Glass fiber is an inorganic non-metallic material, which has the characteristics of strong corrosion resistance, light weight and high strength, and is widely used in many fields.
At present, with the obvious trend of large-scale and lightweight wind turbine blades, as well as the development of construction, automotive electronics, communications and other fields, the market share of high-end glass fiber products is expected to further increase.
Pay attention to [Leqing Industry Observation] and gain insight into the industrial pattern!
Overview of fiberglass
Glass fiber, an inorganic non-metallic material in the micron range, is known for its excellent performance and relatively low price.
Glass fiber reinforced composites can replace many traditional materials such as steel, aluminum, wood, cement and PVC.
From the perspective of historical development, in 1938, OC Company took the lead in realizing large-scale production with the technology of platinum crucible drawing continuous glass fiber, which laid the cornerstone for the modern glass fiber manufacturing industry. Thereafter. Fiberglass is mainly used in the aviation industry, such as aircraft radome and auxiliary fuel tanks, etc., and later its application field gradually expanded to rocket engine shell ship materials, and gradually was widely used in the civilian field.
The manufacture of glass fiber mainly relies on natural ore as raw material, which is melted into a liquid at high temperature after a certain ratio, and then finely extruded through a special leak plate and coated with a sizing, and finally produces a monofilament with a diameter of a few microns to tens of microns. These monofilaments are subsequently processed to make a variety of glass fiber products.
Glass fiber production process:
Source: International Composites
The glass fiber production line will incur higher costs when it is abnormally shut down, which makes its supply rigid. Once the production line is ignited, it usually maintains continuous production for 8 to 10 years, which makes the glass fiber industry show a certain cyclicality.
Fiberglass industry chain carding
From the perspective of the industrial chain, the upstream of the glass fiber industry includes chemical raw materials, ore powders and energy supply. The glass fiber yarn, glass fiber products and glass fiber composite materials in the middle stream are the core parts, and the glass fiber is processed to obtain glass fiber products, such as glass fiber fabrics and non-woven products, and the glass fiber composite materials are the final products after deep processing, including copper clad laminates, glass fiber reinforced plastics, reinforced building materials, etc.
Diagram of glass fiber industry chain:
According to the different diameters of monofilaments, glass fiber yarns can be divided into coarse sand and fine yarns.
The diameter of coarse sand monofilament is more than 10 microns, which is mainly used in building materials, transportation, new energy and environmental protection and other fields;
The diameter of the spinning monofilament is less than 10 microns, which is mainly used in the production of electronic yarn and industrial yarn, where electronic yarn is the key material for printed circuit board PCB of electronic components.
In addition to roving and spinning, glass fiber can also be processed into chopped glass fiber, glass fiber cloth, glass fiber felt and other forms.
In terms of composition, glass fiber can be divided into eight different grades, such as E-glass fiber, C-glass fiber, and A-glass fiber, among which E-grade glass fiber is the most common.
The domestic manufacturer Zhongchanghai Co., Ltd. has the competitive advantage of industrial chain integration, and is a leading enterprise in the field of chopped felt and wet thin felt, two subdivisions of glass fiber products.
The competition pattern of the glass fiber market and the faucet are fully combed
The fiberglass industry is not only technical, but also capital-intensive, so the barrier to entry is relatively high.
In terms of capital, a single investment of more than 100,000 tons of kilns alone requires more than 1.5 billion yuan, and in terms of technology, new entrants need to master kiln design, liquid glass formulation, and other core technologies.
At the current level of profitability, the payback period is extended, leaving new entrants with insufficient motivation. #新材料##玻璃纤维##建筑##风电##汽车##财经#
The global glass fiber industry is highly concentrated, forming an oligopoly capacity distribution pattern. The concentration of the domestic glass fiber market is also high, and the top three domestic manufacturers in terms of production capacity are China Jushi, Taishan glass fiber, and the total production capacity of international composite materials accounts for about 63% of the national production capacity, and the core competitiveness of leading enterprises is highlighted. The industrial chain layout manufacturers also include Shandong Glass Fiber, Sichuan Weibo, Zhengwei New Materials, Henan Guangyuan, etc.
Pay attention to [Leqing Industry Observation] and gain insight into the industrial pattern!