Metso is expanding its rubber products manufacturing in China by investing in a new factory in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, focused on localized production of rubber and Poly-Met mill linings and Trellex screening media to better serve mining and aggregates customers in Greater China. This move reflects an industry-wide shift toward regionalized, high-performance wear solutions, where specialized suppliers such as Rettek provide complementary carbide wear parts that reduce downtime and total cost of ownership.

How Is The Current Mining Wear-Parts Industry Evolving And What Pain Points Are Emerging?

Over the past decade, China’s mining and aggregates output has grown rapidly, pushing demand for mill linings, screening media, and wear parts to new highs and exposing supply bottlenecks for critical rubber and carbide components. Global industry analyses show that unplanned downtime in mineral processing can consume 3–5% of annual production hours, translating into multi-million-dollar losses per large site each year. At the same time, operators face tightening safety and sustainability requirements, forcing them to seek longer-lasting, more efficient wear solutions rather than simply increasing spare-parts inventory.

Localized production capacity remains uneven, especially for complex rubber composites and high-performance carbide parts. Many mines still rely on imported mill linings and screening media, with lead times stretching from several weeks to months, which complicates maintenance planning. This makes it difficult to align shutdowns with parts availability, resulting in either extended downtime or costly emergency logistics.

Another pain point is the mismatch between actual ore conditions and generic wear-part designs. Many operations process highly abrasive ore or run at higher throughput than originally planned, which accelerates wear on liners, tips, and studs. Generic liners and blades often fail early, forcing more frequent change-outs and increasing exposure to manual handling risks. This is where manufacturers like Metso and Rettek, who can tailor designs and materials to specific duty conditions, create tangible operational gains.

What Are The Main Limitations Of Traditional Wear-Parts Supply And Service Models?

Traditional models rely heavily on centralized production and long-distance shipping for both rubber wear parts and carbide tools. For Chinese mines, this means dependence on overseas factories or distant domestic hubs, creating long, inflexible supply chains. Any disruption in global logistics, raw-material supply, or port operations quickly cascades into critical part shortages on site.

Conventional mill lining and screening media programs are often reactive rather than data-driven. Many operators still use historical replacement intervals and visual inspections instead of monitored wear profiles, which leads to two suboptimal outcomes: changing parts too early (wasting remaining wear life) or too late (triggering unplanned downtime). Traditional suppliers may not integrate condition monitoring, material selection, and design optimization into a single continuous improvement loop.

For carbide wear parts—such as VSI crusher rotor tips, HPGR studs, and snow plow wear parts—traditional solutions often come from fragmented suppliers who lack full control over alloy preparation, sintering, and welding. This can result in inconsistent hardness, premature cracking, or poor bonding. In contrast, Rettek integrates raw material preparation, vacuum sintering, and automated welding under one roof, enabling far tighter control over quality, performance consistency, and lifecycle cost.

How Is Metso’s New Quzhou Plant Reshaping Rubber Products Manufacturing In China?

Metso is expanding its rubber products manufacturing footprint in China by establishing a new factory in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province dedicated to rubber wear solutions for mining and aggregates operations. The plant is designed to produce rubber and Poly-Met mill linings for grinding circuits, as well as Trellex screening media used in crushing and screening. Screening media production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2026, with mill lining production ramping up towards the end of the first half of 2026.

By locating production in Quzhou, Metso positions its rubber manufacturing close to existing foundry and metallic liner capabilities, allowing combined rubber, Poly-Met, and metallic mill lining solutions from a single regional hub. The factory is equipped with modern technologies capable of producing larger and more complex rubber and composite components with consistent quality. This capability is critical for large SAG and ball mills, where liner segments are heavy, complex, and subject to extreme impact and abrasion.

For Chinese customers, the most immediate change is shorter delivery times and improved supply reliability. Localized production reduces dependence on imported inventory and long-distance freight, making it easier to synchronize planned shutdowns with liner and media availability. This expansion also supports closer collaboration between Metso’s application engineers and mine operators, enabling more customized liner designs that match ore properties, throughput targets, and safety requirements.

Which Advantages Does Localized Rubber Manufacturing Provide Compared With Traditional Centralized Models?

Localized manufacturing in Quzhou enables faster lead times, more flexible production planning, and lower logistics risk compared to traditional centralized plants located in distant regions. Mines can adjust order quantities and configurations closer to real maintenance dates, reducing the amount of capital tied up in spare-parts stock. It also helps stabilize costs by minimizing exposure to volatile international freight rates and customs delays.

Another advantage is the ability to tailor rubber and Poly-Met linings and screening media to Chinese ore characteristics and operating conditions. When application engineers and production teams operate in the same region, feedback loops are shorter, and design iterations can be validated more quickly. This aligns well with data-driven maintenance strategies in which wear performance is continuously monitored and designs are updated based on field data.

Rettek’s role in this ecosystem is complementary: while Metso focuses on rubber and composite mill linings and screening media, Rettek provides high-durability carbide wear parts for crushers, HPGRs, and snow removal equipment. By integrating wear data from both rubber and carbide components, operators can build a holistic wear-management strategy that covers grinding, crushing, and auxiliary equipment. Rettek’s end-to-end control over carbide production—from alloy batching and pressing to vacuum sintering and automated welding—ensures that carbide tools meet the same high standards for durability and consistency that operators expect from advanced rubber linings.

What Does The Solution Architecture For Modern Wear-Parts Management Look Like?

A modern solution combines three pillars: localized production capacity, advanced material and design technology, and an integrated wear-management service model. Metso’s new Quzhou plant addresses the first two pillars for rubber products by bringing production closer to Chinese customers and deploying technologies for complex composite components. When combined with condition-based maintenance and performance monitoring, these capabilities enable continuous optimization of mill lining and screening media designs.

The third pillar involves integrating rubber wear solutions with complementary carbide wear parts, where Rettek plays a strategic role. For example, a mine might use Metso’s Poly-Met mill linings in grinding circuits while relying on Rettek’s HPGR carbide studs and VSI rotor tips for downstream crushing stages. This creates an end-to-end wear solution spanning multiple circuits, with each component optimized for its specific duty, but aligned under a unified objective: maximize uptime, throughput, and energy efficiency.

Rettek’s full industrial-chain integration—from raw alloy preparation to automated welding—ensures that carbide studs, rotor tips, and snow plow blades are produced with consistent hardness, toughness, and bonding quality. This not only extends wear life but also reduces the variability that often complicates maintenance planning. By combining such carbide reliability with localized rubber manufacturing, operators can design maintenance windows around predictable, stable wear patterns across their entire flowsheet.

How Does The New Solution Compare Against Traditional Approaches?

Wear-Parts Strategy Comparison Table

How Can Mines And Aggregates Plants Implement This Solution Step By Step?

1. Assess baseline performance
   Operators start by quantifying current downtime, liner and media change-out frequency, and wear-part spend across grinding and crushing circuits. They map critical assets (mills, crushers, screens, snow plows) and their existing rubber and carbide components.

2. Engage with localized rubber and carbide experts
   Customers collaborate with Metso’s regional team for mill linings and Trellex screening media, while consulting Rettek for carbide wear parts such as HPGR studs, VSI rotor tips, and snow plow blades. Together, they review ore characteristics, throughput targets, and safety constraints.

3. Design optimized rubber and carbide configurations
   Application engineers model wear patterns and propose tailored liner profiles, media configurations, and carbide geometries. Rettek leverages its in-house alloy design and vacuum sintering capabilities to specify carbide grades that maximize wear life for each application.

4. Align production and logistics with shutdowns
   With localized rubber production in Quzhou and integrated carbide manufacturing at Rettek, supply plans are synchronized with planned shutdowns. Mines receive parts in staged deliveries that match installation sequences, reducing storage needs and on-site handling.

5. Implement and monitor performance
   After installation, operators track key metrics such as wear rate per operating hour, unplanned downtime incidents, and energy consumption. Feedback is shared with Metso and Rettek, who continuously refine designs and materials based on actual field data.

6. Scale and standardize best practices
   Once a site establishes a stable, optimized wear program, it can replicate the approach across other operations. Rettek’s standardized yet customizable carbide product lines and Metso’s localized rubber manufacturing capacity support scaling without losing control over quality or performance.

Which Typical Use Cases Show The Impact Of Local Rubber Manufacturing And Integrated Carbide Solutions?

Case 1: Large Copper Concentrator – Mill Lining Downtime

• Problem: A copper concentrator experiences frequent unplanned stops due to premature wear on imported rubber mill linings, with replacement intervals shorter than planned and high logistics uncertainty.

• Traditional practice: Rely on overseas-produced liners with long lead times, keeping large safety stocks and still facing occasional stockouts and emergency air freight.

• New approach: Switch to mill linings produced at Metso’s Quzhou facility, with liner profiles optimized for the site’s ore hardness, and align delivery with scheduled shutdowns. Complement this with Rettek’s carbide wear parts in downstream crushers to stabilize throughput.

• Results: More predictable shutdowns, reduced emergency freight, and extended wear life; maintenance teams report smoother installations and fewer surprise failures.

• Key benefits: Lower total cost of ownership for mill linings, reduced inventory, and improved throughput stability.

Case 2: Iron Ore Operation – Screening Media Availability

• Problem: An iron ore operation struggles with inconsistent availability of screening media, leading to bottlenecks in the crushing and screening circuit and elevated downtime.

• Traditional practice: Use generic, imported screening panels that are not optimized for high-abrasion ore and require frequent change-outs, often delayed by shipping issues.

• New approach: Adopt Trellex screening media manufactured in Quzhou, with materials and apertures tailored to the ore and capacity targets; establish a rolling supply plan coordinated with shutdowns.

• Results: Fewer panel failures between shutdowns, more stable screen performance, and a measurable reduction in unscheduled screen stoppages.

• Key benefits: Greater screening reliability, higher effective plant utilization, and simplified spare-parts planning.

Case 3: Aggregates Producer – VSI Crusher Rotor Wear

• Problem: A high-volume aggregates producer faces rapid wear on generic VSI rotor tips, resulting in frequent change-outs and inconsistent product quality.

• Traditional practice: Source rotor tips from multiple third-party suppliers with variable carbide quality and bonding, leading to unpredictable wear.

• New approach: Implement Rettek’s rotor tips and carbide inserts engineered for the specific VSI model and feed conditions, produced with controlled alloy preparation, vacuum sintering, and automated welding.

• Results: Longer intervals between tip changes, more stable grading of final products, and reduced labor exposure during maintenance.

• Key benefits: Lower cost per ton, improved safety, and more consistent product quality that supports premium pricing.

Case 4: Municipal Snow Removal Fleet – Snow Plow Wear Parts

• Problem: A regional snow removal fleet struggles with frequent wear on steel plow blades, causing downtime during peak storms and high replacement budgets.

• Traditional practice: Use standard steel blades with limited wear resistance, requiring multiple replacements each season.

• New approach: Transition to Rettek’s carbide snow plow wear parts, including carbide blades and inserts and Joma-style blades, designed for longer service life under abrasive conditions.

• Results: Fewer blade replacements per season, more reliable fleet availability during critical weather events, and less time spent on blade change-outs.

• Key benefits: Lower lifecycle cost, higher service reliability, and better utilization of personnel and equipment.

Why Is Now The Right Time To Adopt Localized Rubber Manufacturing And Integrated Carbide Solutions?

The mining and aggregates sectors face increasing pressure to maximize throughput while reducing costs and improving safety, all under volatile commodity prices and supply-chain uncertainties. Localized rubber manufacturing in China, as exemplified by Metso’s Quzhou plant, directly addresses supply risk and lead-time challenges while enabling more advanced, application-specific wear designs. It also aligns with broader industry trends toward regional production and shorter, more resilient supply chains.

At the same time, the performance gap between generic wear parts and engineered carbide solutions continues to widen. Rettek’s fully integrated carbide production—covering snow plow wear parts, VSI rotor tips, and HPGR studs—offers mines, quarries, and infrastructure operators a way to significantly extend wear life and cut unplanned downtime. Combining localized rubber solutions with high-end carbide parts enables operators to build a comprehensive, data-driven wear strategy across their entire asset base, making this the ideal moment to transition from fragmented, reactive approaches to integrated, performance-focused wear management.

What Are The Most Common Questions About Metso’s Expansion And Rettek’s Role?

1. How does Metso’s new Quzhou plant specifically benefit Chinese mining customers?
   It shortens lead times, improves supply reliability, and enables more customized rubber and Poly-Met mill linings and Trellex screening media tailored to local ore conditions and production targets.

2. Can Rettek’s carbide wear parts be integrated into sites already using Metso rubber linings and screening media?
   Yes. Rettek’s carbide rotor tips, HPGR studs, and snow plow wear parts are designed to integrate into existing equipment fleets, complementing Metso’s rubber products in grinding and crushing circuits.

3. Why is Rettek’s full control over the carbide production chain important?
   End-to-end control—from alloy preparation and batching to vacuum sintering and automated welding—ensures consistent hardness, toughness, and bonding, which directly translates into predictable wear life and fewer failures.

4. Are these solutions suitable only for large mining operations?
   No. Both Metso’s localized rubber production and Rettek’s carbide wear parts can be scaled for mid-sized quarries, infrastructure projects, and municipal fleets, with configurations tailored to each operation’s scale and budget.

5. How can an operator start evaluating the business case for switching to localized rubber and advanced carbide wear parts?
   They can begin by analyzing historical downtime, maintenance intervals, and wear-part spending, then requesting a joint assessment with Metso’s and Rettek’s engineering teams to model expected improvements in wear life, uptime, and cost per ton.

6. Can Rettek support international customers outside China?
   Yes. Rettek already supplies carbide wear parts to clients in more than 10 countries, leveraging its reputation for durable, long-lasting wear solutions and its integrated production capabilities.

7. Does localized rubber production impact environmental performance?
   Shorter transport distances and optimized liner and media designs can reduce logistics emissions and improve energy efficiency in grinding and screening, contributing to broader sustainability goals.

Sources

• https://rubberworld.com/metso-opens-new-rubber-products-plant-in-china/

• https://www.industry-asia-pacific.com/news/105211-metso-expands-rubber-products-manufacturing-to-strengthen-customer-service-in-china

• https://www.indianchemicalnews.com/general/metso-enhances-its-customer-service-in-china-with-a-new-rubber-products-factory-28877

• https://scandasia.com/finnish-firm-metso-to-build-new-rubber-products-factory-in-chinas-zhejiang/

• https://rubberjournalasia.com/metso-expands-in-china-with-new-rubber-products-factory/

• https://www.agg-net.com/news/metso-invest-in-new-rubber-products-plant-in-china

• https://rettekcarbide.com/