After more than 20 years of silence, the northwest tire industry has ushered in a historic turning point.
On February 2, 2026, leaders of relevant departments led a team to conduct an on-site investigation of Lanzhou King Kong Tire Co., Ltd.
This marks that Lanzhou Jingang Tire, the only tire manufacturer in Gansu Province, has officially returned to the industrial stage with a new attitude of intelligent manufacturing after 23 years of ups and downs. It will completely change the long-term reliance on external input for high-end tires in the northwest region.
The predecessor of Lanzhou Jingang Tire is the famous Gansu Provincial Tire Factory. As a key enterprise in Gaolan County for investment promotion in 2002, its early planned 600-acre factory includes an annual output of 1 million sets of bias tires and 600,000 sets of all-steel load-carrying radial tires.
However, due to a shortage of working capital and subsequent financing difficulties, the all-steel tire project stalled for nearly 20 years after completing 60% of the construction progress. The company struggled to maintain itself by relying solely on the production and OEM of low-value-added bias tires, and production was discontinued one after another from the end of 2008 to 2018.
The turning point will occur in 2023.
With the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement between Gaolan County and Sinochem Second Construction Group to jointly promote the “Junhe Yungu (Lanzhou) Intelligent Manufacturing New Materials Industrial Park”, this all-steel tire project that has been on hold for nearly 20 years has been officially restarted.
After high-level personnel adjustments in 2024 and substantive construction in 2025, the first all-steel tire successfully rolled off the production line on December 23, 2025, announcing the completion of a closed-loop all-steel tire industry chain that had been interrupted for 20 years.
On January 5, 2026, the company’s registered capital jumped significantly from 100.8 million yuan to 253.9 million yuan, an increase of more than 151%, injecting strong capital confidence into full production.
During the investigation, the relevant leaders visited the new appearance of the factory in detail and listened to the company’s report on the resumption of production and operations.
It is understood that the restarted King Kong Tire is not simply restored, but has undergone substantial technical transformation and upgrades.
Based on the original production line, the company restarted the construction of intelligent manufacturing reconstruction and expansion projects with an annual output of 1.2 million high-performance new material all-steel radial tires and 100,000 all-steel engineering radial tires.
The project has entered the trial production stage in December 2025 and is expected to be officially put into full production in March 2026.
This means that Lanzhou will transform from a pure tire consumption city to a tire manufacturing city and realize the localized production of high-end all-steel tires in the northwest region for the first time.
In view of the difficulties faced by enterprises in resuming production and operations, the research team provided on-site answers and coordination to ensure the smooth progress of this key project.
The restart of King Kong Tire has an industrial and economic significance for Lanzhou and even the northwest region that goes far beyond the scope of a single enterprise.
For a long time, the northwest region has had obvious shortcomings in high-end products such as all-steel radial tires and engineering radial tires, which has led to high industrial chain costs in pillar industries such as logistics and automobiles in the region, restricting industrial integrity.
With the gradual release of King Kong Tire’s annual production capacity of 1.2 million high-performance all-steel tires and 100,000 all-steel engineering tires, it will not only fill the gap in the county’s high-end manufacturing industry, but will also directly drive upstream rubber raw material supply, downstream logistics and transportation, and equipment maintenance to gather industrial chains.
It is expected that after the project is completed, it will create thousands of high-quality jobs, form a high-end tire manufacturing highland radiating to the northwest, effectively reduce the cost of the regional automobile industry, and enhance the voice of the industrial chain.
The tortuous journey of King Kong Tire is a microcosm of the transformation difficulties of Lanzhou’s traditional manufacturing industry, and is also an “ice-breaking” move to revitalize Lanzhou’s manufacturing industry.
Relevant departments stated that in the next step, they will fully promote the implementation of the “Five Powers” action, vigorously promote new industrialization, and help King Kong Tire become bigger and stronger.
As the core county of the Lanbai Metropolitan Area, Gaolan County is seizing the opportunity of building a “small county but a big city” and promoting the rebirth of industry through the commissioning of projects such as King Kong Tire and Jinsha River Noodle Industry.
The successful case of King Kong Tire proves that through technological upgrading, capital injection and industrial chain coordination, old industrial assets can also be rejuvenated.
For other established manufacturing companies in Lanzhou, such as Lantong Factory, this model provides a revitalization path that can be used as a reference.
As the official start-up period in March 2026 approaches, this “lone seedling” of the northwest tire industry is getting ready to go forward. It will not only reshape Gaolan’s industrial landscape, but also inject a shot in the arm to improve the energy level of Lanzhou’s manufacturing industry during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period.
