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Nonwovens product sectors in China growing

25 Jul '17
5 min read
Courtesy: Messe Frankfurt
Courtesy: Messe Frankfurt

Multiple nonwovens product sectors in China are growing with immense potential for the future. This has been concluded after the success of the China International Nonwovens Expo & Forum (CINE), held during June 21-23, 2017 in Shanghai. The show showcasing products from 100 exhibitors was attended by 3,977 trade buyers from 16 countries and regions.

At the conclusion of the show, senior general manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Wendy Wen commented: “We can’t emphasise enough to the global industry the immense opportunities in the Chinese nonwovens sector, especially for overseas companies with their relative advantages in product quality and innovation. The feedback from multiple participants … continues to show that strong potential still exists in the market, and that this potential comes from multiple aspects – government initiatives, increases in urbanisation, changing consumer lifestyles and more – ensuring the sustainability of this growth for what we believe will be many years to come.”

While there are multiple sectors within China’s nonwovens market experiencing strong growth, three in particular stand out as real achievers: hygiene, medical and filtration. Lixia Hu, sales manager of Beijing ORIT, an exhibitor in CINE’s expo, explained “The hygiene, medical and filtration industries have been strongly supported by central government policies in recent years. Our company is very confident that these sectors will continue to develop strongly in the future.”

Guanjun Song, vice-general manager of Shandong Taipeng Nonwoven concurred. “Due to government policies as well as increasing living standards, the demand for our filtration nonwovens is increasing. Many of our customers are asking for new materials, thus we have added new product lines and are increasing our research and development efforts.”

Filter bag specialists Jiangsu FMS R&D Materials explained how new emission standards were attracting heavy-industry buyers to CINE. “Our filter bags are targeted towards dust processing which is a promising industry sector. Nowadays, national pollution standards are much higher in order to protect the environment. Thus, many big iron plants, coal power plants and cement mills are here to cooperate with us to achieve these emission standards,” Shuping Liu, chairman of the company explained.

It is not just the industrial filtration sector that is booming in China though, with personal filtration products also in high demand. TEDA Filters, who specializes in nonwovens for wearable masks, is one such company benefiting from this. “Nonwovens for personal masks is a rising industry in China,” Honggang Wu, an engineer for the company explained. “As the problem with haze in Chinese cities arouses more awareness, more and more citizens are starting to realise the necessity to wear a mask. There is still much more potential,” he concluded.

Both government policies and rising living standards are having positive impacts on the industry in other sectors as well. “With the two-child policy starting to take effect in China, the sales of nonwovens for maternity and infant products are increasing quickly,” Benson Yan, a representative from Foshan Nanhai Beautiful Nonwoven, one of the country’s largest producers, outlined. “Our customers’ quality requirements for functional nonwovens are getting higher as well,” he continued. “During the expo, more buyers than usual came to our booth with the same high demands.”

One such buyer, Lawrence Cai, product manager Asia Pacific-Hygiene, Shanghai office of French company APLIX Fasteners, said, “The demand for hygiene and medical nonwovens in China is expanding at present, which has also increased the amount we are sourcing here.”

Exhibitor Zhejiang Kingsafe Nonwoven Fabric’s Changhong Mei, the company’s vice general manager, emphasised the room for growth that exists in the country. “While the use of female sanitary napkins in China has reached around 95 per cent, the up-take of baby and adult diapers is still quite low, especially in rural areas, so I can see great potential in this field. Our nonwovens consumption per capita is also far below that of Europe and the US, which all points to much room for growth.”

Qingdao Textile Machinery appreciated the strong buyer flow. “Many buyers came to our booth searching for spunlace and needle-punch nonwovens machines,” Song Lei, project manager said. “Two of our frequent buyers we’ve negotiated with for a long time placed orders here. We feel satisfied with the show as all the buyers and exhibitors had a strong connection with our business.”

The sixth China International Nonwovens Conference, a highly regarded event in the industry, was held alongside CINE as part of the forum section.

Changhong Mei from exhibitor Zhejiang Kingsafe Nonwoven Fabric who attended the conference, said, “The content reflected the latest market trends, and I was able to meet with many authoritative figures from the industry,” he said. “CINE is the optimal platform to meet industry players, and it enjoys a strong reputation in China. Besides receiving orders and promoting our business, CINE provides us with a highly effective way to communicate with the industry as well.”

China International Nonwovens Expo & Forum (CINE - supported by Techtextil) was organised by the Sub-Council of Textile Industry (CCPIT), the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA), the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), and Messe Frankfurt (HK). (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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