In mid July, the Guangdong Shuiji Non woven Fabric Industry Symposium was held in Conghua, Guangzhou. President Yang Changhui, Executive Vice President Situ Jiansong, Honorary President Zhao Yaoming, Honorary President, Founding President of Hong Kong Non woven Fabric Association, Chairman Yu Min of Lianfeng Xingye Group, Honorary Vice President, Chairman Xie Ming of Guangzhou Kelun Industrial Co., Ltd., Vice President, Chairman Ruan Guogang of Guangzhou Rongsheng, Director of National Non woven Research and Development Center and General Manager Guo Yongde of Hainan Xinlong, Factory Director Liu Qiang of Jiangmen Saideli, General Manager Xu Yurong of Hangzhou Aorong Technology, General Manager Yang Bo of Guangdong JinSanfa Technology Co., Ltd., Director Hao Jingbiao of Nosbel, Manager Tan Yiqia of Xinhui Industrial Fabric Factory, Minister Zhu Ruidian of Guangzhou Inspection Group, and Director Wu Xiaohang of Provincial Chemical Fiber (Paper) Research Institute. Director Liu Chao of Guangzhou Textile and Inspection, General Manager Cheng Qinglin of Guangzhou Shengpeng, and the heads of the association’s governing units attended the meeting.
Firstly, President Yang would like to express his gratitude to all the representatives for attending the conference amidst their busy schedules, exchanging in-depth information on the current situation and future development direction of the industry, and jointly promoting the healthy development of the entire industry! President Yang affirmed the association’s determination of the “Waterjet Theme Year” in 2024, focusing on the theme of “Healthy Development of Guangdong Waterjet”, conducting statistical surveys on the production, capacity, and products of waterjet coils and related upstream and downstream enterprises, and completing the “Research Report on Guangdong Waterjet Non woven Fabric Industry”. This lays the foundation for us to understand the current situation of Guangdong’s waterjet industry and establish the direction of healthy development of the industry. President Yang pointed out that during the “Water Needle Theme Year”, each rotating vice president unit should hold discussions with water needle non-woven fabrics and related upstream and downstream units while organizing the executive council meeting. Regular water needle thematic exchange meetings should also be organized to timely analyze the market, exchange information, form industry alliances, promote group cooperation, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. Give full play to the advantages of each unit and work together to promote the healthy development of Guangdong’s spunlace non-woven fabric industry!
At the meeting, Honorary Vice President Xie Ming interpreted the “Research Report on Guangdong Water jet Non woven Fabric Industry” and analyzed the overall situation of water jet industry in China. The average operating rate is only 30% -40%, which is in a difficult period. The industry has entered a stage of deep adjustment. At the same time, the situation of Guangdong water jet non-woven fabric industry is analyzed in detail from the aspects of production capacity, output, equipment, and raw material market. President Xie also introduced that the production capacity of Xinjiang Zhongtai has reached 140000 tons, which is higher than the total production capacity of Guangdong Province. The price of pure adhesive hydroentangled non-woven fabric is within the range of 17000 to 18000 yuan per ton. President Xie pointed out that in terms of the current situation of water thorns in Guangdong, it is not necessary to expand production capacity just because it is not high, but to develop rationally, healthily, and with high quality. Our top priority is to avoid homogeneous and repetitive construction, actively digest existing production capacity, and improve capacity utilization. We need to strengthen information exchange within the industry and strive to hold a provincial water jet meeting organized by the association every quarter, forming a joint force of interconnection and mutual benefit within the team, embracing the warmth of the team, and achieving win-win cooperation.
Honorary President and Chairman of Lianfeng Xingye Group, Yu Min, expressed his pleasure to gather together at this time of overcapacity and industry difficulties to contribute to the rational and steady development of Guangdong’s spunlace nonwoven fabric industry. Agreed: In the future, the industry will communicate more and increase research and development efforts in product differentiation. It is recommended that all enterprises go out and explore broader consumer markets to digest excess production capacity; It is suggested that President Yang lead a delegation to go abroad and participate in the Asian Nonwoven Technology Exhibition to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in November. Mr. Yu cordially invites everyone to gather at Lianfeng Group for next quarter’s symposium.
Analysis by Xu Yurong, Director of the Hong Kong Non woven Fabric Association and General Manager of Hangzhou Aorong: Currently, there are over 300 water jet coil enterprises in China with approximately 600 production lines. In the past 2-3 years, domestic production capacity has exploded, but only a few enterprises have achieved positive development. Direct laying line enterprises are most affected by international trade factors due to their cooperation with major foreign brands, while semi cross line enterprises have the highest operating rate, with some reaching 80% -90%. The profit margin of fully bonded adhesive barbed fabric is very low, and they can hardly make any money. At present, the survival environment for dispersible products in the water jet industry is slightly better, but prices vary among enterprises, competition is fierce, and the overall overcapacity in the industry is severe; Due to the small increase in domestic GDP, the decline in infant birth rate, and many uncertain factors such as EU trade terms and CP (fully cellulose fiber) “degradable” requirements, downstream hydroentangled products are facing severe digestive capacity problems. We encourage everyone to “go global” under the leadership of the president, and explore new markets in the Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) of the “the Belt and Road”, the demand market for spunlace hygiene products, the regions with high birth rates and rapid GDP growth. Mr. Xu also pointed out that raw materials are a huge advantage for China’s water jet industry compared to other countries, and shared with everyone the example of three water jet enterprises from Henan joining forces in Xinjiang, utilizing local industrial support policies, transporting fiber raw materials through pipelines, and relocating equipment to set up factories in Xinjiang. He suggested that everyone apply new fibers, develop new products, and work together to explore new markets.
Guo Yongde, Vice President of the Middle Class Association and General Manager of Hainan Xinlong, came from afar to thank the association for accepting Xinlong. Mr. Guo stated that Hainan was once a part of Guangdong Province, and Xinlong also found an organization here. Based on the existing national engineering technology center, Xinlong Non woven Fabric will deeply cultivate segmented markets, develop new application areas, avoid internal competition as much as possible, deepen internal management of the enterprise, further implement energy conservation and consumption reduction, and seek benefits from management. Xinlong will put effort into these modifiable factors. However, the Russo Ukrainian war, the US Section 301 (adding a 25% tariff on non-woven fabrics), and the Red Sea incident (shipping costs rising from over $2000 to $7-8 thousand), which seriously affect corporate profits, are all force majeure events that are irreversible and inevitable. In such a fiercely competitive environment, only by working hard to do what we can change can we possibly get out of the predicament. General Manager Guo suggested: under the leadership of the Association, develop market segments in Eastern Europe and countries along the the Belt and Road; Although we are all competitors in the same industry, we are also good friends. Enterprises in each industry should fully leverage their respective advantages, whether it is technology, network (especially local associations, embassy relations, etc.), to ensure their own security and prepare for going global together.
Liu Qiang, the director of Saideli (Xinhui) Non woven Fabric Company, the representative enterprise of the largest production capacity and output of spunlace in Guangdong Province, agrees with the “Guangdong spunlace Non woven Fabric Research Report” and introduces the basic situation of the company in 2023: as the spunlace market enters the incremental stage, Saideli’s production of spunlace rolls in 2023 will increase. The growth of the domestic water jet coil market is not only related to the increase in birth rate, but also to the fact that consumer groups such as the 80s and 90s have become the main force of consumption in the era of population growth. Currently, due to the growth of the dry wipes market in South Korea, Saideli is gradually developing export markets for straight laid fabrics (low weight) to avoid competition among peers. Although the Japanese market is also worth developing, its market requirements are high and profits will be compressed. As for European and American countries, although there is a market and profit margin, the cultivation and introduction period of customers is relatively long. In the first half of 2024, the operating rate of the delivery line at the Saideli Xinhui factory was relatively ideal, but after 618, orders decreased due to the Red Sea incident; Upstream raw material prices have experienced upward fluctuations, leading to further reduction in profits for hydroentangled coil materials. As for the currently popular dispersible water jet mentioned by everyone, the price ranges from 16000 to 20000 yuan/ton, but orders are mainly concentrated in large enterprises. In terms of raw materials, Saideli’s Lyocell fiber has been put into mass production, but the price is showing a downward trend, basically on par with imported adhesives. The sales strategy also tends to focus on e-commerce volume and targeting large customers. It is suggested to develop the new field of water jet from the raw material end. Looking at 2024, although the industry is generally experiencing internal competition, it still shows a stable and positive trend overall. Currently, July and August are the traditional off-season for the industry, and we look forward to a positive start in September.
Yang Bo, General Manager of JinSanfa Group Guangdong Company, introduced that Zhejiang JinSanfa Group entered Guangdong to establish a factory in 2016 and officially started production in 2017. At present, there are 3 spinning threads and 1 straight laid water jet thread that have been built and put into operation. Water jet products mainly include conventional wet wipes, water jet rolls, and water jet cores. In 2024, direct sales products will encounter unprecedented difficulties. The sales situation in April and May was still good. However, due to the Red Sea incident and increased tariffs in June, orders rapidly decreased. We adopted a night shift system, low peak electricity consumption, and energy conservation and consumption reduction. Otherwise, the larger the output, the greater the loss. In the future, given the trend of switching from direct stores to cross and semi cross stores in the South American and Indonesian markets in recent years, even Central Asia and Africa are also switching to cross stores. Mr. Yang believes that equipment transformation and upgrading will be the preferred solution, followed by the development of differentiated and personalized products and the acquisition of new customers.
Manager Tan Yiyi from the Industrial Cloth Factory in Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, introduced the company’s current 3.2-meter-wide cross laying line, which mainly produces thick adhesive short fiber hydroentangled fabric. As a newly entered enterprise in the water jet industry, Manager Tan expressed that the current difficulty is how to consume production capacity, and hopes to grow together through industry exchanges. Following this topic, it has activated everyone’s divergent thinking and proposed that our next research should further extend to downstream product processing enterprises, and explore new fields and markets.
Northbell Cosmetics Co., Ltd. is the first domestic OEM facial mask processing enterprise. At present, it has one spunlaced line, which is not enough to meet the production needs. It must purchase spunlaced non-woven fabrics to make products. The cost is relatively high, and conventional products cannot generate profits. Only by constantly developing differentiated products can it ensure profits. At present, there is a decrease in orders, and efforts are being made to increase employee training and research and development.
Zhou Guanghua, General Manager of Guangzhou Zhiyun Technology Co., Ltd., a member of the Guangdong Non woven Fabric Association, introduced the business and sales model of its client, Xinjiang Zhongtai Group. Zhongtai Henghui Medical and Health Materials Co., Ltd. is a state-owned enterprise with strong capital, with a first phase investment of 1.5 billion yuan, 12 water jet cattle production lines, and 1.5 million acres of cotton fields. It can produce 1 million tons of regenerated cellulose fibers annually, making Zhongtai’s product prices very competitive. The overall operating rate is ideal (full load production). The enterprise also fully utilizes local preferential industrial policies to create a large-scale non-woven enterprise with scale and industrialization.
The conference was a complete success, and Executive Vice President Situ Jiansong expressed sincere gratitude to Director Xie and colleagues of Guangzhou Kelun Industrial Co., Ltd., the rotating vice president unit of the association, for their strong support in the smooth convening of this conference! Vice President Situ believes that it is necessary to regularly organize industry symposiums and exchanges, which have a great promoting effect on the development of the industry and enterprises. The association will provide good service for everyone, continue to carry out research on the upstream and downstream industrial chain of non-woven fabrics, and jointly enhance the market influence and popularity of Guangdong non-woven fabric industry and association.
Everyone unanimously expressed the need to regularly (quarterly) and timely exchange industry information in the future. This will not only fully showcase the characteristics of this year’s Shuiji Theme Year and jointly promote the healthy development of Guangdong Shuiji nonwoven fabric industry, but also strengthen mutual promotion and development within the industry and among member enterprises. Looking forward to our reunion at Lianfeng Group in the next quarter!
Dongguan Liansheng Non woven Technology Co., Ltd. was established in May 2020. It is a large-scale non-woven fabric production enterprise integrating research and development, production, and sales. It can produce various colors of PP spunbond non-woven fabrics with a width of less than 3.2 meters from 9 grams to 300 grams.
Post time: Sep-01-2024