Analysis of the current status and future trends of the adhesive industry
2018-07-09
Adhesives, also known as bonding agents or simply glue, are substances that can bond two surfaces together. Compared to other joining methods, adhesives offer advantages such as light weight, even stress distribution at the joint, high strength, and fatigue resistance.
There are numerous types of adhesives, and classification methods vary. Based on their properties, they can be classified into adhesives and sealants; based on their chemical composition and curing methods, they can be categorized into solvent-based adhesives, water-based adhesives, hot-melt adhesives, and reactive adhesives, among others.
Based on their properties and application areas, they can be classified into general-purpose adhesives and engineering adhesives. Engineering adhesives specifically refer to adhesives used in load-bearing structural components, capable of withstanding significant dynamic and static loads for extended periods. These are often called structural adhesives or semi-structural adhesives and primarily include acrylic adhesives, anaerobic adhesives, polyurethane adhesives, and epoxy resins. This also includes high-performance silicone adhesives that have seen rapid development in recent years in the automotive, industrial manufacturing, electronics, solar energy, and wind energy sectors.
Introduction to the Adhesive Industry Supply Chain
The upstream industry of the adhesive industry is the chemical material manufacturing industry. The main raw materials are organic raw materials, synthetic resins, acrylic acid and acrylates, MDI, TDI, etc. Since the reform and opening up, the industry has developed rapidly, and the situation of relying on imports for some adhesive raw materials has been greatly improved; in recent years, chemical material production enterprises have been building and expanding in China, and the situation of insufficient raw material supply has been significantly improved; in addition, the continued rise of the RMB exchange rate has also kept the price of imported raw materials for adhesive production relatively stable.
The downstream industries of adhesives encompass almost all major sectors of the national economy, serving as auxiliary materials for various industrial types. In recent years, through technological transformation, product development, and the introduction of new technologies and equipment, China's adhesive industry has seen significant development, and the application scope of products has expanded to areas such as construction, automobiles, wood products, packaging products, and footwear.
Current Status of China's Adhesive Industry Development
Since the reform and opening up, China's adhesive industry has shown a sustained, rapid, and stable development trend along with the development of the social economy, with the output and sales of adhesives continuing to grow at a high speed. Currently, domestic adhesive products are mainly low-to-mid-range adhesives. The production capacity of some adhesive products (such as general-purpose products) has exceeded market demand, resulting in fierce market competition; however, with the development of new energy, electronics, machinery, automobiles, aerospace, and other industries, the market demand for high-performance, high-quality adhesive products continues to expand. Internationally renowned chemical companies are strategically transferring related production facilities and technologies to mainland China, occupying a significant share of the domestic high-end adhesive market.
Current Status of Adhesive Supply
According to statistics from the Adhesive Association, since 2004, China's adhesive production has maintained a relatively rapid growth rate of over 8%, with the growth rate gradually declining in recent years. In 2016, China's adhesive and sealant production reached 7.6532 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%; in 2017, production reached approximately 8.0359 million tons.
At the same time, new products are constantly emerging, and various modified, grafted, copolymerized, blended, and special adhesives have been developed, some of which have been industrialized. For example, polyurethane-modified polyvinyl acetate emulsion, antifreeze white emulsion adhesive, bisphenol A-modified epoxy conductive adhesive, silicone-modified epoxy structural adhesive, polyurethane-modified epoxy adhesive, microporous room-temperature curing one-component polyurethane adhesive, flame-retardant polyurethane potting adhesive, pressure-sensitive adhesive with good re-adhesion, spherical acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive, silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive and tapes, etc. These products possess many excellent properties, not only meeting various needs but also improving the grade of China's adhesive products and replacing some imports.
Adhesive production technology has also made significant progress. The application of new production processes such as radiation curing, UV curing, and interpenetrating network methods has played a crucial role in improving product performance and quality. Adhesive production equipment has also been significantly improved and updated, with polymerization reactors becoming increasingly large-scale, continuous, and automated. The 7-cubic-meter emulsion polymerization spiral semi-circular tube jacketed reactor designed and manufactured in China has shown good performance; coating and cutting machines have reached the international mid-range level, with widths ranging from 1.3 to 2.0 meters and coating speeds of 120 to 150 meters/minute; various automatic control facilities such as electrostatic elimination technology (anti-static ionization cylinder), tension self-control devices, high-sensitivity sensors, and frequency modulation speed control systems have also been gradually developed and put into production.
Chart 3: China's Adhesive and Sealant Production and Growth from 2010 to 2017 (Unit: Ten Thousand Tons, %)
Current Status of Adhesive Demand
According to statistics from the China Adhesive and Adhesive Tape Industry Association, since 2008, China has transitioned from a net importer to a net exporter of adhesives. In 2016, China's consumption of adhesives and sealants was 7.37 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5%, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.45% from 2010 to 2016. As of 2017, preliminary estimates indicate that China's consumption of adhesives and sealants reached 7.74 million tons.
Chart 4: China's Adhesive and Sealant Consumption and Growth from 2010 to 2017 (Unit: Ten Thousand Tons, %)
Development Trends of China's Adhesive Industry
1. Optimize Product Structure and Improve Product Grade
As the concept of environmental protection and resource conservation becomes increasingly ingrained, the high-solid content, solvent-free, water-based, and photocurable environmentally friendly characteristics of adhesives will receive increasing attention. High-performance, environmentally friendly adhesives will become market favorites, and environmentally friendly and energy-saving products (solvent-free, high-solid content, water-based, photocurable, low-temperature curing, hot-melt, and hot-melt pressure-sensitive adhesives, etc.) will become mainstream, with adhesive production and demand showing a diversified trend.
2. Industry Development Towards Scale and Integration
Currently, most Chinese adhesive companies are small and medium-sized enterprises, with some even being small workshop-style enterprises. Their products are mostly low-end products, relying on mass production and low-profit, high-volume sales to obtain relatively low-profit returns. With rising raw material prices and labor costs, the profit margins of these enterprises have been significantly compressed. It is believed that during the industry consolidation process, most of these enterprises will become targets for acquisition and mergers, and China's adhesive production will develop towards scale and integration. By the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan, there will be 180 adhesive companies with sales exceeding 200 million yuan and 25 adhesive tape companies with sales exceeding 1 billion yuan, with an industry concentration rate exceeding 65%.
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