Plastic Wood Market Welcomes New Opportunities For Development

Wood-plastic composite (WPC) is a new kind of material composed of plastics and plant fibers. The output of WPC is based on PE and PVC resin. PE-based wood-plastic composites have excellent aging resistance and are mainly used for outdoor decorative materials. PVC-based wood-plastic composites are light in weight and stable in size, but their weatherability is relatively poor. They are widely used in interior decoration materials.

Technology, Market, Policy and Standards Help the Development of Plastic Wood Composites in China

Wood-plastic composite is a new type of material which has sprung up in recent ten years. It has been developed rapidly during the period of the Twelfth Five-Year plan. The main reasons are as follows:

First, the performance of the product has been greatly improved, and great progress has been made in some new technology, new raw materials, mechanical moulds, post-processing means, which greatly promotes the improvement of mechanical properties, weather resistance and appearance of the product.

Secondly, the market has developed rapidly, and the whole industry has entered a period of rapid growth. With its unique advantages, products have been recognized by the vast number of consumers. Especially in some municipal gardens, real estate projects, tourism projects and home decoration, etc. are deeply loved by users.

Thirdly, the state has increased its support for the policy of wood-plastic composite materials, and has promulgated a series of policies on scientific and technological research and development, taxation and so on.

Fourthly, the standards of products have been improved day by day, and considerable progress has been made in the development of new products and new design research. Using the manufacturing technology of wood-plastic composite materials in our country, we have stepped up to the advanced international level, greatly enhanced the competitiveness of the products in the international market, and made our country the largest producer of wood-plastic composite materials in the world.

Follow-up efforts should continue to solve the problems of Confucianism and thermal expansion, and further improve the weather resistance, lightweight products, development, improvement and installation of products using accessories.

Domestic sales of wood-plastic composite materials in China are still lower than export sales

At present, the domestic large-scale wood-plastic composite manufacturing enterprises are mainly export-oriented, the main market in Europe. The North American market was the first to develop, but the entry threshold was high. Asia and other regions have developed fastest in recent years.

Compared with the international market, the domestic market is also growing rapidly, but the domestic sales are far inferior to exports in terms of the volume of shipments. The main reasons are:

First, the domestic market is dominated by construction projects, requiring short delivery time and a wide range of products. In the foreign market, building materials supermarket is the main selling mode, with a large one-time delivery volume and stable product types.

Secondly, domestic sales are affected by the competition of low prices, and are prone to fall into a vicious circle of low prices and low quality; and domestic sales are difficult to recover and slow to recover.

Wood-plastic composites have excellent aging resistance and are widely used in outdoor decoration. It is expected that the overseas orders of wood-plastic composites in China will maintain an annual growth rate of about 30% from 2016 to 2017.