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Features In this FDM Asia exclusive, invaluable insights on the woodworking machinery industry in China are gained from committee members of the Chinese National Forestry Machinery Association, Qingdao Woodworking Machinery Association and Harbin Woodworking Machinery Associations. By Goh Tz’en Long

Insights & Analysis:

Woodworking In China In conversation: Li Jianhua Chairman of the Qingdao Woodworking Machinery Association and General Manager, Qingdao Hua Shun Chang Woodworking Machinery Manufacturing Co Ltd. Can you share with us some insights on the development of the woodworking industry and technology in China?

In terms of technology, ever since the establishment of the Qingdao Woodworking Machinery Association, the association has made considerable efforts to expand the technology and product range offered by the Qingdao machinery manufacturers. Qingdao machine manufacturers in particular have been producing sanding machines and the product range has been gradually expanded to include edgebanding machines, parquet assembly lines and log peeling machines.

Qingdao has been focusing on the development of laminating lines for 20 mm thick boards which is currently at the forefront of national technology.

National development of woodworking technology has been carried forward

by Lunjiao and Qingdao, with Lunjiao focusing on solid wood processing machines.

In accordance with depleting forest resources and global efforts on sustainable forestation which involve better use

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of waste and recycled materials, there is much research and development in MDF, particleboard, laminated boards and other wood based panels.

Does this mean that Qingdao will be focusing on the development of laminating presses?

Qingdao’s manufacturers are already producing equipment such as laminating presses and edgebanders.

There are currently many manufacturers of sanding machines. Do you think the market is large enough?

The market is large enough. Light duty sanding machines made in China by Qingdao companies have made a significant impact on the world market. In terms of heavy duty sanding machines, countries such as Taiwan, Italy and Germany are the leading suppliers. The market is very big. Sanding machines are not only used in the woodworking industry but also in other areas such as construction.

What are the largest export markets for sanders and edgebanders?

The largest export market is in Southeast Asia.

Presently there are many manufacturers of sliding table saws. What are the factors that will influence the choices of buyers?

It will depend on the needs of the enterprise. For a new factory that is just starting up, a less expensive sliding table saw might be the answer although product quality and output may be issues. As the enterprise expands, branding becomes important and higher quality products are required to penetrate overseas export markets.

The sliding table saws manufactured

by Qingdao companies can be differentiated into high, low and mid market ranges to meet the needs of buyers.

In recent years, some Chinese manufacturers have developed capabilities for producing CNC work centres for wood machining. Do you feel other established overseas manufacturers would feel threatened?

There is really nothing to feel threatened about. Competition in a globalised market place is fierce. Ever since China became a member of the WTO, it has experienced a dramatic increase in demand from customers all over the world. Unlike in the past when customers were mainly from countries such as Russia and India, nowadays customers from places such as US and Italy are using Chinese equipment and facilities and demand outstrips supply. In the case of Qindao HuaShunChang, customers come from Italy, Romania, Spain and many other European countries.

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In conversation: Liu Qun, President, SUFOMA Co Ltd / Vice-Chairman, China National Forestry Machinery Association What are the market segments that SUFOMA specialises in?

Our product lines can be classified into several categories.

These include laminating presses, veneer peeling installations, wood waste recycling systems for panel production, multi-daylight production lines.

Where are the leading export markets?

There is a lot of demand for our products from export markets, especially the single daylight installations. We manufacture single- and multi-daylight presses and not continuous presses at the present moment. We have received orders for laminating production lines from Europe.

We are also exporting to Southeast Asia, Africa and the CIS states such as Russia.

What are the latest research and development initiatives and have new patents been filed recently?

Research work and development on continuous presses

In conversation: Qi Yingjie, Chairman, Harbin Woodworking Machinery Association and Standing Vice-Director, National Woodworking Quality Supervision & Inspection Center.

It can be seen that there are many manufacturers of edgebanders, sanding machines, sliding table saws and CNC panel saws in China. Can you comment on the future development of Chinese woodworking machinery?

Presently, I am working on a paper which details the development of the wood based panel industry in China.

The most important thing for these enterprises is to further the development of the national wood based panel industry. Since the beginning of the 21st century, China’s national woodworking machinery industry has been developing very rapidly. The speed of development has far exceeded expectations.

are ongoing. We are essentially a machinery manufacturer so this means that it is likely that we will outsource the production of components such as the steel belts used in continuous presses.

In the past, we did not attain many patents for our research and development work, but we have been stepping up efforts in this area and have applied for eight national patents.

Can you tell us about the China National Forestry Machinery Association?

I am a vice-chairman of the China National Forestry Machinery Association. This is a national association consisting of business enterprises pursuing similar trades within China. The chairman sets the goals and objectives of the association. There are also regional woodworking machinery associations such as the Lunjiao, Harbin and Qingdao woodworking machinery associations which follow the directives set by the leading association.

There has been progress in the development of conventional installations for processing of solid wood furniture although the speed of development has been far outpaced by the development of equipment for the processing of panel furniture. The equipment you just mentioned are essentially for the processing of panels.

Based on the overall trend of the industry, the development speed of panel furniture has yet to stabilise in recent years. In 1949 and 1950 when panel factories were being setup, the panel production output was 16,000 m3. However in 2005, the national output of wood based panels in just one month alone was 4,800,000 m3, making it the largest producer in the world. This alone determined the future direction and ensured the development of equipment and installations servicing the wood based panel and panel furniture processing industries. This

meant that the speed of development and progress would be faster than that of solid wood processing equipment.

It is also my feeling in general that there has been a marked improvement in technology in recent years. In the past, it was difficult to find Chinese enterprises making CNC work centres at woodworking exhibitions. However nowadays there are more than a few Chinese enterprises making CNC equipment and they are coming into their own with independent and innovative designs for multi-spindle machines, manual and automatic tool changers. This shows that the Chinese woodworking machinery industry is improving in terms of technology.

Whatever the enterprise, we will take a look at the originality of the product and whether it has attained the necessary utility models and design patents. The national directive is to encourage independence, innovation

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and invention. These are the areas where we have to improve on. Over the years, we have encountered many cases of patent litigation. Taking an objective viewpoint on patent issues and serving dual roles as a member of the national woodworking quality supervision and inspection body and also in capacity as a lecturer at the

Northeast Forestry University, I have helped to resolve many patent issues in industry and can appreciate the value of patent protection for new product innovations and the trend is towards greater intellectual property protection. Also looking at the latest product innovations, I feel that while in the past, Chinese woodworking

machinery products have borrowed ideas from the world stage; there is increasingly more and more impetus towards greater product innovation.

It is also interesting to note that the smaller woodworking machines highly popular in the 80s and 90s were actually independent Chinese innovations and did not originate from overseas.

In conversation: Yao Yonghe, Board Chairman, Shanghai Yuetong Woodworking Machinery & Equipment Co Ltd and Vice-Chairman, the Forestry Machinery Association of China.

labour and cooperation within the Chinese woodworking machinery industry will see clear improvements.

The situation of products having similar features will improve.

towards similar product constitution and quality will drive us towards the road of price competition, which is a path of no return.” The Chinese woodworking machinery industry has to be capable of learning and adapting from existing technologies as a basis for further innovation. There is great promise in innovation.

How to you view the latest trends and developments within the Chinese woodworking machinery industry?

The Chinese woodworking machinery industry has developed very rapidly in recent years. This is an undisputed fact. In the face of a population of 1.3 billion, rapid urbanisation, 2008 Olympic Games, 2010 World Expo, the shifting of international furniture and the woodworking machinery purchasing centres to China and many other recent developments, it is foreseeable that the Chinese woodworking machinery industry will experience even faster developments in the near term.

Due to factors such as differences in development strategy, impetus for innovation, management practices and market forces, there will be a widening disparity between enterprises.Smalland medium-sized enterprises which focus on branding, market differentiation, technological innovation, observance of the rules of play, clear distinction in product features, will progress very rapidly and continue to build up their reputation within the Chinese woodworking machinery industry.

Due to restrictions on the strength of enterprises, and pressures imposed by market competition, division of

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At the WMF 2006 exhibition, many Chinese made wide-belt sanders, edgebanding machines, sliding table saws and computerised panel saws could be seen. Do you feel there are too many products of great similarity?

Yes, there are quite a number of similar products on the market, however the Chinese market is very large, and the demand continues to be great. Many of the exhibiting companies have achieved very good sales figures.

Moreover, the international market is very big. If Chinese manufacturers are able to produce quality products and penetrate into the international market, then there is no fear that there will be no market for the products.

Actually I feel that what is of concern is that there is very little difference between the product constitution and technology employed. Therein lies the problem. A product’s competitive edge is necessarily based upon product differentiation. If the product constitution and technology are similar, competition will be based on quality. However, if the products are similarly constituted, differences in quality can be very rapidly narrowed, and competition will then be based on price. That is why I have always appealed: “The tendency

What are the main export destinations of Chinese made woodworking machinery?

On the one hand, in the domestic market, Chinese woodworking machinery technology and quality as a whole is still not considered to be very high. Consequently, this has determined that in the short term, many enterprises have targeted Southeast Asia, Africa and other countries with relatively lower market requirements as export destinations.

On the other hand, there is great diversity in the level of technology and quality of the products manufactured by domestic enterprises.

This is particularly suited to markets in Russia and India where there is a great diversity in market needs. Enterprises of various scales have had successful development experiences in these markets. At the same time, the European market holds great attraction for leading domestic enterprises.

With OEM status and CE marking, many enterprises have penetrated the European market and participated in international trade. FDM