's R&D personnel innovatively improved the material for the copper water trough, designing a high-chromium-content corundum-based composite material—ULTRA-FLO 809CR. This material exhibits a compressive strength of over 180 MPa at 1,100°C, demonstrating extremely high thermal stability and mechanical strength. ULTRA-FLO 809CR also has a very low porosity, which greatly enhances its resistance to penetration and extends its service life. Furthermore, ULTRA-FLO 809CR, through special formulation and process treatment, possesses excellent resistance to copper liquid erosion and slag erosion. This means that in the harsh environment of copper smelting, the material can effectively resist the high-temperature chemical erosion of copper liquid and slag, ensuring the long-term stable operation of the copper water trough, reducing maintenance costs and downtime. ULTRA-FLO 809CR not only meets the high standards of the foreign copper smelting company for material abrasion and chemical erosion resistance but also, with its excellent performance and reliability, significantly improves the production efficiency and economic benefits of the copper smelting industry. New Product 2 High-Wear-Resistant Silicon Carbide Material The development of this high-end material focuses on meeting the stringent requirements of specific areas, especially those with extremely high wear resistance demands, such as burner nozzles, cyclone separators, and flue pipes in the power industry, gas burners, cyclone separators, baffles, and conveying pipes in the cement industry, and furnace thresholds, aluminum outlets, vortex wells, throttling grooves in the initial transfer section, and impact plates in the central melting furnace tower in the aluminum processing industry. Through more than two years of meticulous research and tireless exploration, Zhongzhu Company, in collaboration with Spanish technical experts, successfully developed a silicon carbide material with a wear index of around 2, requiring only simple low-temperature baking. This breakthrough achievement, with its technical indicators reaching world-leading levels, provides a new solution for related industries to address wear issues. New Product 3 Cement-Free Series Castables Compared to traditional cement-based or low-cement castables, cement-free castables have significant advantages, specifically: 1. Improved Refractoriness and Chemical Erosion Resistance: Cement-free castables, without cement, reduce the formation of low-melting phases, thereby improving refractoriness, high-temperature strength, and slag resistance. 2. Reduced Hydration Heat and Cracking Risk: Cement-free castables, containing no or minimal cement, reduce the risk of cracking due to hydration stress and lower the amount of low-melting substances at high temperatures, thus enhancing the material's thermal shock resistance. 3. Excellent Workability: Cement-free castables have better fluidity, allowing them to fill smaller gaps and voids, resulting in a denser and more uniform structure. Due to their unique setting and hardening mechanism, they can be vibration-formed during construction and set with a setting accelerator, making construction more convenient. 4. Enhanced Chemical Stability: Cement-free castables can resist various chemical erosions and wear, thereby extending the service life of the furnace lining. The company's R&D personnel have developed two series of cement-free bonding castables, including sol-bonded products and direct water-added products, which have been used in vacuum induction furnace troughs, coreless furnace mouths, and high-temperature calcination kilns for aluminum dross, achieving excellent results! New Product 4 Single-Component Rapid Repair Material Single-component rapid repair materials only require on-site water addition for construction, offering advantages such as easy transportation, storage, and construction compared to two-component materials. However, currently, single-component materials from well-known domestic and overseas manufacturers suffer from low strength at low temperatures and poor fluidity, preventing widespread market adoption. Zhongzhu's R&D teams, both domestically and internationally, drew inspiration from the binding mechanisms of industrial ceramic materials and found solutions from the design of high-temperature coating materials, perfectly addressing the shortcomings of single-component rapid repair materials. The material shows a drying strength of over 90 MPa at 110°C and a sintering strength of over 130 MPa at 815°C. It also exhibits excellent resistance to aluminum liquid infiltration and alkali erosion. The product has already been used by several well-known industrial furnace companies and customers. For specific product parameters, please contact the relevant sales department. New Product 4 Complete Set of Aluminum Liquid Degassing and Filtration Casting Equipment With the professional guidance and strong support of NOVELIS PAE technical experts and the solid technical support provided by Shanghai Qianlei Machinery, Zhongzhu's engineering team successfully developed multiple sets of equipment with performance indicators reaching international advanced levels in 2024. These equipment have been applied on-site by many well-known aluminum enterprises both domestically and internationally, and feedback indicates that their performance is excellent. This achievement not only highlights Zhongzhu's deep strength and outstanding innovation capabilities in the R&D of aluminum processing equipment but also further consolidates its competitive position in the international market. Through cooperation with NOVELIS PAE and Shanghai Qianlei Machinery, Zhongzhu has absorbed and integrated advanced international technical concepts and practical experience, continuously enhancing its technical level and product competitiveness. Looking ahead, Zhongzhu will continue to adhere to the development philosophy of innovation, pragmatism, and efficiency, strengthening cooperation and exchanges with well-known domestic and overseas enterprises and research institutions, continuously promoting the upgrade and innovation of aluminum processing equipment technology, and contributing more wisdom and strength to the development of the aluminum processing industry. Of course, the company's new products are not limited to those listed above, covering all application fields in several major categories, such as dry vibratable materials for cast iron, cast copper, and cast steel, zirconia-containing pig iron ladle castables, silica-based repair materials, alumina-based anti-sticking aluminum materials for the aluminum industry, lightweight insulating materials for trowel application, and refractory putty for casting table repairs. Key Words - Exhibition Promotion, Customer Visits In 2024, Zhongzhu actively participated in numerous well-known exhibitions globally, including the German Aluminum Industry Exhibition, China International Foundry Exhibition, and Shanghai China International Aluminum Industry Exhibition, among other domestic and overseas events, using these platforms to widely promote the company's brand and innovative products. At the same time, Zhongzhu deeply engaged in a series of high-level industry conferences, such as the Foundry Professional Conference, Aluminum Processing Technology Seminar, Recycled Aluminum Industry Forum, and Silicon Material Development Summit, discussing the future with industry elites. During this period, Zhongzhu was honored to welcome dozens of overseas clients from Europe, America, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia for visits or factory inspections, and warmly received hundreds of domestic clients. Through these diverse communication platforms, Zhongzhu not only narrowed the gap with its clients but also gradually gained their trust, ultimately becoming their loyal partners. These initiatives have undoubtedly laid a solid foundation for Zhongzhu's in-depth global market layout and continuous enhancement of brand influence. Zhongzhu New Materials 2025 Outlook In its 2025 outlook, Zhongzhu New Materials stated: In the new year, the company will face more opportunities and challenges. As a young and dynamic Zhongzhu, we are confident in facing future challenges. To maintain the company's steady development, we will further strengthen team building, improve employee quality, optimize management processes, and enhance work efficiency.At the same time, we must actively expand the market, increase the intensity of product R&D, and continuously innovate to meet the growing needs of customers. In 2025, Zhongzhu New Materials Industry will continue to increase personnel and financial investment in R&D and laboratory construction. We will also seek in-depth cooperation with renowned research institutes and universities across the country and around the world, continuously focusing on new product development and performance improvement of existing products. Looking back at 2024, Zhongzhu New Materials Industry, with innovation as its wing, demonstrated extraordinary strength in the vast blue ocean of new materials. Looking ahead to 2025, we are full of dreams, working together, and committed to writing a new chapter of glory led by technology. In this new year, the people of Zhongzhu will, as always, remain true to our original aspirations, work together, be brave in striving, and forge ahead, moving resolutely towards the goal of becoming a specialized company known for its technology and a respected national brand. Zhongzhu New Materials Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. Company Profile Zhongzhu New Materials Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. is located at No. 99 Yiqing Road, Dantu Economic and Technological Development Zone, Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province. The company was established in April 2011 with a registered capital of 80 million yuan. It is a professional R&D and producer of refractory materials, a national high-tech enterprise, and a national specialized, refined, unique, and innovative enterprise. Product Applications, Leading the Industry: As a professional company integrating R&D, production, sales, and on-site technical services for high-end unshaped refractory materials, Zhongzhu New Materials Industry currently has seven major categories and over 300 types of products, covering all application areas of high-end refractory materials in the casting and aluminum processing industries. High-precision aluminum alloy processing industry: such as aerospace aluminum semis, mobile phone and computer back panels, electronic aluminum foil, food aluminum foil, etc.; High-performance special steel and alloy smelting industry, such as those used in aircraft carriers, nuclear power, and special vehicles; Special components for automobiles and high-speed trains, such as turbocharger housings, engines, pistons, high-speed train wires, and other high-speed train components; Large-scale special transformer and collider non-crystalline material producers; NEV battery casings, battery foils, and large-scale integrated die-casting producers; Other high-demand and high-standard smelting industries, such as vacuum furnace refractory materials, etc. Precision Production, Quality First: The company has world-class modern production equipment and strict quality management based on the ISO9001:2015 quality assurance system. With global raw material procurement, over 30% of the raw materials are directly imported from Europe and America, ensuring that the quality and stability of the products are at the forefront of the industry, effectively guaranteeing the safety and efficiency of customers' use of refractory materials. Currently, the company has nearly 30,000 m² of modern and intelligent production workshops, equipped with nine world-class fully automatic unshaped refractory material production lines and a modern prefabricated parts production workshop, forming an annual production capacity of 60,000 mt of high-performance unshaped refractory materials and 3,000 mt of prefabricated parts. Seven major categories and over 300 types of products meet the different needs of customers, mainly serving the casting and aluminum processing industries. The company currently has more than 1,500 customers, spread across 29 provinces and cities in China, as well as 30 countries and regions in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, providing safe, reliable, and high-performance refractory material solutions for the casting and metallurgical industries in China and around the world. Technology-Driven, Strong Partnerships: For many years, the company has continuously increased personnel and financial investment in R&D and laboratory construction, establishing a strong R&D and technical team. Annual R&D investment has been in the tens of millions, and the company currently has over 22% of scientific and technical personnel. It has set up an enterprise technology R&D center and engineering design center, equipped with professional and high-precision detection and analysis equipment, ensuring that the quality of purchased raw materials and the indicators of finished products fully meet design requirements, guaranteeing stable and safe use of products at customer sites. At the same time, the company has established long-term cooperative relationships with institutions such as the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Nanjing Tech University, and Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology. Many experts and professors from research institutions and professional colleges provide long-term technical support. Continuous R&D investment has kept Zhongzhu New Materials Industry's technological level at the forefront domestically, launching high-performance and highly competitive new products into the market every year, staying ahead of competitors, and maintaining leading technology and R&D reserves. The company currently holds over 50 patents. National Brand, Pursuit of Excellence: As a Chinese national enterprise, the company has experienced milestone-like rapid development over the past decade, creating one Zhongzhu speed after another. The "Zhongzhu" brand has gained widespread recognition in the market, becoming a strong competitor and leader among the top refractory material producers internationally and domestically. These achievements are inseparable from the high investment in R&D funds and the high importance placed on talent introduction and cultivation by Zhongzhu New Materials Industry. Zhongzhu New Materials Industry will continue to uphold the spirit of dedication, focus, and lean innovation, being down-to-earth, deeply engaged in business, and thoroughly addressing issues. Driven by innovation, it will continuously promote the transformation and upgrading of the casting and aluminum processing industries, striving to achieve a transition from high-speed growth to high-quality development. The people of Zhongzhu will adhere to their original aspirations, unite in hard work, and forge ahead, moving resolutely towards the goal of becoming a specialized company known for its technology and a respected national brand. Zhongzhu New Materials Industry sincerely welcomes customers and friends to visit the company in person, to experience the innovation, R&D, safety, and environmental protection of our smart factory. For more information on copper industry chain enterprises, please contact: SMM Contact: Mingkang Liu Phone: 15653090867 Email: liumingkang@smm.cn

[SMM Hot Topic: "Fivefold Trade Deficit! The Philippine Steel Industry Trapped in an 'Import Black Hole,' When Will Domestic Capacity Break Through?" — Detailed Analysis of the Philippine Chapter in ASEAN Steel Industry Development] According to the latest 2024 economic performance data of the ASEAN Six Major Economies, the Philippines ranks as the fourth-largest economy in ASEAN, with a real economic growth of 5.6% in 2024, an acceleration of 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous year. The GDP is approximately $462.3 billion. With a population of nearly 113 million, the per capita GDP is around $4,095. The Philippines relies on China for nearly 80% of its steel imports. A detailed analysis of its steel industry is as follows.

In the upcoming year of 2025, we anticipate that the global economy will face a series of complex and volatile challenges. With the conclusion of the US election, the uncertainty of global trade policies will further increase, presenting new topics for international trade cooperation. In the geopolitical arena, ongoing conflicts and tensions show no significant signs of easing, which not only poses a threat to global security but also significantly impacts resource allocation and industrial layout. Against this macro backdrop, industrial transfer and supply chain restructuring have become key topics that we must closely monitor. At the industrial level, the trend of protectionism in mineral resources is on the rise, directly affecting the stability of global copper concentrate TCs. With the rapid expansion of global smelting capacity, the profit margins of copper smelters are further compressed, and the challenges faced by the industry are becoming increasingly severe. In the field of secondary copper raw materials, the advancement of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards and the "dual carbon" goals have significantly increased market attention to secondary copper. However, the "reverse invoicing" policy implemented in 2024 and the "Fair Competition Regulations" have had a profound impact on the secondary copper industry. Looking ahead to 2025, the changes in the landscape of the secondary copper industry will have a critical impact on the entire copper industry chain. Additionally, with the cancellation of tax subsidies and other incentive measures, the space for copper cathode trade will further narrow. We expect that the procurement ratio of copper processing materials between traders and smelters will show a more pronounced differentiation. In this context, the "CCIE 2025SMM (20th) Copper Industry Conference and Copper Industry Expo" meticulously prepared by SMM will be grandly held in Nanchang, Jiangxi from April 22-25, 2025. Ningbo Shenguang Electric Furnace Co., Ltd. will make a grand appearance at this conference. We will keep pace with the times, aim at our goals, strive diligently, and move forward with courage! Click the registration form to sign up immediately, and we look forward to meeting you at the conference. Booth number: D24. Ningbo Shenguang Electric Furnace Co., Ltd., a high-end medium-frequency electric furnace manufacturer (Innovation Board Listing Code: 781659), has been established for nearly 30 years (formerly Beilun Electric Furnace Factory). It is a high-end induction furnace manufacturing and R&D enterprise, a high-tech technology enterprise, a specialized and sophisticated enterprise, and a joint enterprise of the Shanghai World Expo Private Enterprise Pavilion A3-25. It has also been listed as a "Key Energy-saving Product Promoted by Ningbo" by the Ningbo Energy Conservation Center and has been rated as an "Excellent Demonstration Unit for Quality and Integrity." The company's products are widely used in the metallurgical industry, foundry industry, forging industry, heat treatment industry, machinery industry, and pipe industry. The company's products include the latest generation of copper melting medium-frequency electric furnaces, fast energy-saving VIP series inverter medium-frequency furnaces, IGBT series medium-frequency electric furnaces 50KG-60T, KGPS parallel inverter medium-frequency furnaces, C-type medium-frequency furnaces with pouring furnace head boxes, medium-frequency induction holding furnaces, semi-continuous casting medium-frequency furnaces, power frequency furnaces, forging heating furnaces, and cooling equipment. They are reliable in protection, stable in performance, low in failure rate, high in power factor, and easy to operate and maintain, earning the trust of users. The company adheres to the principle of quality first and customer supremacy, and warmly welcomes customers to discuss cooperation! Contact: Mr. Chen, 138 5786 6767. SMM Conference Contact: Lin Junfeng, 183 2622 3112, linjunfeng@smm.cn.