High demand for technical textiles and non-wovens
Source: Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd Date: 2006-09-14
Mr. Zhu described in detail the technical textiles and non-woven market in China and focused on the level of import demand. He presented a analysis of several sectors:
Medical and cleaning textiles (Medtech):
In 2004, China consumed 280,000 tons of these products including sanitary napkins, household wipes as well as technical textiles used for biomedical engineering (BME). China represents a large potential market for all textiles related to the medical field following the increasing numbers patient seeking high standard treatments. As the country still lags behind many Western countries in this field most of the fibre-based products required are currently imported.
Textiles used in buildings (Buildtech):
Fibre reinforcement plastic (FRP) are widely used in China. Annually the nation consumes 400 tons of CFRP, a common FRP. Fibre reinforcement materials for cement (FRC) are also an essential part of the Chinese building industry. With more than 600 million tons of cement produced in 2004, the market for these fibres is tremendous.
Textiles used in vehicles (Mobiltech):
In 2004, China produced 5 million automobiles and on average one vehicle requires over 40 sqm of textiles which includes interior decoration, reinforcement material insulation material and filtration systems etc. Some of these products are produced domestically but some specific textiles can only be imported especially material for air bags.
Protective clothing (Protech):
There is an increasing demand for suitable protections for Chinese "first responders" (professionals such as fire-fighters, police, military personnel and medical workers) that protect the wearer from a variety of environmental hazards. This area relies heavily on imports and the yearly demand is now of 90,000 tons per year.
