A brand is an important symbol of high-quality economic development and an inherent pillar for building a quality powerhouse. In 2025, under the theme of Brands Rise, Industry Advances, the China Building Materials Federation launched a campaign to collect brand stories within the building materials sector. The initiative drew active participation from enterprises across the industry. Among them, six organizations including UBlok, Jinjing Group, China Jushi, Oriental Yuhong, CNBM Equipment, and Zhongchun Gaoke shared vivid corporate stories that reveal the brand secrets behind the high-level development of outstanding building materials enterprises.
For more than two decades, UBlok has devoted itself to the autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) industry, adhering to its strategic vision of Connecting Resources, Advancing with Lean Practices. Empowered by scientific and technological innovation, the brand has consolidated its technological foundation with three municipal-level technical centers and 190 patents and copyrights, establishing a complete industrial chain supporting system for AAC. Upholding the philosophy of low-carbon development, the company has continuously recycled various types of industrial solid waste over the years, with cumulative solid waste treatment exceeding 20 million tonnes, fulfilling its mission as a green building materials provider. Rooted in the domestic market and expanding globally, UBlok pushes forward the construction of overseas factories in multiple countries. It operates cross-border businesses via the model of Technology + Management + Brand, striving to build a global AAC industrial platform and empower high-quality development of the industry.
Back in 1988, on the North Shandong Plain, autumn sunshine spilled over the fields of Guangrao County. At the age of 22, Zhao Yongxiang founded Yongxiang Precast Factory on this land. Inside the workshop producing precast concrete floor slabs, the roar of machinery carried his earliest aspirations for the building materials industry. Having stepped into business at 14, he deeply understood the value of “practicality”. When he witnessed construction workers struggling to carry heavy traditional building materials and heard contractors complain about high energy consumption and low construction efficiency of conventional materials, an idea quietly took root in his mind: there could be a better way for the building materials industry.
The idea grew silently over time and finally sprouted in 2003. A green transformation was brewing in the building materials sector at that time. As a lightweight, energy-saving and eco-friendly new-type building material, autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) gradually gained industry attention. With sharp market insight, Zhao Yongxiang resolutely invested and established Shandong Yasheng New Building Materials Co., Ltd. In the following year, an AAC production line with an annual output of 200,000 cubic meters was completed. Under the brand name AsiAAC, the enterprise steadily built up technology and reputation in regional markets.
In 2006, competition in China’s domestic building materials market intensified, marked by price wars and homogeneous products. Faced with the complex market landscape, instead of blindly pursuing expansion, Zhao Yongxiang put forward the business philosophy of Production Determines Sales. Rather than chasing inflated production capacity figures, the company scales capacity based on technical strength and explores markets by relying on product quality. This pragmatism and commitment have become the core DNA of the brand’s future growth.
Over the next decade, the strategy of Production Determines Sales served as a solid cornerstone, supporting the enterprise to expand its footprint beyond Shandong. From 2010 to 2015, multiple production bases in Yantai, Liaocheng, Handan, Lixin, Suqian and Dali were successively put into operation. By 2016, the company’s total capacity had jumped from the initial 200,000 cubic meters to 3 million cubic meters, and the AsiAAC brand earned wide recognition in northern China’s building materials circle.
Two rounds of Sino-German cross-border acquisitions from 2017 to 2019 completely reshaped the company’s development trajectory. Founder Zhao Yongxiang, together with Shen Xiaohe, the current President, completed asset acquisitions in sequence: the full acquisition of Xella’s Tianjin plant in 2017 and the Changxing base in 2019. As a global pioneer in the AAC industry, Xella boasts century-old craftsmanship and rigorous quality control systems. Its meticulous production procedures and relentless pursuit of details align closely with the enterprise’s craftsmanship in the sector.
After the acquisition of the Tianjin plant, the new brand UBlok was officially launched, opening a brand-new chapter of corporate development.
After the brand launch, people often asked Zhao Yongxiang about the meaning of “UBlok”. He would explain with a smile: “‘U’ sounds like ‘YOU’, referring to our customers. The shift from AsiAAC to UBlok is far more than a name change; it represents a transformation of brand mindset. We are no longer merely a manufacturer of building materials, but a solution provider focused on customer demands. Every UBlok product embodies our understanding and response to client needs.”
Brand growth never happens overnight. In 2020, Youke Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. was founded, transferring UBlok’s technological achievements to the whole industry and helping peers upgrade their production. In 2022, Shen Xiaohe was elected President of the China Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Association. This is not only recognition of his personal industry influence, but also proof that UBlok’s products and brand have gained full recognition across the sector. In 2023, marking the brand’s 20th anniversary, the company’s total production and sales volume exceeded 5.1 million cubic meters, among which panel sales reached nearly 2 million cubic meters, hitting an all-time high. The company formally adopted the strategy of Low Carbonization, Intelligentization, Internationalization, elevating its mission from “manufacturing premium green building materials” to “leading the green building revolution”.
In 2024, UBlok accelerated its global layout and formed a dual-track pattern of Deep Domestic Cultivation + Overseas Expansion. Domestically, it integrated production bases in Chongqing and Sichuan to fill the market gap of high-end AAC materials in Southwest China. Overseas development took a critical step: technical cooperation agreements were signed with building material enterprises in the Philippines and other regions, exporting UBlok’s AAC panel production technology and customer-oriented service model abroad.
2025 marked a milestone in UBlok’s globalization journey: its first overseas factory settled in Ipoh, Malaysia, the geographic heart of Southeast Asia. The transition from technology export to on-site production capacity signifies UBlok’s transformation from an international technology collaborator to a global production service provider. It also brings manufacturing and service hubs for Chinese intelligent green building materials closer to customers in Southeast Asia, serving as the genuine starting point of the brand’s global expansion.
From North China to East China, Southwest China to South China, UBlok products can now be found in a growing number of projects, ranging from domestic livelihood projects to overseas landmark buildings. These products act not only as the “skeleton” of buildings, but also testimony to the brand’s commitment to Quality AAC for Quality Buildings.
Looking back on UBlok’s 22-year journey: from a simple precast factory in Guangrao County to nationwide intelligent production bases; from an initial capacity of 200,000 cubic meters in the AsiAAC era to an industry benchmark of 6 million cubic meters under UBlok; from pure product manufacturing to customer-centric solution delivery. This journey is not only the growth story of one enterprise, but also an epitome of China’s building materials industry transforming from extensive manufacturing to refined innovation.
Today, when people talk about UBlok, they think of not only high-quality AAC materials, but also a brand with craftsmanship and empathy, solid technical competence, customer awareness, rooted in China and embracing the world. Zhao Yongxiang’s original vision is being realized step by step: to bring green building materials into more buildings, enabling every user to enjoy energy-saving, comfortable and eco-friendly living spaces, and to make UBlok a business card for China’s green building materials going global.
Moving forward, as the strategy of Low Carbonization, Intelligentization, Internationalization moves forward, UBlok will continue to write new chapters of its story. Rooted in the earth, guided by craftsmanship and always customer-focused, this original aspiration will sustain the brand to march further and more steadily along the path of green construction.
