Yongsheng Rubber fined for environmental violations

Guangrao County, Shandong Province’s environmental protection department announced recent administrative penalty information in June. Tyrepress found that tyre manufacturer Yongsheng Rubber received six fines of 1.2 million yuan (£149,560; 173,892 euros; $178,830). Meanwhile, the person in charge of the related projects was fined 300,000 yuan.

The reason given for the fine is that the relevant departments have not inspected and then accepted the pollution control facilities of six tyre projects. Each tyre project was fined 200,000 yuan and the person in charge of each project was fined 50,000 yuan. The fines involved are associated with “150,000 all-steel (light truck) radial tyres production line”, “1 million high-performance semi-steel radial tyres expansion project (south side of the workshop)”, “1 million high-performance semi-steel radial tyres expansion project (north side of the workshop)” and “4 million high-performance semi-steel radial tyres production line”, and two production lines of “300,000 all-steel radial tyres”.

It is not uncommon in China’s tyre industry to start production without complete regulatory procedures. Compared with environmental fine levels, putting the production lines into use ahead of accreditation can lead to more significant economic benefits for tyre companies. As a result, some companies would rather suffer administrative penalties and choose to start work ahead of schedule.

Yongsheng is a well-known tyre company in Guangrao. According to relevant media reports, in the first quarter of 2022, Yongsheng Rubber produced a total of 700,000 radial tyres, achieving an export value of 600 million yuan, an increase of 15 per cent compared with the same period last year. In April, the company reportedly received many large overseas orders, including 600 container orders from European customers, 400 container orders from the Middle East, and 200 container orders from African customers. The most significant demand in value was for 25 containers destined for Belgium, with nearly 4 million yuan in sales.