At the recent inaugural Global OTR Conference in Antwerp, IM Editorial Director Paul Moore sat down with Sheila Cui, General Manager of Techking’s Overseas Business Department, to gain deeper insights into the mining tyre offerings and market strategy of one of China’s leading mining tyre companies.
Q Techking is one of the most well-known Chinese brands in mining tyres and has had a consistent presence for many years – plus you are one of the few to succeed with Tier 1 miners – what has made you one of the most successful Chinese companies in this market?
Techking was established in 2005. From the very beginning, we have maintained a strong focus on the mining and construction industries. That focus has been one of the key factors behind our success. At the same time, we continue to invest heavily in technology and product development – we never stand still. We constantly evolve with market needs and adopt cutting-edge technologies to stay ahead. Another reason for our success is that we do not pursue short-term or one-off sales. Instead, we aim to build long-term, strategic partnerships with mining customers. For example, we now work with Rio Tinto, but our cooperation began nearly ten years after our first meeting. This has involved a lot of work on our side to meet their requirements, but we achieved it. Global mining companies have extremely high requirements for product performance and service capability, and we have proven that we can meet those expectations. For example, we develop application-specific tyres for their particular working conditions. Glencore has been our customer since 2018, and we have also supplied tyres to BHP and Vale. This combination of targeted market focus, continuous investment in technology, and commitment to long-term collaboration has made Techking one of the most trusted tyre brands in the global mining sector.
Sheila Cui, General Manager of Techking’s Overseas Business Department with IM Editorial Director Paul Moore at the 2025 Global OTR Conference
Q How has your business grown globally over the years? Have you localised in mining hubs around the world and will you move to also having manufacturing outside of China in the future?
We have a clear strategy to become a global company and supplier of mining tyres. To date, we have supplied tyres to over 100 countries, partnering with authorised distributors in more than 70 of these markets. In recent years, we have also built a localised presence through direct subsidiaries and branches. Our first overseas subsidiary, Techking Australia, launched in November 2018 with headquarters in Brisbane and warehouses in Brisbane, Sydney, and Perth. We expanded to Indonesia in 2021, establishing a main office in Jakarta and warehouses in key mining regions. We operate offices in the DRC, Zambia, South Africa, and Peru. These local entities enable close collaboration with regional partners and enhanced customer service. Most offices employ a mix of local and Chinese talent, ensuring alignment with global standards while maintaining local market understanding. Regarding manufacturing, our state-of-the-art Chinese facilities currently meet all global supply requirements. However, in response to recent global trade uncertainties, we have developed overseas production capabilities to ensure reliable worldwide customer support.
Q A lot of Chinese brands entered the market during the tyre shortages in the mid 2000s and many of them filled part of the supply shortfall. Many of these brands disappeared but Techking was one of the few to remain – why?
Techking’s longevity stems from a clear long-term strategy rather than short-term opportunism. First, we focused on the mining and construction sectors – markets that prioritise performance and reliability over quick gains. Second, we rejected price-driven competition: from day one, our goal has been to deliver premium tyres, not low-cost commodities. In practice, this meant continuous investment in R&D and the development of a wide product range covering the entire mining fleet – including tyres for large rigid trucks, wheel loaders, ADTs, graders, cranes, underground equipment, and wide-body dump trucks. We also have the capability to offer customised tyre solutions, backed by more than 10 different compounds. These capabilities allow us to address real customer pain points, reduce total cost of ownership (TCO), and foster lasting partnerships. In short: targeted market focus, quality over price, technical innovation, and application-specific solutions are the reasons why Techking has endured while many short-term entrants disappeared.
Q How important is putting investment into R&D and continuous improvement in this market for Techking?
Since our establishment, we have firmly believed that technology is the key to success in the mining tyre market. This belief has guided continuous investment in R&D, which has underpinned our growth and stability over the past 20 years. Today, 48% of our employees have a technical background, and 24% are technical engineers. Our R&D investment has achieved a compound annual growth rate of 22.6%. Our focus on developing application-specific tyres for large rigid trucks has required significant technological investment. For example, our SUPER ROCK utilises enhanced raw materials and a high-strength structure, available up to size 57 inch. Our SUPER H, also offered in this large size, delivers excellent traction, better load distribution, effective heat dissipation, and a reinforced carcass for greater safety and controllability. Continuous improvement also plays a crucial role in building customer trust. For example, in an Indonesian coal mine, we worked closely with the customer to address challenges related to long-haul distances and high TKPH (ton-kilometres per hour) conditions. Through several rounds of technical iteration, the 27.00R49 SUPER TRAC has since performed well in field tests and earned high customer recognition. We have numerous similar application-specific development cases, and this capability has become one of our core competitive advantages. In addition, Techking is also well known for our underground tyres, such as the PROLHD series, as well as tyres for all-terrain cranes and wide-body dump trucks. All of these innovations reflect our ongoing commitment to technology-driven excellence and customer-oriented solutions.
Q Circularity, sustainability and tyre recycling are all big topics today in mining – what is the Techking strategy and stance here?
Tyre sustainability has many aspects. At Techking, we are committed to CO2 emissions reduction targets and have implemented an environmental management system aligned with the international ISO 14001:2015 standard. We also perform greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting according to ISO 14064-1:2018, and use a LCA model to evaluate the carbon footprint of our products. This approach supports the development of more sustainable solutions. For example, our TRAC POWER for next-generation L5 tyre combines extended service life, low rolling resistance, and an eco-friendly design. In addition, we ensure our products meet the relevant sustainability requirements in the countries where they are used — for example, the Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR) in Europe or the REP Law in Chile. Many of our major customers, such as Rio Tinto and leading OEMs, also have high standards regarding sustainability and carbon footprint, which we adhere to as their supplier. Regarding tyre recycling, we are exploring options such as cooperation with recycling companies and specialists. While tyre recycling is not our core business, we aim to provide customers with viable solutions to support circularity and sustainable practices.
Q Diesel mining equipment has been used for many years so tyre wear and behaviour is well understood. With the introduction of battery and hybrid equipment in mining, as well as all autonomous fleets, how is this impacting mining tyres and how is Techking addressing this issue?
You are correct – especially in China, the introduction of autonomous and electric mining fleets is developing very rapidly. Techking has been working hard to ensure that our tyres can meet the specific needs of these new types of equipment. We are confident in saying we are in a leading position in this field. In fact, we have a dedicated team focused entirely on developing tyre solutions for autonomous and electric mining equipment. This includes smart tyres through our TIKS system, which utilises advanced software and hardware technologies to capture real-time operational data such as tyre temperature and pressure, enabling multidimensional analysis to enhance fleet management and operational efficiency. The system also has unmanned driving intelligent collaborative technology, which integrates into vehicle control systems to assist autonomous mining trucks in making independent decisions. For electric wide body mining trucks, our tyres are already being used by many leading OEMs – including XCMG, SANY, LGMG, LiuGong, Tonly, Breton, YIMU and several others.
Q Looking at wide body mining trucks generally, they are used in their thousands already in China and are now becoming popular globally due to lower maintenance costs and powertrain flexibility – can you outline your corresponding tyre solutions?
We are proud to say that Techking is the first tyre brand to offer application-specific solutions for wide-body mining trucks. We have developed nearly 20 tread patterns that cover various applications, including the mentioned electric versions. Wide-body trucks have a completely different design compared to rigid trucks or ADTs, so it was clear that specific tyre solutions were needed. This has been a challenge, as the market has grown rapidly: many new models have appeared in just a few years from multiple OEMs, and payload classes have expanded – trucks are now available up to the 100-ton class, having started around 40-50 tons. Our engineers monitor these models and market trends closely. Where necessary, we have streamlined and accelerated tyre development and testing to keep pace with this evolution. At the same time, we collaborate closely with OEMs and mining customers to understand the specific conditions in which the wide-body trucks will operate. This approach allows us to leverage our expertise in usage-based customisation. Take our most representative ET688 as an example: by analysing a large amount of tyre failure and mining application data, we clearly identified user requirements. After multiple rounds of design iterations, we achieved our performance target of ‘running for an extra month,’ which has been highly recognised by customers.
