Para-aramid is the abbreviation of para-aramid fiber. It is one of the organic fibers with the best comprehensive performance in high-performance fibers. The trade name of DuPont in the United States is Kevlar, the trade name of Teijin in Japan is Twaron, and it is called Twaron in China. Aramid 1414 or Aramid II is now widely used in various aspects of the national economy such as military, aerospace, mechanical and electrical, construction, automobiles, and sports goods.
Aramid fiber was first developed by DuPont of the United States and began industrial production in 1971. However, in the past few decades, only a few companies in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Russia have the production technology of para-aramid fibers, so that whether they can produce para-aramid fibers has become a country to some extent. One of the symbols of strength. It is precisely because of its unique role in aerospace and national defense that foreign countries have long imposed technical blockades on my country, restricting China's application and development in related fields.
As the first batch of challengers in the aramid fiber industry technology, ZHLX started the research on para-aramid fiber in 2001, and finally ushered in a historic breakthrough in 2005-2007, successfully building 50 tons per year The continuous operation of the para-aramid pilot line, the product performance indicators have reached the domestic leading level.
In 2008, in order to better promote the development of aramid industrialization, ZH Chemical Research and Design Institute Co., Ltd. industrialized scientific research results and established a wholly-owned subsidiary ZHLX High Performance Materials Technology Co., Ltd. to invest in the development of "para-aramid new materials And production base". In 2009, China's first production line with an annual output of 1,000 tons with independent intellectual property rights was built, and in 2014, continuous and stable production of aramid fiber was achieved. The industrial production of para-aramid is not so much because of the maturity of the technology, as it is because of the maturity of the technical application conditions. This also makes ZHLX one of the few high-tech chemical fiber enterprises in China that can produce para-aramid products on a large scale. In three years, ZHLX achieved a historic leap from laboratory to industrialization of China's aramid fiber, and ended the 40-year history of monopolizing this industry in developed countries such as the United States and Japan.
ZHLX chose to focus on para-aramid, on the one hand because of the great prospects of para-aramid. Para-aramid is still a new material in the world. China’s market growth rate is higher than that of the European and American markets. China’s car ownership and number of troops are higher than those of European and American countries. China is a major country in the manufacture of optical fiber cables and more than 30% of the world’s optical fibers. Optical cables are manufactured in China. It is foreseeable that China will become the world's largest demander for aramid in the future.
On the other hand, for ZHLX, they have accumulated deep production technology for para-aramid, focusing on the research and development and production of para-aramid, which can help ZHLX quickly break the international monopoly and promote the high-quality development of the company. .
After several years of continuous and stable production, ZHLX has formed many differentiated products. In 2016, ZHLX aramid fiber successfully entered the field of fire-fighting pipelines. In 2017, ZHLX began to enter the field of optical fiber reinforced core (KFRP)…
The huge market space also promotes the rapid development of domestic aramid. According to statistics, the domestic demand for para-aramid is about 12,000 tons, China's domestic supply accounts for less than 1/6, and all the rest comes from imports. In 2020, China's aramid fiber market will reach 14.4 billion yuan, with a compound growth rate of about 20%. This shows that the output of domestic para-aramid is far less than the market demand, and there is still a lot of room for development.
The optical fiber and cable industry is developing rapidly, and 5G construction brings imagination to the demand for aramid. Para-aramid fibers can increase the rigidity and strength of optical cables, and are widely used as reinforcements for indoor and outdoor optical fibers and power cables, and play an important role in promoting the development of China's new generation of communication technology. Experts predict that in 2019, the demand for para-aramid for optical cables will reach 5,050 tons, and in 2020 it will reach 5,400 tons. In the future, with the construction and upgrading of 5G networks, the consumption of para-aramid in the field of information and communication will further increase.
In addition, in the context of the Sino-US trade conflict, the price of aramid is rising, and the trade of high-end aramid imported from the United States is facing the risk of restriction or even interruption. In 2018, there was a serious gap in the Chinese aramid market, which had a huge impact on the Chinese manufacturing industry. Optical communications, rubber, spinning, and ballistic protection were all affected, which brought a certain market to Chinese domestic aramid manufacturers. space.
According to Sun Qian, ZHLX continues to carry out process innovation and equipment upgrades. It has begun to expand its production line by 1,200 tons and increase the number of high models. It is expected to be launched on the market by the end of this year. A 5000t/year aramid 1414 production facility is under planning. "At present, we are mainly facing three major areas, optical fiber cable, automotive and environmental protection industries."