China Market Insider The Five Leading Manufacturers of Carbide Cutting Tools in China

Related Vendors

Asia Waypoint

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

Carbide is a composite material with a hardness surpassed only by diamond. We provide you with an overview of the key manufacturers.

Tools made from carbide also proudly bear the name "teeth of modern industry." They cut up to seven times faster than conventional steel tools and last nearly 80 times longer. Thanks to these properties, carbide is now indispensable in the manufacturing industry.

In 2022, around 110,000 tons of carbide were produced worldwide, with 50,500 tons in China, more than any other country. Although China is the largest producer by volume, only a relatively small portion of this production currently consists of high-tech equipment. The industry in their country is "big," but not yet "strong," as the Chinese themselves say.

So far, mass-produced products still dominate over precision tools, but with the increasing demand in high-demanding sectors, the share of high-quality carbide tools "made in China" is now gradually rising.

Experts expect that the leading companies will significantly expand their market share in the coming years, and the currently highly fragmented market will increasingly consolidate around a few top providers.

In China, nearly 45 percent of carbide production is used for manufacturing cutting tools. The advancing CNC automation in the industry has grown the domestic market for carbide tools by more than 10 billion yuan (approximately €1.2/$1.3 billion) over the past eight years.

Domestic tool manufacturers are also gaining popularity in this market segment. "In the past, we primarily relied on imported carbide tools, but now we source over 50 percent of them from Chinese suppliers. The domestic industry has made clear progress, but one still has to accept slightly shorter tool lifespans and longer delivery times," said Wang Xin, Supply Chain Director at locomotive manufacturer CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive, in a recent interview with the People's Daily.

Zhuzhou: Asia's largest carbide industry cluster

An epicenter of this development is Zhuzhou in Hunan Province, where the largest carbide industry cluster in Asia has formed. Over 300 specialized companies, ranging from powder metallurgy plants to tool grinding shops, collectively generate an annual revenue of 57.5 billion yuan (2023) in Zhuzhou – more than 40 percent of China's total production. The products from Zhuzhou include over 100,000 product variants and are exported to more than 80 countries. The city is considered the cradle of China's carbide industry. As early as the 1950s, the state-owned Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group produced the first carbide in the People's Republic there and later sent engineers to help establish large carbide plants in Zigong (Sichuan), Jiangxi, and Xiamen.

To penetrate higher market segments, China's manufacturers are increasingly focusing on technological depth and service. Wang Shequan, Chairman of the industry leader Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Cutting Tools, emphasized in an interview that only the integration of material, equipment, and service chains can lead the industry to high-quality development. Global market leaders like Sandvik (Sweden) or Kennametal (USA) have already set an example by offering comprehensive solutions from a single source. Companies in Zhuzhou are also starting to take this path: in 2024, local manufacturers appeared for the first time as complete solution providers and "tentatively" competed with global industry giants – an important first step in the transformation.

Five leading Chinese carbide tool manufacturers

So who are the key players in this intense catch-up race? Below, we present the five leading Chinese carbide tool manufacturers and their particular features.

1. Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Cutting Tools Co., Ltd.

• Subsidiary of China Tungsten and Hightech Materials Co., Ltd. (Zhongwu Gaoxin)
• Headquarters: Zhuzhou, Hunan Province
• Production Capacity: 120 million cutting tools per year

This publicly listed corporation, under the umbrella of the state-owned enterprise China Minmetals, is the largest integrated carbide producer in the country. Its tool subsidiary, Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Cutting Tools Co., Ltd. (known as "Zhuzhou Diamond"), holds a share of approximately 20 percent in the Chinese CNC tool market.

The company offers over 100,000 different cutting tools (including around 50,000 of the CNC indexable insert type) for virtually all machining processes.

From high-precision turning, milling, and drilling to threading and grooving, standard and special tools can be supplied in various carbide, cement, and coating grades.

With carbide products and tools, the group achieves an annual turnover of over 2 billion yuan (approximately €240/$260 million). As a pioneer of "integrated solutions," Zhuzhou Diamond also develops complete manufacturing concepts with customers, such as for the aerospace sector.

2. Jinzhou Precision Technology Co., Ltd.

• Subsidiary of China Tungsten and Hightech Materials Co., Ltd. (Zhongwu Gaoxin)
• Headquarters: Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

Jinzhou Precision, founded in 1986, has established itself as one of the world's leading specialists in carbide micro-drills and milling tools for PCB manufacturing. The company holds 241 patents and has contributed to several Chinese industry standards for PCB tools. Jinzhou masters manufacturing tolerances in the micrometer range, a level achieved by very few manufacturers other than the Japanese competitor Union Tool.

Its finest drills measure only 0.01 millimeters (about one-eighth the thickness of a human hair) and can engrave 56 Chinese characters on a single grain of rice. Such extremely delicate tool tips enable the precise machining of circuit boards, stainless steel, copper, aluminum, and even soft plastics.

With these "exquisite industrial teeth," Jinzhou enables technological advances in electronics manufacturing, optics, biotechnology, and aerospace. The mass production of these ultra-micro tools in China has enormous market potential, especially as China is currently undergoing a large-scale "upgrade" of its manufacturing industry.

3. Zhuzhou Huarui Precision Cutting Tools Co., Ltd. (Huarui)

• Headquarters: Zhuzhou, Hunan Province
• IPO: 2021

Huarui Precision Tools develops and manufactures carbide indexable inserts for precise turning, milling, and drilling. Founded in Zhuzhou in 2007, the company went public in February 2021 and has since been among the top 3 manufacturers of CNC cutting tools in China.

Huarui primarily serves demanding sectors such as aerospace, automotive manufacturing, and mold making. The manufacturer prides itself on its self-developed chipbreaker geometries, high-precision carbide substrates, and advanced coating technologies.

Several of its executives hail from the traditional carbide factory 601 in Zhuzhou. Others were trained at the Swedish tooling giant Sandvik. This wealth of experience helps Huarui develop competitive cutting solutions.

4. OKE Precision Cutting Tools Co., Ltd.

• Headquarters: Zhuzhou, Hunan Province
• IPO: 2020

As a private company, OKE is among the top tier of Chinese cutting tool manufacturers, frequently ranking among the top 3 in the country. Founded in 1996, OKE became the first carbide tool manufacturer to be listed on the Shanghai STAR Market in December 2020.

The company offers a comprehensive range of machining tools. Its focus is on indexable CNC inserts and matching tool holders, as well as solid carbide drills and end mills. These are used in numerous industries – from rail and automotive engineering to mechanical engineering, aerospace, and electronics production.

In addition, OKE also produces carbide blanks and components and is China's largest manufacturer of toothed carbide saw blades. Through its own research and development, the company has made a name for itself with wear-resistant cutting materials and innovative geometries. OKE collaborates as a supplier with renowned tool manufacturers both domestically and internationally and has been repeatedly recognized as an "Excellent Supplier" by major customers such as Black & Decker.

5. Guangdong Dtech Technology Co., Ltd.

• Headquarters: Dongguan, Guangdong Province
• Production Capacity: 85 million drill bits per month

Guangdong Dtech (Chinese: Dingtai) was founded in 1997 and specializes in high-precision tools and equipment for PCB manufacturing. The company not only produces carbide drills, end mills, and grinding wheels for PCBs but also develops matching automation systems, such as optical placement robots for PCB processing.

Dtech went public in Shenzhen in 2022 and primarily serves the electronics industry (3C), automotive electronics, and other sectors with high PCB demand. With a capacity of 85 million PCB drills per month – the largest worldwide – Dtech can extensively support mass production in PCB manufacturing.

The combination of precise tool manufacturing and in-house automation technology is considered a particular strength of the company. Dtech thus gradually contributes to the development of increasingly high-quality electronics production in China.