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After the visit of MIT and Harvard University, the delegation of China Textile Federation went to Miami to visit the 2019 International Nonwovens Exhibition (IDEA 19). IDEA is sponsored by the American Nonwovens Association (INDA) and is held every 3 years. The exhibits involve non-woven raw materials, coils, end products, equipment and accessories, covering the entire non-woven industry chain. This exhibition attracted more than 500 exhibitors from 65 countries and regions, with a net exhibition area of about 39000 square meters, and Chinese exhibitors accounted for more than 1/3. IDEA19 integrates product display with market and technical exchanges. It has a global nonwovens market analysis meeting and technical exchange seminars in subdivisions such as filtration nonwovens, wiping materials, baby diapers, adult incontinence products, sanitary napkins, etc. Exhibitors are able to understand the latest developments in the global nonwovens market and technology while displaying the latest products.

 

Before the exhibition, the delegation attended the INDA 50th anniversary celebration. The 50 years of INDA is a microcosm of the development of the North American nonwovens industry, witnessing the 50 years of development of the North American nonwovens industry. As a strategic partner of INDA, China Industrial Textiles Industry Association has been committed to promoting in-depth exchanges and cooperation with INDA in the non-woven industry in North America and China. China, the United States, and Europe are important countries and regions in the world's nonwovens market. The close interaction and cooperation between the three parties will help promote the collaborative innovation and development of nonwovens in the world. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebration of INDA, the tripartite associations gathered together to give each other gifts, continue the industry friendship, and talk about the bright future of nonwovens.

 

China Industry Association presents INDA 50th anniversary gift


EDANA presents INDA 50th anniversary gift

 

During the exhibition, Li Lingshen, vice president of China Textile Industry Federation and President of China Industrial Textile Industry Association, was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the exhibition and the global nonwovens leadership meeting, and work with global nonwovens industry peers to seek the future development of the industry. At the end of last year, the European Union issued the most stringent "plastic restriction order" in history, promising that every plastic product can be reused or recycled by 2030, which has triggered industry concerns about the sustainable development of disposable sanitary products. At the meeting, the leaders of the National Nonwovens Association called on relevant global organizations to work together to promote the construction of a green industry system and build a fair and orderly global nonwoven trade system. At the same time, the China Industrial Textile Industry Association and the United States and the European Nonwovens Association communicated and exchanged in-depth cooperation between the nonwoven industry and enterprises, and decided to co-host the 8th China International Nonwovens Forum and the 2nd Asia-Europe Geosynthetics Forum, as well as related matters for further in-depth cooperation in information sharing, technical exchanges, market development, standards, statistics, exhibitions, etc.

 

 

At the global nonwovens market analysis meeting, Zhang Chuanxiong, Secretary General of China Industrial Textile Industry Association, was invited to make a theme report entitled "current situation and Prospect of China's nonwovens industry", which analyzed the international status and great development potential of China's nonwovens industry for the international industry. The European, American and Asian Nonwovens Associations also conducted in-depth analysis on the overall situation of their respective markets.

 

At present, the global nonwovens market is still showing a three-legged trend, and the sum of nonwovens production in North America, Europe and Asia accounts for more than 90% of the total global output. In 2018, the output of nonwovens in North America and Europe increased steadily, reaching 4.267 million tons and 2.3 million tons respectively. Japan's nonwovens production continued to grow slightly to 342800 tons. South Korea's nonwovens production showed negative growth, down 0.26 from the same period last year to 227200 tons. Among emerging economies, India and Indonesia both maintained a strong growth momentum, reaching 475000 tons and 100000 tons respectively in 2018, the annual growth rates are 16% and 10% respectively. As the largest producer, consumer and exporter of nonwovens, the growth rate of nonwovens production in China continued to slow down in 2018, reaching 5.932 million tons by 5.12, with a compound growth rate of 8% in the past five years.

 
Keynote address by Mr. Dave, Chairman of INDA

According to the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database, in 2017, the total export volume of global nonwovens reached 14.88 billion US dollars, the average unit price of exports was 4.6 US dollars/kg, the total import volume reached 13.78 billion US dollars, and the average unit price of imports was 4.4 US dollars/kg. From the perspective of the global nonwovens market trade pattern, China surpassed Germany for the first time in 2014 to become the world's largest exporter of nonwovens. In 2017, nonwovens exports accounted for 17.7 of the world's total nonwovens exports. Germany, the United States, Italy and Japan ranked second to fifth respectively; the United States has been occupying the top spot in global nonwovens imports since 2012, in 2017, nonwovens imports accounted for 9.7 percent of the world's total nonwovens imports, with Germany, China, Japan and Mexico ranking second to fifth respectively.
More than 180 enterprises from China participated in the exhibition, accounting for more than 1/3. During the exhibition, the delegation visited Foshan Nanhai Beef Nonwoven Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Jinsanfa Group Co., Ltd., Dalian Ruiguang Nonwoven Group Co., Ltd., Meiya Nonwoven Technology (Dongguan) Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Nuobang Nonwoven Co., Ltd., Hengtian Changjiang Biomaterials Co., Ltd., Xinlong Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd., Shandong Yongxin Nonwoven Materials Co., Ltd. Many foreign non-woven fabric raw materials, coils, products and equipment manufacturers brought the latest products to the exhibition. The delegation visited Berry, Andritz, Reicofil, A.Celli, Barnhardt, BFI, Suominen, Sandler and other foreign enterprises' booths.

 

As can be seen from this exhibition:
Non-woven fabric raw material manufacturers pay more attention to the development and application of non-woven fabric-specific raw materials. For example, Tangshan Sanyou's clean and high whiteness fibers are specially used to make non-woven products such as wet paper towels and medical gauze. Meiya Nonwoven and Hengtian Changjiang are committed to building a new model of polylactic acid industrial chain with end customers. Barnhardt Company removes magazines from cotton fibers through a set of proprietary process called EVOC to produce clean and pure cotton fibers for pure cotton nonwovens with high raw material requirements; european BFI's PET-core-BICO fibers can improve the elasticity and bulkiness of non-woven materials used in the hygiene field. UltraBond is a patented polyolefin bonded staple fiber that does not require latex or other chemical adhesives to bond non-woven fabrics, Thereby providing significant sustainability and cost-effectiveness, needle-punched materials for automotive interiors and floors.
Equipment enterprises always pay attention to the high production capacity, specialization, greening and intelligence of equipment. For example, Chaolong's bicomponent spunbond hot-melt nonwoven production machine has taken the lead in realizing the industrialization of bicomponent spunbond nonwoven filter material skeleton materials in China. Zheng textile machine's intelligent spunlace production line can realize personalized customization. The V-shaped spunbond and meltblown composite nonwoven production line of Hongda Research Institute has the characteristics of high draft, high yield and speed, high safety performance, easy operation and intelligent monitoring. NeXcal twin, the production speed can reach 1300 m/min, coupled with the concept of clean production and easy-to-operate machine configuration, making this product a popular equipment for non-woven fabric production; Reicofil provides a unique modular digital solution for intelligent production, and its RF5 production line enables customers to produce future-oriented non-woven fabrics of high quality and productivity level; A. Extreme Automation displayed by A.Celli, provides a comprehensive winding and slitting solution for the nonwovens industry.
Nonwoven coil enterprises are developing more personalized, functional, cost-effective and safe and environmentally friendly products, and continue to expand to the terminal application field to maximize profits and diversify customers. The three-resistant and highly breathable nonwoven fabrics and antiviral composite nonwoven fabrics exhibited by Bideford provide functional and high-quality products for the medical and health field; Nobang and Yongxin expand the application of various multifunctional fibers in the nonwoven field, and realize the innovation and development of products and applications from the aspects of high performance, multi-function, ecology, compounding and multi-domain. Jinsanfa builds and enhances its own brand influence through the complete industrial chain system of nonwoven fabrics; changlong's 100% degradable filter material has the characteristics of environmental friendliness, high efficiency and low resistance, strong high temperature resistance, high stiffness, etc.; Sandler products combine functionality and comfort, and high-efficiency and soft non-woven fabrics are used for women and infants The absorption layer of care and incontinence products can achieve the best fluid management; Suominen company's smart non-woven fabrics have unique technical capabilities, which can combine artificial intelligence with brand-new high-definition patterns, almost any digital feature can be embedded in a nonwoven without compromising its basic function or aesthetics.

The exhibition has set up a display, exchange and business promotion platform for industry manufacturers, distributors and traders. Relying on this platform, enterprises have met a large number of potential customers, harmonized customer relations and established the overall image of the enterprise. The importance of international exhibitions is becoming more and more obvious. It has become an indispensable window for domestic enterprises to go out. It not only helps enterprises understand the latest developments in the international industry, but also plays a positive role in recommending corporate brands and tapping potential customers. The fly in the ointment of IDEA19 is that Chinese and American exhibitors account for more than 2/3, and the regional distribution of exhibitors is too concentrated. Exhibits are mostly concentrated in the fields of non-woven raw materials, equipment and medical and health care, while other application fields such as geotechnical, construction and transportation still need to be strengthened. In the case of large scale and influence, the participation of end customers is relatively scarce and needs to be further strengthened in the refinement of the exhibition theme.
From the visit, exchange and conference report of this exhibition, we can feel that the comparative advantage and competitive efficiency of the whole industry chain of domestic nonwovens have been greatly challenged. In the future, the whole industry still needs to carry out efficient transnational resource allocation with a global perspective, so as to consolidate the manufacturing advantage and market share in the global supply chain.