As China prepares to launch its 15th Five-Year Plan, the policy framework for high-quality manufacturing development is becoming increasingly clear.
From new industrialization and industrial base capability enhancement to green transformation and supply chain resilience, these directions may not correspond to a single process—but they are profoundly reshaping how manufacturing systems operate.
For the heat treatment industry, the new era brings higher demands for stability, system integration, and long-term operational capability.
Figure Heat treatment workshop
PART 01 New Demands for Heat Treatment Under the Transformation of Manufacturing
In recent years, discussions on manufacturing have shifted from emphasizing scale and speed to focusing on operational stability and systemic capability.
As a critical process in equipment manufacturing, heat treatment is facing evolving expectations aligned with this transformation.
Figure Gear manufacturing workflow
1. Fundamental Processes Are Regaining Strategic Importance
National policies emphasize “new industrialization” and “manufacturing process capability building.”
The core lies not in isolated technologies but in the ability of processes to operate stably, reproducibly, and continuously.
For heat treatment, process stability, batch consistency, and repeatability are becoming paramount.
2. Process Stability Is Now the Foundation of Supply Chain Reliability
In sectors such as high-end equipment and new energy, stable foundational processes directly determine delivery capability.
As a critical step, the controllability and reliability of heat treatment are increasingly valued.
Figure Planetary gear heat treatment line
3. Green Manufacturing Extends Into the Entire Heat Treatment Chain
Recent policies are steering manufacturers to focus not only on equipment energy use, but also on overall process efficiency and waste reduction.
For heat treatment, this involves energy efficiency, rework rate, media life, and operational stability.
Figure Reducer gear heat treatment line
4. Process Management Is Shifting Toward Perceptible and Traceable Operations
Attention is moving from whether equipment is networked to whether process states are perceivable, recordable, and traceable—posing new requirements for process visibility and data integration.
Figure Kerun KR-QL Online Fluid Monitoring System – APP Interface
PART 02 From Policy to Practice – Real-World Reflections from Industrial Media
Policy guidance on green transition, quality improvement, and process control manifests not in single products, but in how plants evolve their on-site management.
In Kerun’s daily service experience, these changes are first visible in how manufacturers perceive and manage industrial media.
Figure Kerun media inbound logistics and transfer
1. Media Stability Becomes a Precondition for Process Stability
In production environments emphasizing batch uniformity and long-term operation, the stability of the medium itself becomes critical.
Even minor changes in media performance can influence the overall smoothness of process operation.
2. From Experience to Smart Management
More manufacturers are transitioning from experience-based control to data-driven management.
By recording concentration, contamination, and usage parameters, enterprises can standardize and digitize their quenching processes—making them measurable, traceable, and auditable.
Figure Kerun KR-SQT III Cooling Characteristic Tester in use
3. Green Orientation Redefines the Value of Industrial Media
As one of the most energy-intensive processes, heat treatment faces unprecedented green transformation opportunities.
Under low-carbon objectives, industrial media are no longer just consumables—they are efficiency enablers, whose lifespan and utilization rate directly affect energy and resource performance.
Figure Mold heat treatment site
4. High-End Manufacturing Raises the Bar for Quenching Media
In high-end equipment and new energy manufacturing, parts are increasingly complex and precise, amplifying sensitivity to process fluctuations.
Quenching media now play a strategic role—not merely “meeting process needs” but ensuring long-term process consistency.
Uniform cooling and controllable performance changes are key to achieving predictable quality.
Figure Industrial robot
5. Focus on Self-Reliance Influences Media Selection
As supply chain security gains importance, industries are reducing dependence on imported quenching media and related equipment.
Manufacturers are placing greater emphasis on sustainable supply capability and long-term service support, accelerating the adoption of domestically developed industrial media in advanced heat treatment fields.
PART 03 Long-Term Requirements for Industrial Media Companies Under the 15th Five-Year Plan
From the industrial media perspective, the 15th Five-Year Plan represents not a single project cycle, but a systemic capacity-building process.
This requires continuous investment in:
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Media stability and formulation reliability
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Defining usage boundaries for different processes
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Improving state monitoring and process support capabilities
The role of industrial media is evolving—from merely enabling processing to ensuring stable, sustainable, and intelligent manufacturing operations.
As a National-Level “Specialized and Innovative Little Giant” Enterprise and home to a National Postdoctoral Research Station, Kerun recognizes its responsibility within China’s manufacturing ecosystem.
By continuously enhancing its competence in media stability, process controllability, and field adaptation, Kerun provides reliable products and professional on-site technical support to help clients navigate the new manufacturing paradigm.
In the coming 15th Five-Year Plan era, as China’s manufacturing industry advances toward high-quality, green, and intelligent development,
Kerun will continue to drive progress with flowing technology—empowering the heat treatment industry to become more stable, controllable, and sustainable.
