Six questions on technical textiles industry

By+Li+Yili

Q： Technical Textiles are divided into six categories， how did the development of the six categories conduct respectively in 2014？ Which was more outstanding？ Why？

A： According to “12th Five-Year Plan of Technical Textiles”， the six categories are all the focus of development， and it suggests in mid-stage assessment in 2013 and further development in 2014 that all the six categories have achieved good results， with optimism on annual growth rate.

Medical and hygiene textiles belong to rigid demand so that the domestic and international markets were all in relative stability. Diapers， sanitary napkins and other disposable hygiene products are used widely in domestic market， and the huge population base and raised level of urbanization also provide more opportunities to development of the industry. While in terms of medical textiles， domestic market was restricted by health care system， procurement method and customershabits， which led to the rise of export proportion， with Europe as the main market； in the first half of 2014， the export of medical textiles grew by 14.26%.

Market demand for high-temperature filtration was growing rapidly， mainly due to the high-degree and widely concern for atmospheric controlling， and the state launched policies in favor of development of the industry， which greatly stimulated the investment in new capacity and technological transformation.

The development of geotextile is related to the investment in infrastructure. The investment in water conservancy continued to increase， with annual investment of over 400 billion yuan and the total investment in railway was expected to over one trillion yuan in 2014， in addition， there were also great increase in environmental protection projects， such as landfill and tailings disposal. Therefore， the market demand enjoyed return of growth in 2014.

Transport textiles is mainly driven by the increasing level of urbanization and great growth of economy， and automotive lightweight and energy saving requirements expanded the application of textiles. However， the constraint of resources and environment brought bottleneck to auto industry； the manufacturers of main engine continued to reduce costs and profit level， which also made impact on application of transport textiles， but as parts companies and engine enterprises developed deeper partnership， industry access improved at the same time， which means the improvement of industrial concentration.

With widespread focus on national security and social order， as well as the importance in labor protection and life safety， protective and safety textiles have been experienced rapid development， with breakthroughs in new materials and latest technology， and increases in variety and application of functional textiles and protective clothing. Moreover， the sampling ratio of protective clothing has gradually growing， which also reflects the popularity of protective and safety textiles.

Reinforcement textiles can be described as textiles with technology of highest level， in spite of the gap with international level. In 2014， reinforcement textiles enjoyed better situation than the previous years： rapid development of wind power led to employment of high-strength glass fiber， and weaving of high-strength glass fiber yarn has been tackled； there were some difficulties in carbon fiber production， but some achievements have still begun to replace imported ones； application of composite was also increasing.

Q： The connection between upstream and downstream enterprises is a key issue of development. What did the industry do in 2014 in terms of the connection？ How will CNITA promote it in 2015？

A： A lot of work is conducted to promote the connection of upstream and downstream enterprises， including that within or without textile industrial chain. There were forums and meetings within industrial chain， and communications with industry-related associations and experts in application industries， bringing customers voice to the industry， to promote combination of research， production and application effectively， for example， the organizing of Protection of Textile and Garment Industry Innovation Development Forum， Geotextile Engineering Design Innovation Forum and Military Textiles Innovation Forum， as well as the establishment of “Technical Specifications of Protective Mask”， etc.

In 2015， we will organize China International Nonwovens Expo & Forum （CINE）， together with CCPIT TEX， INDA and Messe Frankfurt， which is based on rapid development and decentralized applications of the industry. Nonwovens are important raw materials of technical textiles， which have been in rapid development in recent years， with significant improvement in scale， technology， equipment， brand and application， and become the most promising field， by stretching application to medical care， hygiene， filtration， geotechnique and automotive engineering， etc.， and therefore， the industry also needs communication of technology and market.

Q： In technical textiles industry， SMEs are still the majority， and clusters are developing rapidly at the same time. What kind of adjustment and guidance does CNITA customize for SMEs and clusters？

A： SMEs serve as the majority in technical textiles industry， and they also have the advantage of flexibility， easy to seize market opportunities to promote product innovation， meeting market demand better. Being specialized， sophisticated， special， excellent and new are the foundation of SMEs， for whom professional development can help obtain as many competitive advantages as technology innovation.

And cluster is an important industrial form of technical textiles industry. Thanks to geographical proximity， there are high market concentration and competition within a cluster， which stimulates innovation and derivative， and plays an important role in driving industry improvement， promoting technical progress and vivifying local economy.

CNITA attaches great importance to industrial clusters and will continue to give guidance and assistance： First， encourage local governments to introduce effective industrial policies and planning to build bigger and stronger featured clusters； second， focus on large enterprises in clusters， making them the lead of technological innovation， product development and standardization work， etc.； third， promote to build platforms of inspection， information， R & D and brand and give full play to existing platforms to benefit more SMEs； fourth， implement social responsibility work in clusters， with attention to employeesrights protection， energy conservation and customers interests； fifth， hold working conferences to promote and exchange successful experiences.

Q： Technology development is the most important thing of technical textiles industry. Which bottlenecks were broken in technology in 2014？

A： The limitless application of technical textiles calls for continuous exploration of the industry. In 2014， there were four related projects winning the first prize of Textile Vision， 10 enterprises being awarded by China National Textile & Apparel Council for their contribution to product development， and“Top Ten Innovative Product/Technology”， etc. which all contributed to the technology contribution rate of the industry.

Q： In 2014， what did the industry achieve in construction of R & D and testing platform， as well as building of textile standard system？

A： There exist three big designated test centers and two small ones in China technical textiles industry， providing support for public services effectively with advanced equipment and technology， to promote healthy development of the industry with testing.

Standard revision is an important part of promoting industrial development， and also conducive to orderly competition， in which CNITA plays a significant role. In 2014， the Association organized experts to review new standards and revise existed ones， covering standards of more than 30. It is worth mentioning that national standard of “Technical Specifications of Protective Mask” has started revision with related departments， which aims to developing standards on protective masks to meet peoples need in daily environment with polluted air， regulating competition in masks industry and protecting interests of consumers， which aroused widespread concern.

Q： “High-end product， extensive application” is the development trend of technical textiles； however， enterprises have to enhance technological innovation and investment greatly to achieve high-end products. How should enterprises balance the inputs and outputs？

A： In fact， the inputs and outputs are not contradictory to some extent， and even complement each other. High-end product and extensive application areas require labors， capitals and materials as well as market opportunities： high-quality professionals， adequate capital reserves， advanced equipment are all indispensable. We have enterprises manufacturing reinforcement textiles which put great investment in scientific research and profit from new products greatly. Some enterprises producing military products spend five years or more in creating a new product， and enjoy absolute market share for a long time.