On October 1, 1966, when China's first wheel loader, the Z435, rolled off the assembly line in the factory of Liugong, no one could have predicted that this manufacturing enterprise located in a remote corner of southwest China would, with its sixty years of innovation and perseverance, trigger a technological revolution that would last for half a century and re-mark the development trajectory of China's loader industry.
From technological borrowing to independent innovation, from rigid frames to articulated steering, from galloping across plains to conquering the forbidden zone of life, from mechanical control to intelligent equipment... Every technological leap of Liugong not only sets a new record for its own products but also leads the technological direction of China's loader industry, writing an epic of breakthrough, inheritance and leadership for China's equipment manufacturing.
A technological revolution has set sail with a breakthrough in articulation
- Was the first to define the basic type of Chinese loader technology
Z435 loader assembly workshop
Three years after the Z435 was launched, this pioneering wheel loader in China is facing the predicament of a large turning radius and insufficient operational flexibility due to the structural constraints of a rigid frame and rear-wheel steering, making it difficult to adapt to increasingly complex engineering construction scenarios.
Workers Liu keenly realized that a technological revolution was imperative.
In July 1969, the then First Ministry of Machinery Industry entrusted Liugong with the important task of developing a 5-ton high-horsepower wheel loader. At that time, articulated steering technology was just getting started globally, and it was a complete blank in China. What was even more difficult was that the research and development period was less than nine months and it had to be taken offline before the Party's birthday on July 1, 1970. Without a mature R&D system and professional manufacturing equipment, numerous difficulties lay ahead. With an indomitable spirit, the workers of Liuzhou formed a three-in-one breakthrough team, disassembled the sample machine and studied it inch by inch, and made their own equipment to overcome the technological difficulties.
China's first articulated loader, the Z450, was born at Liugong
On July 1, 1970, China's first articulated loader, the Z450, roared out of the factory. At that moment, all the perseverance and sweat turned into the glory of The Times. This heavy-duty equipment with a rated load capacity of 5 tons and a power output of 220 horsepower is equipped with cutting-edge technologies such as articulated frame, hydraulic mechanical transmission, and pneumatic oil clamp disc braking. It was the first to lay the technical foundation for China's ZL series wheel loaders. This model later won the National Science Conference Award in 1978, becoming a milestone achievement in the industry.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Machinery Industry formulated a series of standards for Chinese wheel loaders based on the Z450 model. Z450 was iterated to ZL50, and an industry pattern with Liugong as the technical source was thus formed. China's historical peak annual production and sales of loaders exceeded 200,000 units, once accounting for more than two-thirds of the global market share. And the starting point of all this glory was precisely the Z450 born in the difficult times in the Liugong workshop. It can be said that without the breakthrough of the Z450, there would be no current glory of China's loader industry - this is the first 0 to 1 leap that Liugong has brought to the entire industry.
March into the forbidden zone of life and fill the technological gap in the world
-- Establish an industry benchmark for highland construction
The ZLG50G is undergoing performance tests in Xidatan
If the Z450 put Liugong at the forefront of the industry, then the birth of the ZLG50G high-altitude loader thirty years later has enabled Liugong to take the lead globally and step onto the world stage.
In 2000, the construction of the second phase of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway, the Golmud-Lhasa section, was about to commence. This 1,142-kilometer-long sky road has 90% of its sections located at an altitude of over 4,000 meters. The forbidden zone of high altitude, oxygen deficiency and strong radiation has extremely strict requirements for equipment. At that time, there was no loader in the world that could be adapted to high-altitude construction.
Liugong resolutely took on this world-class test question. Since the 1970s, Liugong has repeatedly taken its products to Qinghai and Xizang to conduct high-altitude adaptability tests, accumulating valuable first-hand data stroke by stroke. Over the past three decades, those seemingly clumsy perseverance and silent dedication have become the strongest confidence to overcome difficulties at critical moments.
In March 2000, based on the mature ZLG50G, Liugong initiated the research and development of high-altitude special loaders, overcoming three core challenges: engine power attenuation caused by oxygen deficiency at high altitudes, cold start difficulties in ultra-low temperature environments, and oxygen supply guarantee for sealed cabs. In August of the same year, the world's first high-altitude loader, the ZLG50G prototype, successfully rolled off the production line and was immediately dispatched to the Xidatan area of the Kunlun Mountains at an altitude of 4,525 meters for testing. The experimental group, despite experiencing severe altitude sickness, overcame numerous difficulties and obstacles to complete all performance tests. Data proves that all the indicators of ZLG50G have reached or even exceeded the standards for plain operation.
In 2001, this model was awarded the authoritative certification of filling the international gap and being the first of its kind at home and abroad, and became the first equipment to break ground for the second phase of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway. During the entire construction process, the market share of Liugong's high-altitude aircraft exceeded 90%, and they were even purchased in bulk by the General Armament Department of the People's Liberation Army, contributing to the national defense construction on the plateau. With a "world first", Liugong has guaranteed the century project and created a brand-new category of plateau loaders globally. This hard-core equipment has successively won the First Prize of China Industrial Science and Technology and the Second Prize of National Science and Technology Progress, crowned with national-level honors and enabling Chinese construction machinery to take the leading position in the world's high-cold construction field.
H Series: A Self-Revolution of System reconstruction
-- Leading the industry from reverse to positive
Test drive of 856H
Entering the second decade of the 21st century, Liugong's technological accumulation has reached a critical point of qualitative change. Facing the all-round competition from international giants, Liugong urgently needs to achieve a systematic leap from "point breakthroughs" to "area leaps". The H series loaders are precisely the core carriers of this self-revolution.
In 2006, Liugong was the first in the industry to introduce the LDP product research and development process, dividing the development into five strict stages: market research, problem review, product design, test verification, and product release, completely overturning the traditional model of "designing, producing, and modifying simultaneously". "Early testing and intensive testing" have become an unbreakable rule for the H series R&D. Nine prototypes were tested non-stop for 24 hours, with a total of over 12,000 hours of testing and more than 650 issues rectified. Through this, Liugong has mastered the core scientific methodology of complete machine matching.
Rigorous refinement forges ultimate quality. The 856H under the H series is China's first loader to participate in the Antarctic expedition. It has withstood the test in the extreme polar environment and established a reliable polar quality renowned in the industry. In 2014, the H series loaders were officially launched. The low-speed engine combined with the self-developed torque converter has significantly improved fuel economy. The NVH noise reduction technology has enabled the noise level in the cab to reach the world-class standard. The popularization of technologies such as fully hydraulic wet braking and electric proportional speed change control has completely revolutionized the operation experience.
The success of the H series marks that Liugong has officially entered the "forward design" era from "reverse development", and the reliability and consistency of its products have reached an unprecedented height. This system revolution not only made Liugong successful itself, but also pushed the entire Chinese loader industry to bid farewell to imitation and following, establishing an independent and scientific product development model - Liugong once again set a benchmark for the industry.
The achievements of this systematic innovation have also been highly recognized at the national level. In 2017, Liugong wheel loaders were awarded the title of the second batch of Single Champion Products in Manufacturing by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China for their leading technical strength, stable product quality and wide market reputation. The selection of Liugong's wheel loaders not only attests to its all-round leadership in technology research and development, manufacturing systems, and customer service, but also marks that China's loader industry has a champion-level product with global competitiveness on the road to high-quality development.
Electrification and Intelligence
From "Made in China" to "Intelligently Made in China
-- Usher in a new era of global green and intelligent development
Liugong's zero-carbon green mine solution
In 2019, after 50 years of technological pursuit, Liugong finally witnessed a qualitative change - it launched the industry's first all-electric loader and the first 5G remote-controlled loader. On the test field of the global R&D center, pure electric equipment operates silently. There is no engine roar, only the hydraulic system runs quietly, playing a new chapter of green intelligent manufacturing.
Electrification brings about not only an environmental innovation but also a reconstruction of the entire life cycle cost. Take 5-ton class loaders as an example. The pure electric version reduces energy consumption costs by over 70% compared to the diesel version, and maintenance costs are reduced by 50%. For high-frequency operation customers such as mines and ports, it can save 250,000 to 300,000 yuan in costs annually. The 5G remote-controlled loader breaks the limitations of the working scene. The operator moves from the cab to a comfortable office. With high-definition video transmission, millisecond-level response and multi-machine collaborative operation, the once sci-fi scene has now become a reality.
The T series loaders have been launched
Liugong's steps have never ceased. In 2024, the sixth-generation T series loader was grandly launched, and Liugong gave it a brand-new definition: a loader with ideas.
Having thoughts is never a marketing gimmick. The T series is equipped with a single-machine intelligent platform independently developed by Liugong, which covers full-scenario intelligent functions such as intelligent loading and unloading, intelligent weighing, intelligent diagnosis, intelligent voice, battery preheating, and smart charging and discharging. It can independently learn operation habits and automatically match engine speed and hydraulic power according to working conditions. Real-time monitoring of the overall machine status, prediction of component lifespan, and early warning of potential faults. Meanwhile, the equipment is equipped with a remote control/unmanned driving construction solution, combined with multi-machine collaborative intelligent construction management technology, to achieve an efficient construction mode of remote control and cluster operation. The engineers involved in the research and development described it this way: "The loaders in the past were passive execution machines, but now the T series are partners that understand operation and can remind."
From mechanical to hydraulic, from hydraulic to electronic control, and from electronic control to intelligent, the birth of the T series marks that Liugong has completed the leap from "feature phones" to "smart phones". Behind this lies Liugong's unremitting efforts over a decade in the fields of electronic control, sensing and algorithms. With a series of industry firsts and global leaders product, Liugong has not only achieved its own transformation from catching up to taking the lead, but also made Chinese loaders a globally watched leader in the field of electrification and intelligence.
Embark on a new journey and set out on a new quest
Starting from the manufacturing of a single product, Liugong has now developed into one of the world's most comprehensive providers of construction machinery products, capable of offering comprehensive solutions covering all scenarios. From establishing a foothold in the southwest to making great strides in global development, Liugong has always been dedicated to crafting with craftsmanship and moving forward with its original aspiration. From snow-capped plateaus to polar ice fields, from domestic infrastructure hotspots to global construction sites, Liugong has refined its technological accumulation into customized solutions and full life-cycle services that are suitable for the world.
With quality as the bridge and innovation as the sail. Liugong will forge ahead with determination on the journey of globalization, empowering engineering construction with professional solutions, allowing the warmth and strength of Chinese equipment to reach every distant place worth holding on to, and supporting the backbone of building a better world.