Chinese mold industry enters into a diversified and multi-dimensional era
At the occasion when a new round of world science and technology revolution and industrial transformation met the acceleration of the transform of the way of economic development in China, year 2017 stepped to us with an extraordinary meaning. Chinese mold industry was the first to sense a new wave of technological innovation, which was represented by information network, intelligent manufacturing, new energy and new materials. The digitization level and the collaborative manufacturing capacity of Chinese mold industry has walked in the forefront of manufacturing industry. As the supporting element in guaranteeing the process level of parts manufacturing for the national industrial products and one of the important equipment in maintaining international competitiveness, mold industry became an important indicator in measuring the level of manufacturing industry. In the background of supply side structural reforms, with the deployment by the Central Economic Conference, study the current domestic and international economic and technological situation, analyze problems in industry, coping with challenges and seek change become the manufacturing industry's primary task. Mold industry is also active in converting management mode, adjusting the supply side structure and meeting new challenges, in order to create a new industry pattern in " the 13th Five-Year". On the CDMIA Membership Representative Conference held in December 2016, under the theme of "Industry optimization in mold industry", participants discussed the complex internal and external environmental changes facing by mold industry, decided to accelerate the cultivation of new competitive advantages by using quality, technology, services and brand as the core, in addition, deeply explored the new period, new industry form and new development of Chinese mold industry.
We have entered the data age.
Human dependence decreases, modular and procedural data flow has become the basic life and work thinking for people at all levels of society. In the environment of information technology, Chinese mold industry entered a new stage, in which reshaping industry organization and manufacturing model, reconstructing mold and user relationship become a must; Internet + mold manufacturing is the main theme in the near future. Worldwide information sharing and interconnection enable mold manufacturing achieving "Project based" management mode, instead of "Order based" management mode. Data age provides a development space for joint discussion and simultaneous modification between design and manufacturing throughout the manufacturing life cycle of mold products, as well as for the collection and monitoring of closed-loop manufacture data flow. In the development of intensive, customized and modularized mold forming technology and the management model in modern mold enterprises, deep exploration and a maximization use of information network technology will be an important aspect of mold enterprise transformation and innovation.
We have entered an era of technology cross connection and integrated innovation.
Chinese mold industry has walked in the forefront of manufacturing industry in technological innovation. During "the 12th Five-Year" period, 105,789 patents were authorized in mold industry, of which 9,393 items were invention patents. Mold is a carrier of high technology; the production process concentrates precision manufacturing, computer technology, intelligent control and green manufacturing as a whole; lean manufacturing and mold production automation, laser processing, 3D verification, reverse engineering and other technologies are also actively adopted in the mold industry. Under the market need of energy-saving, material-saving, backward technology elimination and lightweight, as the supporting element in parts manufacturing in downstream manufacturing industry that adopts new materials and new technologies, the related technical personnel and research areas in mold industry have greatly exceeded the scope of mold manufacturing itself. It further reflects the importance of mold industry in the whole manufacturing industry. The "Mold industry development guidelines in ‘the 13th five-year'", which was drew up by CDMIA and approved in the industry, indicates that the key technology R & D projects in ‘the 13th five-year' period fully embody the development route of technology cross connection and integrated innovation. Continue to implement project-driven strategy, improve the capacity of enterprises as the main body of technological innovation, enhance the independent innovation ability of the enterprise, and focus on the development of high-quality mold products that contain high-tech content and are high value-added, it's our path of development in the new era.
We have entered an era of industrial integration and co-manufacturing.
Although the mold itself is a single piece of manufacturing property, it guarantees the mass production that meets diversified market demand. Mold and forming equipment integrated products and / or mold and forming process integrated products (compression forming, thermoforming, stamping and laser forming) belong to systematic engineering, which fully reflects integrated innovation capability. Mold industry is an industry of high integration. Mold projects deliver mold products and mold forming solutions. Mold is a carrier that integrates product elements, forming elements and manufacture elements. Extension to upward and downstream industries is obvious trend of development of the mold industry. The prospects are broad. Under the market demand, where technologies cross connect and industrial chains are highly integrated, the transformation of mold industry is to build an upgrade version for enterprise technology and management, to identify accurate market position and product position, subdivide the mold market, do deep and thorough analysis of customer industries, then concentrate on the gradual formation of your own technological advantages and product advantages. An era that through accurate and efficient optimization, automation and intelligentize of production mode, efficient allocation of customized and personalized resources, as well as the great application of supply chain management technology, dig out the potential of value chain, realize the transformation from naturally formed supply chain to intentionally built industrial chain by standardized implementation, regulated resource allotment, personalized solution and screening selection of partners, is on the way.
We have entered an era of fine manufacturing and full competition.
As in other industries, the mold industry is also facing capital value shrinking, and is entering a stage where cost pressure impact the pace of technology advancing in enterprises. At the same time, mold enterprises are facing a growing pressure， which reflected in equipment modification and low software application efficiency. Mold industry has not yet formed a reasonable layout of total package and subcontracting system; enterprises are poorly concentrated. All these result in false competitions and we must solve these problems. Among mold enterprises, it's a common view that innovation and development in technical advantages, key production factor, product structure, market positioning and the integration of information technology and industrialization under the internet environment are important. In addition, have a unique self-development operation mode, occupy a dominant position in the subdivided field and gain a stable market share, and achieve good economic benefits and brand influence, is the common way for enterprises. Pursuit "professional and fine and special"，follow differential development strategy, become a "small giant" to respond to current market demand, is the only way.
We have entered an era of consumption diversification.
Mold industry highly and broadly relates to manufacturing industry. Its importance reflects in the following aspects. Mold is the process equipment for parts manufacturing, which guarantees molding results; it's the key node in parts design and manufacturing, quality assurance and mass production. Mold industry has made a great contribution to Chinese consumer industry; it has also played a very important supporting role in defense modernization and high-end technology industry development. Mold manufacturing technology controls not only characteristics of products, but also their appearance. So the mold is also a carrier of fashion technology. It has involved in product exterior design, structural design and shape design, and has met the supply market demand together with enterprises in downstream product industry. Mold is also the production processes guarantee for pursuing high efficient production in downstream industry. In addition, it's the required manufacturing equipment in new technology market, which embodies new material forming, energy saving and material saving. At present, in China, metal products manufactured through mold forming technology (also called equivalent material manufacturing technology) is about 80 million tons; it's equivalent to the amount of those by cutting processing (reducing material manufacturing technology). Furthermore, about 75 million tons of plastic products and 6 million tons of rubber products are almost all manufactured through mold forming. Mold is the key link in supply side structural reforms, and in improving supply quality, advancing supply structure adjustment, expanding effective supply, improving the adaptability and flexibility of supply structure to demand changes, improving total factor productivity, better meeting needs of the consumer market, and promoting the sustained and healthy development of manufacturing industry. So being called the efficiency amplifier of product manufacturing industry, mold deserves it.
We have entered an era of manufacturing that takes more emphasis on quality and efficiency elements.
Manufacturing flow using quality data as guideline has been carried out throughout mold design, manufacturing and feedback manufacturing in mold enterprises. Under the framework of quality control, enterprise integrates information flow, capital flow and material flow, so as to achieve the horizontal-vertical two-way integration of efficiency and quality; through the pursuit of efficiency and quality, enterprise realizes effective and sustainable development. By means of fine processing, knowledgeable manufacturing and specialization, enterprise gains value-added efficiency. Software technology enhances the application value of hardware equipment, which helps gain value-added efficiency. The sharing of customer data in management will improve resource efficiency, operation efficiency and R & D efficiency. At the same time, mold is the most important guarantee in improving production efficiency of mold parts, in enhancing forming quality of mold parts, and in shortening delivery period of mold parts. Mold is also a key process element for parts quality assurance and cost control in downstream industries, such as cars, electronics, home appliances, consumer industries, and so on. At present, mold industry has gone through the period of scale expansion. Seeking development relying on quality and efficiency is the key to stimulate the vitality of enterprises in the future.
We have entered an era of adjustment, improvement and reform in the mode and the way of thinking in operation and management.
Get rid of homogenization, establish healthy differential existence ecology in mold industry, gradually form specific products and technical services that focus on specially designated customer, industry and / or domain, has become a new way of thinking for mold entrepreneurs. Upgrading from low-end to high-end is not the only way to survive and develop. Low-end products can still obtain a living space in differentiation environment; high-end products should also avoid a herd situation. It's the differentiated development road that we'll pursuit. The focus of entrepreneurs changes from manufacturing concern to the built of a completed full product life cycle service system of mold manufacturing; engineering service concept will be infiltrated in the synchronization of mold design and host product R & D design and manufacturing, as well as in customer services after mold forming. The development of the full product life cycle technical service system is the direction toward healthy development of Chinese mold enterprises, entering world market, and achieving international market integration.
Enterprise management pays more attention to the combination of human creativity, corporate culture and corporate destiny. Mold technology is a combination of knowledge and experience. The thorough excitation of creative thinking ability of staffs; the establishment of an organic, staff psychology and body concerned, continuous well developed growth environment for talent; the built of a platform where employees mutually transfer knowledge, exchange ideas, share experiences, then continuously improve qualifications; all these are vitality factors for sustainable development of mold enterprises. A unique corporate culture that consists of corporate values, behavioral norms, team spirit and so on, is the soul of management that keeps enterprise prosperous in the mold industry. "People" oriented management will be more adopted in mold enterprises in the future.
We have entered an era that calls for the combination of products and services in manufacturing industry.
Mold has completed the transform from skill-based to technology complex type, and is experiencing the transition from mold manufacturing mode to mold plus technical services mode. At present, mold enterprise is not just a mold supplier, it has also become an integrated technology service providers. In the delivery of mold products, mold enterprises deliver as well the digital content of design, production processes and analysis. Mold products provided by mold enterprises are complete solutions that include molds and mold forming processes; it's a key node of industrialization for products from design to manufacturing. Mold enterprises thus have the capability to provide overall solutions in parts forming and the related engineering services. From product provider to product and service provider, from product export to capital export and service export, it's the market demand, as well as the times call.
We have entered an era of worldwide procurement of mold products that have cost-performance advantages.
In China, mold exports expanded from 1 billion US dollars in 2006 to more than $ 5 billion in 2015. Molds have been exported to up to 140 countries and regions. Worldwide production capacity cooperation has shown our competitiveness. Chinese mold export has gradually formed a pattern, where Europe, the United States and Japan-based traditional market takes focus, and new emerging international market acts as an extension. Chinese mold products have become an important force in the international mold stage. In China, high-tech mold products that can participate in international mold competition limits in only a few companies; the entire mold industry lacks the ability to handle the overall operation of large projects; there is no well-built brand team that can effectively pre-control situations; nor does it form a branch-structured healthy team of group operations. The situation that high-end mold mainly relies on import will continue. But the cost-performance advantage of Chinese mold products is obvious, it's a strong complement to the international mold market. Currently, even in the environment where international mold manufacturing industry returns to real economy, the expansion speed of Chinese mold products export slows down, the market pattern of domestic and international mold market is uncertain, and some other negative factors increase, Chinese mold products still have a strong advantage.
We have entered an era where regional innovation becomes a global economic hotspot.
Form a fine and specialized industry chain through product grouping, industry grouping and regional development promotion. Constructing regional mold industry with obvious features, forming areas and cross-region groups with industries agglomeration and distinctive features, make the following situation possible: construction of mold industry in Yangtze River Economic Zone, co-advancing of mold manufacturing industry in Pearl River Delta, cooperating development of mold industry in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Bohai Sea region, enhancement of mold industry advantages in Sichuan and Chongqing, reasonable competition among mold enterprises in Central China. Ningbo City has created 50 billion yuan of mold product output value; Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang mold exports over the years have ranked the top four in national mold export. It fully demonstrates the strong development power of regional mold industry.
We have entered an era where integrity is set first and brand building is essential.
Seeking accurate market position strategy, focusing on brand building, promoting brand awareness, achieving brand-based marketing, it's the market demand, also the inevitable development path of Chinese mold industry. With the pushing forward of brand strategy in mold industry, 178 key backbone mold enterprises of CDMIA, 100 outstanding mold enterprise teams who had won "JINGMOJIANG" award, 31 credit rated mold enterprises assessed by Ministry of Commerce gathered at the CDMIA Membership Representative Conference held in December 2016, accepted authorization and certificate. It meant a solid pace of brand building in Chinese mold industry. It also boosted the self-confidence in progressing up, fine products upholding and self-building. In the future, Chinese mold industry will continue promote brand broadcasting, realize brand-based marketing and build the Chinese mold "name card" on the international stage. Between June 13 and June 16, 2017, DMC2017 (Die & Mould China 2017) China International Mold Technology and Equipment Exhibition will be held in the E1 to E5 Hall of Shanghai New International Expo Center. It's a carefully built platform, which has concentrated more than 30 years of effort of CDMIA, for the propagation of industry brands. It's also a stage for the promotion of brand exhibition, the display of enterprise capacity and the realization of brand-based marketing. The era needs brands. Let us work together to promote the brand building.
This is the era to pay tribute to the mold industry colleagues.
With expectation, we entered into 2017, a year of reform. We'll work hard with solid practice for "the 13th Five-Year", prospect a good development of mold industry. Let's work together to build a platform of win-win cooperation, to serve various sectors of the consumption industry, to serve various sectors of the national defense and military science and technology industry, and to serve other manufacturing sectors of national economy and so on. Let's unite together to welcome a bright future!
