The Chinese adhesives market has developed quickly in recent years. However, new-product development and technology research abilities, as well as low-level products, have limited industrial development.

Statistics from the China National Adhesives Association show that, in 2007, China’s output of adhesives and sealants reached 3.125 million tons, an increase of 11.53%. The sales volume was RMB42.6 billion, which increased by 25.3%. The increased sales volume was higher than output; this is mainly due to an increased number of high-quality, high-added-value products. In 2007, the output of high-quality products increased by over 15%, and environmental products were up more than 14%.

Because investment in adhesive technology research has not been sufficient in China (and because there is a shortage of high-quality technicians in this industry), many adhesives and sealants factories produce single-series, outdated products of inferior quality. Also, most of China’s 3,000-plus factories (located in 28 provinces and cities) are small; only a few hundred among them are large-scale, with sales volumes over RMB100 million.

It is expected that the demand for adhesives and sealants in the Chinese market will increase by 10% this year. Among these products, hot-melt adhesives and reactive adhesives should increase by over 12%. As in 2007, the supply volume of general adhesives exceeds demand. In addition, the demand for high-quality adhesives products (including those used in applications such as electronics, appliances, automobiles and aerospace) is increasing. More stringent regulations in the industry will result in higher development rates for water-based, hot-melt, bio-degradable, UV, room-temperature and low-temperature, and no-solvent adhesives.

Translated from an article published in CHINA ADHESIVE magazine.