橡楚编辑部 51 min read
This article focuses on the new development trends of the liquid silicone rubber (LSR) processing industry in Central China, and deeply analyzes the core advantages of the one-stop LSR solution launched by Xiangchu Technology. The full-link service mode covering mold development, mass production process, quality control and supply chain collaboration is discussed to adapt to the customized needs of silicone products in automotive, medical, consumer electronics and other fields in Central China, providing a reference for local manufacturing enterprises to reduce LSR product development costs and shorten delivery cycles.
Central China, encompassing Hubei, Hunan, Henan, and Jiangxi provinces, has emerged as a critical manufacturing hub in recent years, driven by national industrial transfer policies, improved logistics infrastructure, and a growing pool of skilled technical labor. The liquid silicone rubber (LSR) processing sector, in particular, has experienced 17% year-on-year growth in the region since 2021, outpacing the national average of 12% as downstream industries including medical devices, automotive electronics, new energy, and consumer goods increasingly shift production inland to reduce costs and access regional supply chains.
Historically, LSR processing in Central China was fragmented: brand owners typically sourced raw materials from coastal suppliers, contracted mold fabrication to small local workshops, and partnered with separate injection molding facilities, leading to extended lead times (averaging 6-8 weeks for custom LSR part development), 23% higher defect rates compared to coastal integrated facilities, and limited access to specialized LSR processing expertise for high-precision applications. This gap has created a pressing demand for end-to-end LSR solutions that consolidate the entire product development lifecycle under one provider.
Xiangchu Technology, a Wuhan-based LSR processing specialist, has addressed this market need with its one-stop LSR solution platform, which integrates material formulation, precision mold design and manufacturing, cleanroom injection molding, post-processing, and performance validation into a single service offering. Over the past three years, the company has served more than 120 regional and national clients, cutting average product development cycles by 42% and reducing overall project costs by 28% for partners in the medical and new energy sectors. This model has become a defining new trend for LSR contract manufacturing in Central China, redefining industry standards for efficiency, quality, and technical support.
The rapid evolution of the LSR contract manufacturing sector in Central China is fueled by three interconnected structural shifts in regional industry dynamics, which have created unprecedented demand for integrated LSR solutions.
Central China has become a core production base for several high-growth end markets that rely heavily on high-performance LSR components, as outlined in Table 1:
This agglomeration has created demand for LSR parts with highly specialized performance requirements: for example, medical LSR parts require compliance with ISO 10993 and China NMPA Class III medical material standards, while NEV LSR components must withstand -40°C to 150°C temperature cycles, 1000-hour UV aging resistance, and UL94 V-0 flame retardancy. Previously, regional manufacturers had to partner with coastal LSR processors to meet these specifications, incurring 15-20% higher logistics costs and 1-2 weeks of additional lead time for product iterations. Xiangchu’s one-stop solution eliminates these frictions by providing localized access to material formulation and processing capabilities tailored to each industry’s specific regulatory and performance requirements.
China’s 14th Five-Year Plan for Advanced Manufacturing explicitly identifies Central China as a key recipient of coastal industrial transfer, offering tax incentives, R&D subsidies, and infrastructure investment for high-value manufacturing sectors including precision polymer processing. For LSR processors operating in the region, eligible enterprises can receive a 15% corporate income tax rate (compared to the standard 25%) for high-tech enterprise certification, plus R&D expense super deductions of 175% for projects related to medical or new energy material development.
Logistics infrastructure improvements have further enhanced the region’s competitiveness: the Wuhan Yangtze River Port and Zhengzhou-Europe Railway Express provide low-cost access to both domestic and international markets, with LSR part shipping costs to Southeast Asian markets now 18% lower than from Guangdong, and lead times to European markets reduced by 7-10 days via rail freight. These advantages have encouraged an increasing number of downstream brands to locate their entire supply chains in Central China, creating a pull effect for integrated LSR processing services like Xiangchu’s platform.
Prior to the emergence of integrated solutions, 68% of regional downstream manufacturers reported difficulty accessing LSR processing capabilities for precision parts with tolerances of ±0.02mm or lower, according to a 2023 Hubei Polymer Industry Association survey. Small local mold shops often lacked experience with LSR-specific mold design considerations, such as cold runner system optimization, venting structure design to prevent air entrapment, and demolding mechanisms for high-precision micro-parts. This resulted in average mold trial cycles of 3-5 rounds for custom LSR parts, compared to 1-2 rounds for integrated LSR processors.
Additionally, 41% of surveyed medical device manufacturers noted that local processors could not provide full traceability documentation required for regulatory submission, including material batch records, cleanroom production logs, and biocompatibility test reports. This gap created a critical unmet need for end-to-end solutions that combine technical expertise, regulatory compliance support, and localized production – a need that Xiangchu’s model has been designed to address.
Xiangchu’s platform is built on four vertically integrated service modules that cover every stage of the LSR product lifecycle, from initial concept design to mass production and quality validation. This integrated structure eliminates the communication gaps and responsibility disputes that often arise when working with multiple disconnected suppliers.
Unlike generic LSR processors that rely on off-the-shelf raw materials, Xiangchu maintains an in-house material R&D center with 12 material scientists specializing in LSR modification, enabling it to develop custom formulations tailored to each client’s performance requirements. The center maintains a library of 47 base LSR formulations with Shore hardness ranging from 5 Shore A to 80 Shore D, which can be modified with additives to achieve specific performance characteristics, as outlined in Table 2:
Before moving to mold fabrication, Xiangchu conducts pre-testing of custom formulations for clients, including full performance validation per industry standards, to eliminate the risk of material-related failures later in the development process. This reduces the likelihood of costly mold rework due to material incompatibility by 92% for new product development projects.
Mold performance is the single most critical factor in LSR part quality, and Xiangchu has invested heavily in end-to-end mold capabilities to ensure consistency and precision for complex parts. The company’s mold division employs 28 mold engineers with an average of 8 years of LSR-specific mold design experience, and operates a 2,300 sq.m. mold fabrication workshop equipped with high-speed CNC machining centers, wire EDM machines with ±0.001mm positioning accuracy, and optical grinding equipment.
Key design features integrated into all Xiangchu LSR molds include:
The company also offers mold flow simulation services using Simcenter 3D software, which predicts filling patterns, cross-linking uniformity, and potential part defects before fabrication, reducing mold trial time by an average of 60%. For clients in the medical device sector, Xiangchu provides full mold design validation documentation (including design FMEA, material traceability records for mold steel, and dimensional inspection reports) required for regulatory submissions. The average mold delivery time for custom LSR parts is 10-15 working days, 40% faster than the regional average for comparable precision molds.
Xiangchu operates a 7,500 sq.m. LSR injection molding facility with four cleanroom zones, tailored to the regulatory requirements of different industries:
The facility is equipped with 36 LSR-specific injection molding machines with clamping forces ranging from 55 tons to 350 tons, capable of producing parts from 0.01g micro-precision components to 5kg large-format seals. All machines are equipped with automated feeding systems that mix A/B LSR components with ±0.1% ratio accuracy, ensuring consistent material properties across production runs.
For post-processing, Xiangchu has implemented fully automated trimming, deflashing, and inspection systems to reduce labor costs and improve consistency:
For medical device clients, all production processes are fully traceable: each batch of parts is linked to material batch records, production parameter logs, operator records, and inspection reports, enabling full backward and forward traceability as required by NMPA, FDA, and EU MDR regulations.
A key differentiator of Xiangchu’s one-stop solution is its in-house testing laboratory, which is accredited to ISO 17025 standards, eliminating the need for clients to send parts to third-party testing institutions for validation, reducing testing lead times by 3-4 weeks. The laboratory conducts a full range of LSR performance tests, including:
For clients in regulated industries, Xiangchu provides full regulatory support, including compiling test reports, production process documentation, and risk assessment files required for medical device registration, NEV component certification, and food contact material approval. The company has supported 19 medical device clients in obtaining NMPA Class II and Class III product registration certificates, and 12 NEV component suppliers in passing IATF 16949 system audits, reducing the average regulatory approval time for clients by 30%.
The integrated one-stop structure of Xiangchu’s LSR solution delivers measurable business benefits for clients across all downstream industries, compared to the traditional fragmented supplier model.
For custom LSR part development projects, the traditional fragmented model requires clients to coordinate between material suppliers, mold fabricators, and injection molding facilities, resulting in an average development cycle of 45-60 days from initial design to first sample approval. Xiangchu’s integrated model cuts this cycle to 18-27 days, a 55% reduction, by eliminating communication delays between different suppliers and enabling parallel work on material formulation and mold design.
Cost savings are equally significant: a 2023 client case study for a Hubei-based medical device manufacturer developing a silicone laryngeal mask airway found that the total project cost using Xiangchu’s one-stop solution was ¥128,000, compared to ¥201,000 using the traditional fragmented model, a 36% reduction. This cost saving comes from three sources:
For mass production projects, Xiangchu’s automated production and quality control systems reduce per-part production costs by an average of 15-20% compared to smaller regional processors, while maintaining defect rates below 0.3%, compared to the regional average of 2.1%.
The centralized quality control system of Xiangchu’s integrated model eliminates the quality inconsistencies that often occur when multiple suppliers are involved in the production process. For a Jiangxi-based NEV battery manufacturer producing high-voltage connector seals, Xiangchu’s solution reduced part defect rates from 1.8% with a previous fragmented supplier network to 0.12%, reducing the client’s total quality control costs by 42% over a 12-month production run.
Xiangchu’s localized production also improves supply chain resilience for regional clients, particularly in the context of frequent logistics disruptions from extreme weather events or public health incidents. During the 2022 Yangtze River drought, which disrupted inland waterway transportation for 6 weeks, Xiangchu was able to continue delivering parts to clients in Hubei and Hunan within 48 hours via road transportation, while clients relying on coastal suppliers faced average delivery delays of 14-21 days. The company also maintains a 2-week safety stock of common LSR raw materials to mitigate supply chain disruptions from global material shortages.
Unlike generic contract manufacturers that operate on a fixed production model, Xiangchu assigns a dedicated technical team to each client, consisting of a material scientist, mold engineer, production engineer, and quality control specialist, to provide end-to-end support throughout the product lifecycle. For clients developing complex parts with unique performance requirements, this team collaborates with the client’s R&D department to optimize part design for LSR manufacturability, reducing production costs and improving part performance without compromising functional requirements.
For example, when working with a Hunan-based AR/VR manufacturer developing a custom face cushion part, Xiangchu’s technical team identified that the client’s initial design required a two-step overmolding process that would have increased production costs by 35%. The team proposed an alternative design that integrated a low-density foam LSR core with a smooth skin layer in a single molding step, reducing production costs by 28% while improving the part’s breathability and comfort, resulting in a 12% increase in end-user satisfaction for the client’s product.
The LSR contract manufacturing sector in Central China is undergoing a fundamental shift from fragmented, low-value processing services to integrated, end-to-end solutions that address the evolving needs of downstream high-tech industries. Xiangchu Technology’s one-stop LSR solution platform, which integrates custom material formulation, precision mold fabrication, cleanroom production, and regulatory support, has emerged as a leading model for this transition, delivering measurable improvements in time-to-market, cost efficiency, and product quality for regional clients.
Looking ahead, this trend is expected to accelerate as Central China’s downstream industries continue to grow and demand for high-precision, regulatory-compliant LSR components increases. By 2027, integrated one-stop LSR solutions are projected to account for 58% of the regional LSR