Cautiously Optimistic Outlook for the 2025 Global Rubber Machinery Industry

Recently, the European Rubber Journal (ERJ) released its 2024 global rubber machinery industry report. The report shows significant changes in the global rubber machinery rankings, with Soft Control of China maintaining its top position for another year and six Chinese rubber machinery companies entering the global top ten. Global rubber machinery sales continued to grow, although the growth rate slowed compared to the previous year. Orders are increasingly concentrating among leading enterprises, indicating higher industry consolidation and a trend of "the strong getting stronger." Confidence and willingness to invest in the rubber machinery sector remain high. Based on current orders and survey feedback, the outlook for the global rubber machinery industry in 2025 is cautiously optimistic.

Significant Changes in Global Rankings

The 2025 global rubber machinery ranking is based on 2024 revenue. This year's ranking of global rubber machinery manufacturers has seen relatively large shifts. Soft Control grew by 9.1%, reaching USD 661 million in sales and securing the top spot globally for the third consecutive year. The Netherlands-based VMI increased by 15.6%, ranking second with USD 563 million. Germany’s HF grew by 7.1%, placing third with USD 484 million. While the top three positions remain unchanged from 2024, the revenue gap between them has widened. China’s Saiz Group moved up one place to fourth, and Dalian Rubber & Plastics Machinery advanced to fifth. Cimcorp surged into the top ten at sixth place with a remarkable 58.7% growth, while Kobe Steel moved up two spots to seventh. China’s Guilin Rubber Design Institute, Huayao Technology, and Yiyang Rubber & Plastics Machinery ranked eighth, ninth, and tenth respectively, with Huayao Technology and Yiyang Rubber & Plastics Machinery entering the top ten for the first time.

Among the “Top 10,” six companies are from China, one each from Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and Finland. Among the “Top 30” rubber machinery companies, 17 are from China, three from Italy, two each from Japan and France, and one each from Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Turkey, the United States, and India. New entrants to the ranking include Cimcorp, Shanghai Hewei, Yuyao Huatai Rubber & Plastics Machinery, Shaoxing Jingcheng, and Spoolex. Companies exiting the list are Trelleborg, Leonhard Breitenbach, Maplan, Pelmar Engineering, and LWB, primarily because ERJ was unable to obtain valid data from these firms.

Industry Concentration Continues to Rise

Global rubber machinery sales have shown robust development, with total sales of the “Top 30” reaching USD 3.842 billion, a 15.4% year-on-year increase—down from the 18.6% growth recorded last year. The slowdown clearly reflects mounting challenges posed by global geopolitical tensions and trade disputes. China was the main driver of growth in the global tire and rubber machinery market in 2024, with surveyed companies reporting a 19.8% year-on-year increase—significantly higher than other regions. The primary reason is China’s strong development in new energy vehicles, which has driven the tire industry into a “period of robust growth,” boosting demand for advanced rubber machinery manufacturing technologies and increasing orders.

Growth remains the dominant trend across the global rubber machinery sector: all 10 companies in the “Top 10” reported growth, 20 of the “Top 30” grew, nine declined, and one remained flat. Companies with particularly strong growth include Huayao Technology, Qingdao Hailang Special Equipment, Yiyang Rubber & Plastics Machinery, Yuyao Huatai Rubber & Plastics Machinery, Cimcorp, and Shanghai Hewei—all Chinese firms—with growth rates exceeding 50%. Companies experiencing notable declines include Marangoni, Larsen & Toubro, and Frenzelit Hydraulik.

In terms of global market share, European-headquartered rubber machinery manufacturers accounted for approximately 39.4% of the “Top 30” sales in 2024, down 5.6 percentage points from 2023. In contrast, China’s share rose to 53.2% of the “Top 30” sales in 2024, an increase of 10.2 percentage points from the previous year. Sales of the “Top 10” accounted for 75.5% of the “Top 30” total, up 2.7 percentage points year-on-year. Industry concentration continues to rise, with orders clearly shifting toward leading enterprises and system solution providers excelling in intelligence and digitalization, reinforcing the “stronger get stronger” phenomenon.

Positive Outlook for Rubber Machinery Future

ERJ conducted a survey on future investment directions, regional development, and product areas, posing three key questions. Results show that rubber machinery manufacturers generally perceive strong market conditions and express strong investment intentions.

Regarding the fastest-growing geographic markets, sentiment toward North America stands out, with about 80% of respondents identifying it as a high-growth region—up significantly from 58% last year. Business confidence in Western Europe also shows surprising resilience: 65% of respondents named it a fast-growing region, up from 54% in the 2024 survey. The unexpectedly positive trend in Europe may reflect ongoing investments by non-EU tire manufacturers aiming to access the EU market, numerous tire plant upgrade projects across Europe, and production relocation from Russia. There has been a notable increase in automation and modernization projects at European tire manufacturing plants. Meanwhile, 35% of respondents expressed optimism about rapid growth in the Chinese market, up from 29% last year. Whether this growth momentum will continue into 2025 and beyond is a key concern for tire and rubber machinery manufacturers.

On the strongest end-product market segments, “tire manufacturing” received the highest rating by far, with 80% of respondents selecting it—far exceeding levels recorded in recent years. Another notable finding this year is persistently low sentiment toward the automotive components sector. Although it improved by four percentage points from last year’s low of 12%, uncertainty surrounding the transition to electric vehicles continues to weigh on the sector. Encouragingly, supplier sentiment toward the general rubber products industry has improved, though confidence in the industrial components market has declined. Respondents identified specific fast-growing non-tire market areas including aerospace, construction, logistics, medical-pharmaceuticals, and wind energy.

Regarding future development directions, despite ongoing geopolitical tensions, international trade disputes, and industry consolidation, tire and rubber machinery manufacturers are doubling down on plans to enhance manufacturing capacity over the next 12 months. The number of respondents selecting “expansion” and “upgrade/modernization” options increased significantly, confirming this trend. As in the previous year, rising numbers of “acquisition,” “construction,” and “integration” plans further indicate that machinery suppliers are actively adjusting their manufacturing footprints to meet evolving regional and global market demands.