Foreword

The year 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the China Concrete & Cement-based Products Association (CCPA). Over four decades of trials and triumphs, and the passing of the torch from generation to generation, the association has launched a thematic essay campaign titled "Forty Years of Legacy, True to Our Original Aspirations – My Exclusive Memories with CCPA," to capture these historic moments and preserve cherished memories. Since the campaign began, industry colleagues have enthusiastically participated, sharing their stories of walking hand in hand with the association through words, images, and videos, documenting the shining milestones of the industry's development. These heartfelt works are imprints of time, condensations of emotion, and powerful testimonies to the industry's progress. We are now pleased to share selected pieces with all our colleagues, as we recall our original aspirations, reflect on our growth, and stride together into the future.

Today's share – "Rooted in Technology, Bound by Responsibility: Tempering Hard-Core Strength Over Decades for a Greener Building Materials Future – Celebrating Four Decades of Joint Progress Between Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. and the Calcium Silicate / Fiber Cement Board Industry," authored by Bai Ning, Party Secretary and Board Director of Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., and Executive Chairman of the Calcium Silicate Cement Board Branch of CCPA.

Rooted in Technology, Anchored in Responsibility

Forging "Hard-Core" Strength Through the Years Toward a Green Building Materials Future

— A Record of Four Decades of Joint Development Between Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. and the Calcium Silicate / Fiber Cement Board Industry

As a key representative of green building materials, calcium silicate / fiber cement boards are widely used in architectural curtain wall decoration, building flooring, interior partition walls and ceilings, tunnel engineering, fireproofing and explosion venting in industrial plants, outdoor boardwalks, and many other fields, thanks to their excellent properties such as lightweight strength, fire resistance, moisture protection, sound insulation, heat resistance, and environmental friendliness.

Application Scenarios of Calcium Silicate / Fiber Cement Boards

Since the 1980s, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. has been engaged in independent R&D of calcium silicate board production processes and complete equipment, laying a solid foundation for domestic technological accumulation and industrialization in this field, and establishing its leading technological position in China's calcium silicate / fiber cement board industry.

Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.

With the advancement of new-type urbanization, market demand for calcium silicate / fiber cement boards grew substantially, and the industry increasingly felt the urgent need for unified technical standards, orderly market practices, and a platform for exchange. Under the care and guidance of CCPA, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. joined hands with several key enterprises to initiate organizational work. At the 2008 annual meeting of the Calcium Silicate Board / Fiber Cement Board Working Group held in Chibi, Hubei, Wang Haiyan, then Deputy President of Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., chaired the meeting and actively organized the application process to upgrade the "Working Group" to a "Branch," playing a pivotal role in the formal establishment of the "Calcium Silicate Cement Board Branch." In 2012, the inaugural meeting of the CCPA Calcium Silicate Cement Board Branch was held in Wuhan, Hubei, and Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. became the first Chairman Unit of the Branch, ushering in a new chapter of rapid industry development.

Leveraging its platform strengths, CCPA unites industry stakeholders, drives corporate upgrading via standards and guidance, and amplifies the exemplary role of leading enterprises. Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. , together with industry peers, reinforces the industry foundation through hard-core technology, advanced equipment, and deep industrial expertise, collectively elevating industry quality standards. The two sides have forged synergies and achieved mutual growth over the decades, jointly achieving remarkable progress in the calcium silicate cement board industry's quality expansion and high-quality development.

2008 Preparatory Meeting of the Calcium Silicate Cement Board Branch

2012 Inaugural Meeting of the CCPA Calcium Silicate Cement Board Branch

Technology First: From Filling Gaps to Rapid Development

The connection between Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.  and the calcium silicate / fiber cement board industry dates back to 1982. Commissioned by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. designed China's first marine calcium silicate board production line, developing marine calcium silicate boards produced by the molding method. The product filled a domestic gap and earned the Second Prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award from the China Institute of Navigation, marking the starting point of calcium silicate board technology applications in China.

In 1985, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. undertook the technological transformation project of Zhuzhou Fiber Cement Products General Plant's Line No. 3, which fundamentally established the production model for China's fiber cement board and tile products and significantly narrowed the gap with advanced international levels.

In 1991, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.  undertook the construction of the nation's first architectural calcium silicate board production line with an annual capacity of 1 million m2 using the Hatschek (sheet-forming) process – the Fujian Sanming New Building Materials Plant project. The successful commissioning of this project marked the official launch of large-scale production of architectural calcium silicate boards in China, propelling the industry into a phase of rapid development.

Innovation-Driven: From Capacity Breakthroughs to Going Global

In the early phase of the 11th Five-Year Plan, facing low industry entry barriers and intensifying homogeneous competition, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. , guided by national industrial policies, proactively pursued technological breakthroughs and business innovation.

In 2007, it successfully developed the main equipment suite for a calcium silicate board production line with an annual capacity of 8 million m2, which was applied to the Dongguan Dongshang Board project. This milestone breakthrough in single-line production capacity provided robust technical and equipment support for numerous large-capacity projects both domestically and internationally.

In 2011, the Saint-Gobain Building Materials (Vietnam Xiefu) calcium silicate board production line was officially commissioned – the company's first fully automated complete equipment export project, marking the official entry of its technology and equipment into the global market.

In 2012, the process technology and complete equipment suite for calcium silicate board production lines were successfully exported to Turkey and other Middle Eastern and European countries, further solidifying its brand position in the international market.

In 2016, the Saudi Arabia fiber cement board production line project was successfully commissioned. This was the first fiber cement board project designed and constructed according to European standards, and also the first export project adopting the internationally mainstream Hatschek process, serving as a benchmark project in global market competition.

In 2017, the high-end calcium silicate board production line of Sinoma (Yichang) New Materials Co., Ltd., contracted by Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. as the EPC contractor, was successfully put into operation. Its annual capacity of 20 million m2 set a significant demonstrative example for the industry.

In 2025, the Sinoma Chizhou annual capacity of 20 million m2 calcium silicate board production line, also an EPC project of Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. , was officially commissioned, representing the highest level of digitalization and intelligentization among calcium silicate board production bases in China today.

While achieving leapfrog improvements in domestic production capacity and intelligence levels, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. has placed equal emphasis on integrating its technological strengths with the industry's collective advancement. It has actively participated in various high-level exchange platforms established by CCPA, promoting Chinese technology and Chinese equipment to broader international markets. CCPA has consistently aligned with industry development needs, actively building high-level exhibition, technical exchange, and international dialogue platforms, providing member enterprises with important windows for achievement release, experience sharing, and brand promotion. As a core member of CCPA,Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.  fully leveraged these platforms to share its core equipment technology and intelligent manufacturing applications for calcium silicate board production lines at the 2022 China Concrete Exhibition hosted by CCPA. At the inaugural Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) High-Quality Development Forum in 2023, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. , as a supporting unit, shared in-depth insights into overseas market expansion. During this event, its "Intelligent Equipment and Engineering Services for Fiber Cement Board / Calcium Silicate Board" was included in the third batch of the "Belt and Road" Key Products, Equipment, and Technical Services Recommendation Catalog, fully demonstrating its technological prowess and industry influence as a leading enterprise on the global stage.

Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.  at the 2022 China Concrete Exhibition

Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.  at the 2023 BRI High-Quality Development Forum

Benchmark Leadership: Deepening Global Presence to Showcase Technological Strength

With the profound reshaping of the global industrial landscape, the continued advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the accelerating green and low-carbon transformation of the global building materials industry, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. has vigorously expanded its overseas business and achieved remarkable results.

Leveraging the robust platform strengths of Sinoma International Engineering Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of CNBM), and backed by its full-chain service capabilities in engineering consulting, design, technology R&D, and equipment manufacturing, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.  has cultivated deep presence in overseas markets including Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. In recent years, its overseas market expansion has demonstrated distinctive characteristics of "multi-point growth and technology leadership":

- Following 2020, it signed a series of large-scale overseas projects with Thailand's SHERA Group: the Thailand production line was successfully commissioned in 2021, the Philippines production line in 2025, and the India production line in 2026.

- In 2023, it successfully signed a contract with Russia's INSI Group for a fiber cement board production line with an annual capacity of 5 million m2, marking a breakthrough into the Russian market.

- Building on its Eurasian presence and advancing into North Africa, it signed a fiber cement board project in Egypt in 2024 and another in Algeria in 2025, with its global footprint continuing to expand.

- In 2025, the Uzbekistan fiber cement board production line project was successfully commissioned, representing its first project in the Central Asian market.

 International Business Footprint of  Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.

Walking Side by Side Toward a Green Building Materials Future

The 2025 Concrete and Cement-based Products Industry Conference was successfully held in Guangzhou. During the concurrent Calcium Silicate Cement Board Industry Technical Exchange and High-Quality Development Conference, Bai Ning, Party Secretary and Board Director of Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. and Executive Chairman of the CCPA Calcium Silicate Cement Board Branch, delivered the Calcium Silicate Cement Board Industry Development Report to the assembly. The report pointed out that the industry is accelerating its transformation toward "green, high-end, intelligent, and international" development, charting a path away from cutthroat homogeneous competition and developing "new quality productive forces".

2025 Calcium Silicate Cement Board Industry Technical Exchange and High-Quality Development Conference

Looking back over more than four decades of development, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. and CCPA have always walked side by side: CCPA was born out of industry needs, while Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., rooted in technology and bound by responsibility, has been both a founding force and a driving engine of the association, as well as a witness to the industry's progress.

Looking ahead, on the new journey of high-quality development in green building materials, Wuhan Building Materials Industry Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.  will continue to join hands with CCPA, upholding the philosophy of "technology leadership, industry service, and collaborative development." Together with industry peers, we will continue to enhance product quality, expand the application boundaries of calcium silicate cement boards, and open up broader market spaces. We will deepen industrial upgrading, engage in global competition, contribute advanced technologies and equipment from the calcium silicate cement board industry to the world, and write a new and glorious chapter for both CCPA and the calcium silicate cement board industry.