Glass fiber is an inorganic non-metallic material with excellent performance and is a commonly used reinforcing material for plastics. It is made of pyrophyllite, kaolin, limestone, quartz sand and other mineral raw materials according to a certain ratio and mixed by high-temperature melting and other processes.

Glass fiber is widely used in composite reinforced substrates, electrical insulation materials, heat-resistant insulation materials, light guide materials, corrosion resistant materials and filter materials.

Glass fiber is used in the front body of high-speed rail, which is lightweight, high strength and corrosion resistance

Glass fiber industry chain

Glass fiber production method

Glass fiber is usually produced by the pool kiln wire drawing method: pyrolite and other raw materials are melted into a glass solution in the kiln, and after eliminating bubbles, they are transported to the porous leaky plate through the channel, and drawn into glass fiber precursor at high speed. The kiln can be produced simultaneously by connecting hundreds of leaky plates through multiple paths.

This process is simple, energy-saving, stable molding, high efficiency and high yield, which is convenient for large-scale fully automated production and has become an international mainstream production process, and the glass fiber produced by this process accounts for more than 90% of the global output.

Glass fiber production flow chart

Fiberglass applications

The top three application fields of glass fiber downstream applications in 19 years are building materials (33%), transportation (28%), and consumption (16%)

Current situation of the glass fiber market

According to the China Glass Fiber Industry Association, the investment intensity of new 10,000 tons of production capacity is usually about 100 million yuan (of which the unit investment intensity of high-end product production lines is higher), and after the opening of the glass fiber production line, it is necessary to continuously produce for 8-10 years, and it is difficult to reduce the load to adjust the output in the middle (due to abnormal kiln shutdown produces significant additional costs), so the glass fiber supply is more rigid.

Due to the existence of technical barriers and financial barriers, it is more difficult for new entrants to participate in competition, enterprises with weak competitiveness are easy to be squeezed out of the market, the advantages of large glass fiber enterprises are obvious, the global glass fiber industry concentration is high, and the oligopoly competition pattern is obvious.

At present, the annual glass fiber production capacity of China Jushi, Owens Corning (OC), Japan Electric Glass (NEG), Taishan Fiberglass, Chongqing International (CPIC), and JASMAILWELL (JM) accounts for about 80% of the total global glass fiber production capacity. China Jushi ranks first in the world with a capacity share of 24%.

The proportion of global glass fiber enterprise production capacity

The annual production capacity of the three major glass fiber enterprises of Jushi, Taiglass and Chongqing International accounts for more than 60% of the domestic glass fiber production capacity. In addition, there are Shandong fiberglass, Changhai shares, Neijiang Huayuan, Sichuan Weibo and so on.

The proportion of domestic glass fiber enterprise production capacity

Supplier capacity inventory

1. Chinese megaliths

Capacity: 2 million tons/year

Jushi glass fiber intelligent production

China Jushi Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in the production and sales of glass fiber and products, and is one of the listed companies with an early and large enterprise scale in China's new material industry. More than 20 large-scale drawing production lines of glass fiber kilns have been built, with an annual production capacity of 2 million tons of glass fiber yarn.

The company's glass fiber products have a wide range and complete categories, with nearly 1,000 specifications in more than 100 categories, mainly including alkali-free glass fiber untwisted roving, chopped raw yarn, chopped felt, fiberglass mesh, E-grade Fabric and other glass fiber products.

2. Owens Corning (OC), USA

Capacity: about 1 million tons/year

Founded in 1938, Owens Corning is the inventor of fiberglass production technology and a world leader in building materials and fiberglass composites, headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, USA.

3. Taishan fiberglass

Capacity: about 1.1 million tons/year

Taishan Fiberglass Co., Ltd. is a large-scale state-owned enterprise with the main business of R&D, production and sales of glass fiber and products.

In 1997, the first 10,000-ton alkali-free glass fiber pool kiln drawing production line in China was built to fill the domestic gap. At present, the total production capacity of glass fiber products has reached one million tons, which is one of the three largest glass fiber manufacturing enterprises in the world and the two largest in China.

4. Chongqing International (CPIC)

Capacity: about 1.1 million tons/year

Chongqing International Composite Materials Co., Ltd. (CPIC) was established in 1991. Committed to the research of high-performance new materials, integrating glass fiber product development, production and sales.

The company has a wide range of glass fiber products, from textile yarn, expanded yarn, to reinforced material products, mainly including roving, felt (emulsion/powder), ging, multi-axial fabric, chopped fiber for thermoplastics, direct roving for thermoplastics, etc.

5. NEG Glass (NEG)

Capacity: about 750,000 tons/year

NEG Glass (NEG) is a world-renowned manufacturer of specialty glass.

NEG's products are not limited to pharmaceutical containers, but are also used in a wide range of applications such as displays, electronics, optical lenses, electrochemical products, fiberglass, and construction. The types of glass materials have reached hundreds, such as glass tubes, flat glass, glass fiber, pressed products, blow molding products, precision molding products, powder glass, etc., with rich and diverse forms.

6. Jasmailway (JM)

Capacity: about 650,000 tons/year

Founded in 1858, after 149 years of development, JM has become a multinational group with dozens of production bases in North America, Europe and Asia and nearly 10,000 employees. With nearly 50 production sites in North America, Europe and Asia, it is the world's No. 1 manufacturer of waterproof substrates that can supply both glass fiber and polyester nonwovens.

Summary and outlook

With the rapid growth of wind power market demand, as well as the gradual recovery of demand in infrastructure, home appliances, electronics and other fields, the supply and demand situation of the glass fiber yarn market has undergone a fundamental change, and various varieties of glass fiber have entered a rapid rising channel.

The emerging industry urges the industrial upgrading of glass fiber, for example: glass fiber in the field of electronics, mainly used for printed circuit board (PCB) electronic yarn.

With the trend of "thin thickness and light weight" in downstream terminal electronic equipment, E-grade Fabric presents a "thin" development trend. The thinner the E-grade Fabric also means that the production technology is more difficult, the weight of the product is lighter, the faster the model transfer speed, and the higher the added value.

Glass fiber reinforced materials can meet the needs of lightweight transportation.

Among them, long glass fiber reinforced materials have better reinforcement effect, and commonly used resin matrices include PP, PA, PBT, PET, POM, etc. (PP is the most widely used). It has been widely used in automobile body, car seat, high-speed rail body/structure, hull structure, etc.

Long glass fiber reinforced nylon

In the context of the rapid development of China's wind power industry, wind turbine equipment manufacturers have become the focus of attention.

Glass fiber material is also the mainstream material option for the manufacture of wind turbine blades (blades account for about 20% of the total cost), and the price of glass fiber has a significant advantage over the price of carbon fiber (about 1/10).

With the successive production of glass fiber projects under construction in China, the proportion of high value-added products is expected to increase steadily, and the competitiveness of domestic glass fiber continues to strengthen. (Source: Engineering Plastic Circle)