Optical film is a film product with optical properties in a broad sense. It is mainly divided into polarizers and optical film products used in backlight modules (BLU). The main application field is TFT-LCD panels.
1.Optical film for backlight module
Optical films for backlight modules mainly include reflective films, diffusion films, brightness enhancement films, etc. The cost ratios of brightness enhancement films, diffusion films, and reflection films in backlight modules are 32%, 7%, and 2%, respectively. Up to 41%.
The liquid crystal display industry drives the rapid development of domestic optical films. Since 2007, with the continuous increase in labor costs abroad and the pressure of falling consumer electronics prices, the process of the flat panel display industry's transfer to China has accelerated, and the optical film industry and its processing industry supporting the industry chain have gradually shifted to China. . Compared with South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and other countries and regions, China ’s optical film products for liquid crystal display panels have to be imported from abroad for a long period of time. Independent optical film manufacturers have developed slowly and their product market competitiveness is relatively weak.
In recent years, with the support of relevant national industrial policies, some domestic optical film manufacturers (such as NBJZ Technology, KDX, DXC, HFLK, etc.) have successively achieved breakthroughs in optical film product production technology, and related optical film products have been mass-produced and realized Sales, the quality of some products has reached or approached the level of internationally superior optical film companies, and gradually replaced foreign optical film companies with advantages such as high cost performance and fast supply speed, becoming optical film product suppliers for well-known international and domestic end customers. The development momentum is good.
2. Optical film for polarizer
Polarizers are mainly made of PVA film, TAC film, protective film, release film and pressure-sensitive adhesive. In polarizers, TAC (cellulose triacetate) film and PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) film are the main raw materials, and the cost accounts for 50% and 12%, respectively.
From the perspective of the overall market development, Japanese companies occupy a global leading position in the production of polarizers, especially in terms of TAC films and PVA films, which are the key raw materials required for the production of polarizers. They are also monopolistic in terms of technology and market. Although enterprises in other regions have certain strengths in the technology of polarizers, their technological level in key raw materials for polarizers is still far behind that of Japan.
Market scale of optical film industry
In recent years, the global demand for terminal electronic products has continued to grow, and the demand for liquid crystal modules has continued to increase, driving the market demand for optical films to gradually increase. According to the latest statistics, the global market size of optical film for backlight modules in the liquid crystal display field reached 12.1 billion yuan in 2018, of which the domestic market accounted for over 62% of the global market.
In terms of optical films for polarizers, the global TAC film market size reached 26.7 billion yuan in 2018, and the domestic market size was 8.2 billion yuan; the global PVA film market size was 14.4 billion yuan, and the domestic market size was 4.5 billion yuan.
3. Competition pattern of the optical film industry
1.Optical film for backlight module
At present, domestic reflective films and diffusion films have the strength of import substitution, while the brightness enhancement film technology is relatively backward. Domestic manufacturers NBJZ technology can basically replace foreign products in reflective film and diffusion film products. The overall domestic production capacity is similar to that of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, but it cannot be completely replaced in some high-end products and technologies with special performance requirements .
In terms of brightness-enhancing films, most of domestic production technologies are still at the low-end level, and there is still much room for replacement of Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese systems.
2. Optical film for polarizer
At present, Japanese companies occupy a monopoly position in the TAC film and PVA film industries. Japan's Fujifilm and Konica Minolta are the world's leading TAC film companies with annual production capacity of 820 million square meters and 300 million square meters M, the two Japanese companies together accounted for 75% of global TAC production capacity. For PVA film, Kuraray Japan holds more than 80% of the global market.
Although Japanese companies still occupy a monopoly position in the TAC film and PVA film industries, in recent years domestic companies represented by ZJDF plastics and SZXL technology have made breakthroughs in the localization technology of the TAC film field. AHWF's self-produced PVA film has entered Supply chain systems of some international polarizer manufacturers. In general, with the accelerated localization of China's TAC film and PVA film, the domestic import substitution market has a bright future.
Fourth, the development prospects of the optical film industry
1. Terminal consumer electronics products continue to grow the optical film industry
The terminal application fields of liquid crystal display optical films are consumer electronic products such as liquid crystal televisions, liquid crystal displays, notebook computers, tablet computers, and mobile phones. With the continuous upgrade of people's consumption, LCD TVs are evolving towards large size and intelligentization. At the same time, smart terminal electronic products such as smart phones and tablet computers are experiencing rapid growth. Demand for consumer electronics products in the LCD industry chain The continuous growth will drive the continuous expansion of the size of the optical film market.
2. Huge room for import substitution of optical film products
As the LCD industry accelerates its domestic shift, the demand for localized raw material procurement has brought greater import substitution opportunities for domestic optical film companies. In addition, affected by factors such as falling prices of terminal products, terminal manufacturers continue to shift downward price pressure to upstream suppliers. Compared with imported optical film products from abroad, domestic optical film products have significant price advantages and fast supply advantages without significant differences in quality and performance, and there is huge room for import substitution of optical film products.