A company that initially produced hair ribbons is now involved in cutting-edge "space and deep-sea" technology. —— Qingdao Hailiya Group
At 7:18 AM on May 15th 2021, China's first Mars exploration mission, the "Tianwen-1" probe, successfully landed on Mars. For this project, Qingdao Hailiya Group Co., Ltd. not only provided the landing parachute rope connection technology but also supplied special elastic rope equipment for the lander's impact resistance tests. Previously, it had also provided a 9,000-meter-long safety rope for China's independently developed manned submersible, the "Jiaolong". How has Qingdao Hailiya Group perfected the craft of rope-making?
Building R&D Capability from Scratch
Founded in 1922 in Qingdao, Shandong, this nearly century-old company started by producing women's hair ribbons. "After I took over as factory director in 1998, I realized these products were low-tech and had no future, so I began considering a transformation," Zhang Xuming, Chairwoman of Qingdao Hailiya Group, told reporters. During an overseas trip, she saw yachts moored in a Norwegian fjord and became interested in yacht ropes. Upon returning, Zhang conducted market research. "I felt I had found our new direction: special-purpose ropes," she said.
They acted immediately. Initially, Hailiya produced imitations based on client samples, successively developing products like yacht floating ropes, special tow ropes, trampoline ropes, and fitness resistance bands for export. "Back then, we had technicians but no dedicated R&D department. This OEM model wasn't sustainable; we needed independent R&D capability for long-term development," Zhang said.
In 2003, Hailiya established an R&D center. Their first independently developed product was a climbing rope. "The only reference we had was the EU standard; we knew nothing about the specific processes or materials," said Huang Tao, Deputy General Manager and Director of the Technical Center. This climbing rope was far more technically advanced than their previous OEM products. They bought and analyzed existing products, spending nearly three years meeting all EU standards. During this period, Hailiya gradually built a professional R&D team for special ropes, establishing a solid technical foundation.
Later, China's strategic focus on developing the marine industry revealed a new market direction. "We contacted oceanographic research institutes and companies to research the market," Chairwoman Ms.Zhang said. Hailiya even provided their marine ropes to the research vessel "Dayang Yihao" for free trial use. After several trials, the vessel recognized Hailiya's product quality. "They first entrusted us with making the flagpole rope for 'Dayang Yihao'. Regardless of the storm, this rope remained incredibly tough," Chairwoman Ms.Zhang said. After the flagpole rope validated their quality, Hailiya gradually became the R&D and production supplier for all ropes needed by "Dayang Yihao".
"We can now produce dozens of types of special marine ropes, including deep-sea exploration high-strength ropes, subsurface buoy cables, surface buoy cables, and umbilical cables, overcoming numerous technical challenges," Xu Lianlong, Deputy Director of Hailiya's Technical Center, told reporters. Taking deep-sea exploration high-strength ropes as an example, they must be corrosion-resistant, resistant to high and low temperatures, high-strength, lightweight, and have a toughness 5 to 6 times greater than steel cables of the same diameter. To tackle these challenges, Hailiya established technical collaborations with nearly 100 marine research institutes across China and specifically hired academicians in textiles, marine science, and other fields to form a technical alliance for tackling difficult problems.
Supporting National Megaprojects
In the summer of 2009, as China's independently developed "Jiaolong" manned submersible prepared for sea trials, Hailiya received the task of producing its 9,000-meter safety rope. "This was our first major national scientific project. We were both excited and nervous," Huang Tao said.
"This rope is coiled in a special device on the 'Jiaolong'. If it cannot surface automatically, this safety rope is released to float to the surface, enabling the submersible to be pulled up. Therefore, the rope needs to be thin and light, yet have a breaking strength of 2.5 tons," Xu Lianlong explained. The main challenges were ensuring the 9,000-meter rope had no splices and preventing it from self-tangling, which required technical breakthroughs. The rope delivered by Hailiya weighed less than 0.5% of the "Jiaolong"'s weight but was 2 to 5 times stronger than steel cables of the same diameter. This rope accompanied the "Jiaolong" to a record depth of 7,062 meters and was capable for depths up to 9,000 meters. Seeing this remarkable rope in Hailiya's exhibition hall, it's hard to imagine that this 4mm diameter textile rope is tougher than steel cable.
In late December 2016, Hailiya received another special order: to provide special elastic rope equipment for the "Tianwen-1" Mars probe's lander impact resistance tests. "Although confident, we felt immense pressure, as this was an entirely new area for our R&D," Zhang Xuming said.
The landing parachute connection technology and special elastic ropes provided by Hailiya for "Tianwen-1" were critical for the probe's safe landing on Mars. Xu Lianlong explained that the probe enters the Martian atmosphere from over 130 km high at speeds up to 5.9 km per second. The hypervelocity friction generates temperatures over a thousand degrees Celsius, demanding extreme high-temperature resistance from the parachute ropes. Simultaneously, the speed must drop to zero within just seven minutes for a safe landing, subjecting the ropes to immense impact forces. The connection technology had to ensure the parachute deployment phase was flawless.
Facing this heavy responsibility, Hailiya formed a dedicated technical team. They started by selecting materials based on required strength and elasticity from over 200 options. Liu Changsheng, an engineer at Hailiya's Technical Center, said, "During R&D, we failed in material selection over 40 times. The process was grueling, but we ultimately produced a qualified rope product."
On May 15th at 7:18 AM, when "Tianwen-1" successfully landed on Mars, Zhang Xuming, watching live on TV, shed tears of joy knowing the technology and ropes provided by Hailiya had passed the test.
Today, Hailiya is a key partner in numerous major projects. For the new-generation manned spacecraft, Hailiya's "suspension sling" technology used 8 kg of special rope equipment to replace hundreds of kilograms of steel cable. "We are currently involved in over ten national major projects and have completed all tasks excellently," Chairwoman Ms.Zhang said.
