Walking into Hainan Rubber Hongguang Branch, in the large rubber forest, a "little guy" is particularly eye-catching. I saw it "walking" close to the rubber tree, raising its "arm", aiming at the special mark on the trunk and "shaking", and after a few seconds of planting, the semi-circular blade "on top" of its "head" quickly "hugged" the trunk, accompanied by the blade on the trunk. A layer of bark of moderate thickness and moderate depth is slowly cut off, and the milky white latex flows out. At this time, the robot began to move its "footsteps" to the next rubber tree...

This scene is repeated every day in the rubber forest of the Hongguang Branch of Hainan Natural Rubber Industry Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hainan Rubber") in Chengmai County, Hainan Province. The protagonist is Hainan Rubber and Beijing Institute of Technology Huahui The latest generation of rubber tapping robots developed by Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. is also the first intelligent forest tapping robot in China. The intelligent tapping robot battery is a power lithium battery. "It can not only identify the relevant production data of each rubber tree. It can independently find the position of the last secant line, and can also calculate the depth of the cutting surface and the thickness of the bark, and determine the location of the tapping. The secant position." Sun Yao, product director of Beijing Institute of Technology Huahui Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters.

The reporter learned that in recent years, the price of rubber has continued to slump, and the shortage of rubber workers is a problem facing Hainan Rubber. In order to get out of the predicament and shoulder the mission of revitalizing traditional industries, Hainan Rubber has developed three rubber tapping robots after many attempts.

"After the related technologies of rubber tapping robots are mature and quantitatively produced, the shortage of rubber workers will be effectively solved, which will largely ensure the 'successors' of my country's natural rubber industry and promote sustainable development." Vice President of Ningbo Zhongchuang Hanwei Technology Co., Ltd. General Manager Zhou Guohai said.

In recent years, in the face of the challenges of anti-globalization and increasingly fierce market competition, Haikou has accelerated the use of high-tech to transform and upgrade traditional industries, promoted the coordination of advantageous traditional industries and high-tech industries, and made steady progress in high-quality transformation and development.

In recent years, Hainan Rubber has focused on reform and innovation. Driven by the two-wheel drive of the rubber industry and the non-rubber industry, it has established a "3+1" development model of rubber medicine, new rubber materials, high-end rubber manufacturing and an environment-friendly rural economic complex. Old-fashioned enterprises are rejuvenated with new vitality.

Technology empowers rubber tapping robots with huge market potential

Zhou Guohai, the person in charge of the cooperative research and development of "one machine and one tree" rubber tapping robot, introduced the relevant situation of the second-generation rubber tapping robot to reporters. The rubber tapping robot uses a power lithium battery as a power source and can move and walk freely. "Go back and tap rubber." In the rubber forest of Hainan Rubber Hongguang Branch, in addition to intelligent rubber tapping robots, there are also "one machine, one tree" rubber tapping robots. Once this kind of rubber tapping robot tied to the tree is mass-produced and put into large-scale use, it can realize the simultaneous tapping of thousands of rubber trees. "In this way, we can ensure that the rubber is tapped at the best time for rubber production and further increase the output." The relevant personnel involved in the research and development of the cooperation told reporters that compared with manual rubber tapping, the efficiency and output of the rubber tapping robot will be higher.

Zhou Guohai, deputy general manager of Ningbo Zhongchuang Hanwei Technology Co., Ltd., who cooperated in the research and development of "one machine and one tree" rubber tapping robot, introduced the relevant situation of the second-generation rubber tapping robot to reporters. Photo by People's Daily Online reporter Mao Lei

"In the past, when we tapped rubber manually, we had to squat down when cutting down. When cutting 300 trees a day, it would be very tiring to squat all the time, but the rubber tapping robot would not have this problem. In the past, where workers couldn't climb up, the robot could do it. Zhou Guohai said that the current level of rubber tapping robots has reached the level of first-class rubber workers. "The cost of a robot is relatively high now, and we are working hard to reduce the cost so that it can be promoted on a large scale."

Why spend so much effort developing a rubber tapping robot? Behind this is the real problem of a serious shortage of glue workers.

It is understood that since 2012, the international rubber price has been falling all the way, from a high of more than 40,000 yuan per ton (dry rubber) to a minimum of about 9,000 yuan. The continuous decline in rubber prices has caused many rubber workers to "abandon cutting". . "Because the price of rubber is low, the money for tapping rubber is not enough for the cost, and many people do not cut it, resulting in a serious shortage of rubber workers."

However, as a national strategic material, it is imperative to ensure the output of natural rubber. In this context, Hainan Rubber has increased investment in scientific research and actively carried out the research and development of rubber tapping robots. Wang Renfei, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Hainan Natural Rubber Industry Group Co., Ltd., said that at present, Hainan Rubber's rubber tapping robot research and development level is second to none in China. The application demand for rubber tapping robots at home and abroad is very urgent, and the market potential is huge.

Deeply dig the added value of natural rubber to create a closed-loop industrial chain

Wang Renfei, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Hainan Natural Rubber Industry Group Co., Ltd., accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from People's Daily Online. Photo by People's Daily Online reporter Mao Lei

During this year's "Double Eleven" period, latex pillows, latex mattresses and other products of Hainan Rubber's brands were selling well, and were once sold out due to large sales. This is the epitome of Hainan Rubber's deep exploration of the added value of the natural rubber industry.

"In the past, we sold dry rubber, which was equivalent to 'only selling dry tofu'. Now we want to make 'soy milk, large tofu, and bean foam' and make a brand." Wang Renfei vividly described the transformation and upgrading of Hainan Rubber. "Hainan Rubber must shoulder the responsibility of a state-owned enterprise and raise technological innovation to an unprecedented height as an important strategic support to ensure the sustainable development of the natural rubber industry."

Odors and sewage from rubber processing have always been a "big problem". To this end, Hainan Rubber and professional scientific research institutions have jointly carried out scientific research in technical fields such as glue coagulation, rubber reinforcement, and a number of wet mixing to ensure zero pollution discharge in processing.

In recent years, Hainan Rubber has been approved for 19 national-level scientific research projects and 8 provincial-level scientific research projects. A number of subordinate scientific research institutions have also been established, and the pattern of scientific and technological development of rubber has initially taken shape. After years of hard work, in June this year, Hainan Rubber and Beijing Tianyi Ruibo Biotechnology Co., Ltd. successfully developed a new technology for ammonia-free preservation of concentrated natural latex. In addition, Hainan Rubber promotes the manufacture of new lightweight rubber and plastic materials for vehicles and ships and the promotion of rubber asphalt pavement technology, increases the research and development and application of rubber components in high-speed rail, high-end automobiles and other fields, and accelerates the development and experimental production of rubber medicines.

At present, Hainan Rubber is optimizing and upgrading the entire industrial chain of planting, collection, processing, trade and high-end manufacturing.

"Three standards, three systems and three benefits" performance management stimulates new momentum for enterprises

As the reform of state-owned enterprises has gradually entered the "deep water area", building a market-oriented management system has become a solution for state-owned enterprises to improve their quality, upgrade and rejuvenate their vitality. The natural rubber price (income) insurance system and the "three standards, three series and three benefits" management model explored by Hainan Rubber were selected as the first and fifth batch of system innovation cases in Hainan Free Trade Zone (Hong Kong).

In recent years, the international rubber price has continued to be sluggish. The price of natural rubber has dropped from 42,000 yuan/ton in 2011 to the current 11,000 yuan/ton, a drop of 74%. The willingness to tap rubber is not strong, a large number of employees are lost, and a series of problems such as abandonment of rubber plantations, abandonment of pipes, and abandonment of seeds have arisen, which have brought great challenges to the security of national strategic materials and poverty alleviation work in Hainan.

The insurance amount of Haijiao Group's income insurance is 16 yuan/kg, which is directly benchmarked against the natural rubber futures price of the main contract of the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The insurance rate is 16.8%, and the unit premium is 2.69 yuan/kg. During the insurance period, once the average futures price is lower than 16 yuan/kg, the insurance agency will pay the difference between Hainan Rubber Group and the cost. In addition, the insurance agency will also compensate for the production loss caused by natural disasters.

According to statistics, in 2018, 33 of the 48 second-tier enterprises in Hainan Rubber exceeded their net profit targets, accounting for 69%. In the first half of 2019, the revenue was 5.936 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.21%, and the revenue growth ranked first among the 31 listed companies in Hainan.