Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CFO of the Year
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
April 14, 2014 02:00 AM

Chinese plastic pipe production grows 10 percent

Steve Toloken
Assistant Managing Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More

    KUNMING, CHINA — China's plastic pipe production grew 10 percent last year, to 12.1 million metric tons, fueled by increasing urbanization, expansion of rural drinking water systems and government spending on infrastructure, according to statistics from a Chinese pipe industry group.

    Production growth this year is likely to slow to between 5-10 percent, reflecting a general softening in the rapid growth rate of China's economy, but the industry continues to have sizable long-term opportunities, said Wang Zhan Jie, secretary general of the Beijing-based China Plastics Piping Association.

    “During the past years, the plastic pipe industry developed very fast,” Wang said in an interview at the CPPA's annual conference, held April 1-3 in Kunming, Yunnan province. “Now not only plastic pipe but other industries slow down and they pay attention to quality.”

    But Wang and others at the event said the huge migration of Chinese residents to cities — estimated at 80 million people by 2020, or roughly the population of Germany — will continue to drive demand.

    Industry officials also noted demand coming from the country's focus on developing its western regions, like the site of the conference, Yunnan province.

    “All of this gives us very good opportunities to develop the plastic pipe industry,” Wang said, although he noted that there are questions about whether the government will have the money to implement all the infrastructure projects it has announced.

    Speeches and executives interviewed at the conference, which drew 430 people, noted challenges, including severe overcapacity.

    Plastic pipe production last year in China was only about 50 percent of installed capacity, according to CPPA figures. The trade association said in a report at the conference that that has led to fierce competition, with larger companies developing more quickly and smaller firms facing more trouble and bankruptcies.

    Jiang Jia Cheng, chief executive of Wealpro Pipeline Industry Group Co. Ltd. in Yingkou, Liaoning province, said the market dynamics are encouraging consolidation.

    He said the industry's 10 percent growth in production last year was average, but he said other firms, like his, have grown faster. For example, China's largest pipe maker, publicly traded Lesso Group Holdings Ltd., reported that its production grew 17 percent last year, and revenue rose 20 percent.

    A company's success increasingly depends on its management, innovation, and quality and cost control, rather than simply tapping into growth, Jiang said.

    “The market is good but it depends on the company itself,” he said, in an interview on the sidelines of the CPPA conference.

    Wealpro has three pipe manufacturing plants and uses mostly foreign-made materials, including from Germany and South Korea, to better control quality, he said.

    CPPA figures say that while China's pipe industry has between 6,000 and 10,000 plastic pipe manufacturing companies, the 400 members of its association account for about 70 percent of the country's production.

    Qian Guijing, president of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association, said the industry should pay more attention to developing its own technology, instead of relying on foreign technology. He also said advocated focusing on innovation, rather than strictly growth, as the country's economic growth rate slows.

    “We shouldn't draw on past successful experience because now the conditions are different,” he said.

    He pointed to oil and gas industry pipelines as a sector where the domestic pipe sector should focus its research, because the high performance requirements of that pipe can make it more profitable, if a company is able to produce the quality needed.

    Wang Quan Long, general manager of pipe maker Dongxin Plastic in Liaocheng city, Shandong province, said he believes there are opportunities in northern China to create larger pipe firms, mirroring what has happened in the southern part of the country, where pipe makers tend to be larger.

    He said his company plans an initial public offering in 2016 to help raise money for expansion.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Sussex IM sells Mr. Lid brand, will continue molding
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Bioplastics a missing element in treaty talks
    2
    Plastics Industry Association, Radoszewski file paperwork to settle legal battles
    3
    Avient expects return to normal for compounding market in 2024
    4
    PVC, PS prices drop in November
    5
    Chemours, DuPont, Corteva settle Ohio PFAS suit for $110M
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CFO of the Year
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified