China News Service reported from Zhuzhou on 19 October 2026 that the 2026 Zhuzhou International Advanced Hard Materials Industry Expo opened that day alongside the 2026 Zhuzhou International Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Exhibition. More than 400 guests attended the opening, including industry experts, representatives of leading Chinese and international companies, and buyers from Belt and Road partner countries.
The expo runs for four days and covers more than 40,000 square meters with over 800 booths. More than 500 companies are exhibiting high-end superhard materials, high-performance ceramic materials, a full range of cutting tools, and supporting products such as intelligent equipment, precision machine tools, dedicated production equipment, testing instruments and industrial automation systems. Organizers describe it as a full-chain display of materials, tools, equipment, testing and applications, with several industry conferences and supply-demand matchmaking sessions during the show.
According to the report, Zhuzhou's Hetang district hosts 226 upstream and downstream companies in advanced hard materials. Its cemented carbide output reaches 24,000 tonnes, about 40% of the national market, and the district has the industry's only national key laboratory for cemented carbide plus a national-level materials analysis and testing center.
Hetang district is also building a 10,000-mu (about 667-hectare) Hunan advanced hard materials industrial park, with 140,000 square meters of standard factory space already completed, and has brought in an international trading center for hard materials and tools along with companies such as Huarui Precision. The report says the local chain now runs from materials and molds through cutting tools, parts machining, equipment manufacturing, trading and recycling.
For buyers, the practical point is concentration: a large share of China's carbide capacity, testing capability and tooling makers sit in one district, which makes supplier visits, sample collection and third-party testing easier to organize. Exhibitor lists and booking details were not given in the report, so check with the organizers directly.