Hubei Key Laboratory of Functional Flexible Composites & Advanced Manufacturing Technology Founded

To thoroughly implement the major strategic arrangements for achieving high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology and vigorously developing new quality productive forces, consolidate enterprises’ dominant role in scientific and technological innovation, and accelerate breakthroughs in core key technologies for high-end functional composite materials, the unveiling ceremony of the Hubei Key Laboratory of Functional Flexible Composites and Advanced Manufacturing Technology — led and developed by Hubei Jinlong New Materials Co., Ltd. — was grandly held at Hubei Jinlong on April 23, 2026.

Prior to the ceremony, Ma Zejiang, Secretary of the Suizhou Municipal Party Committee, held a cordial meeting with Xu Weilin, Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhan Textile University, and his entourage. The two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on deepening university-enterprise collaborative innovation and fully supporting the high-quality development of the laboratory. At the ceremony, Academician Xu Weilin and Hu Zhili, Deputy Secretary of the Suizhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Suizhou, jointly unveiled the laboratory. Leading officials from Suizhou City and Zengdu District, the expert team of Wuhan Textile University, and the senior management team of Hubei Jinlong witnessed the moment together. The event was presided over by Ma Rong, Member of the Party Leadership Group of Suizhou Municipal People’s Government.

As a high-level scientific and innovation platform, the newly unveiled provincial key laboratory is jointly built by Hubei Jinlong and Wuhan Textile University, a top-tier domestic university specializing in textiles. Leveraging Hubei Jinlong’s profound expertise in industrial textiles and flexible composite materials, the laboratory closely aligns with national strategies and core industrial demands. It focuses on four major research directions: structural design and failure mechanism of flexible composites under harsh service conditions; interfacial structure and functional coordination mechanism of multi-phase flexible composite systems; multi-functional integration of optical, thermal and electrical properties as well as intelligent response characteristics of flexible composites; and advanced manufacturing processes and green intelligent manufacturing technologies for flexible composites. Committed to forming a full-chain development model covering basic research, technological breakthroughs, pilot verification, achievement transformation and industrial incubation, the laboratory aims to build a domestically high-caliber and internationally advanced source of original technologies and an industrial transformation hub for functional flexible composite materials.

A landmark university-enterprise cooperation signing ceremony was held during the event. Rao Jincai, Chairman of Hubei Jinlong, formally appointed Academician Xu Weilin as Chief Scientist and Director of the Academic Committee, who will provide top-level strategic guidance and core technical support for the company’s technological innovation and laboratory development. To mark this in-depth strategic partnership, Academician Xu Weilin presented a lunar national flag independently developed by his research team to Hubei Jinlong. The gift symbolizes the joint commitment of the university and enterprise to serving national strategies, bringing the atmosphere of the ceremony to a climax.

In his speech, Rao Jincai stated that after years of dedication to industrial textiles and flexible composite materials, Hubei Jinlong has grown into a dominant domestic enterprise with significant influence in the global market. The inauguration of the key laboratory marks a crucial step for the company to overcome bottleneck technologies, secure the stability of industrial and supply chains, and advance toward the mid-to-high end of the global value chain. Moving forward, centering on the laboratory as a core innovation carrier, Hubei Jinlong will focus on key sectors including high-performance fiber composites, intelligent flexible materials, green and low-carbon manufacturing, and harsh service environment adaptive materials. The company will strive to realize independent control of high-end products and accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements from the laboratory to industrial production lines.

On behalf of the Suizhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, Mayor Hu Zhili extended warm congratulations on the laboratory’s official launch. She fully recognized Hubei Jinlong’s outstanding strength and dominant position in emergency new materials and flexible composite materials, and spoke highly of the company’s independently developed innovative products such as flood control dykes and inflatable flood control pipelines. She pledged that Suizhou will offer full support with sincere commitment, premium services and high efficiency to ensure the efficient operation of the laboratory and help Hubei Jinlong achieve greater breakthroughs in technological innovation and industrialization of research outcomes.

Academician Xu Weilin spoke highly of Hubei Jinlong, noting that it is one of the dominant enterprises in Hubei’s segmented sector of functional flexible composite materials. With a solid foundation and cutting-edge technologies in flexible air-tight textile materials, the company boasts broad development prospects and great potential to become a hidden champion in the industry. He pointed out that Wuhan Textile University will give full play to its strengths in disciplines, talents and national scientific research platforms, carry out in-depth collaboration with Hubei Jinlong to jointly tackle key technical challenges and cultivate high-end professionals, empowering the enterprise to sustain its dominant edge in the industry.

As a pacesetter in China’s functional flexible composite material industry, Hubei Jinlong has always adhered to innovation-driven development and industrial revitalization. The official launch of the provincial key laboratory and the in-depth cooperation with the top academician team signify that the company’s scientific and technological innovation system has entered a new stage of standardized, systematic and high-end development. Empowered by the laboratory’s robust research capabilities and the strategic guidance of the academician team, Hubei Jinlong will further consolidate its technological moat and core competitiveness. Focusing on key fields such as extreme-condition protection, intelligent integration, dual-use military and civilian applications, and green manufacturing, the enterprise will accelerate breakthroughs in core key technologies, boost the optimization, supplementation and extension of the industrial chain, and contribute to the high-level self-reliance of national science and technology as well as the high-quality development of China’s flexible functional composite material industry on the global stage.