The importance of the coatings industry is self-evident. It is not only a key link in the petrochemical industry, but also an indispensable industrial category for the national economy. From daily building decoration and home beautification to automobile manufacturing, electronic equipment production and surface treatment of household appliances, coating products are everywhere. In high-end manufacturing, strategic emerging industries, and defense and military industries and other high-end and strategic fields, coatings play an irreplaceable role.
The glorious past of the coatings industry
The corrosion and rust prevention of aircraft carriers, the protective coating of "Dongfeng Express", the special protection of space capsules, the color maintenance of the national flag on the moon, and the surface protection of deep-sea submersibles all rely on the technological innovation and product quality of the coatings industry. It can be said that the coatings industry is connected to the beautiful life of thousands of households on one end and the important mission of national strategy and national security on the other.
Since the reform and opening up, China's coatings industry has achieved remarkable achievements. It has ranked first in the world in coatings production for 15 consecutive years, accounting for one-third of the global total production, and has become an important growth pole of the world's coatings industry. Such achievements are the result of the hard work of countless coatings practitioners, demonstrating the strong development vitality and huge market potential of China's coatings industry.
Opportunities and challenges coexist
However, while affirming the achievements, we must also be soberly aware that there is still a big gap between China's coatings industry and coatings powerhouses. At present, the structural contradiction of "oversupply of low-end products and shortage of high-end products" is prominent. In the field of high-end coatings, especially special and functional coatings, there is a clear gap between my country and the international advanced level in product variety, quality and performance. From the import and export trade data, it can be clearly seen that most of my country's exports are ordinary coatings products, while high-end coatings products still need to be imported in large quantities.
Compared with the multinational giants in the international coatings industry, the gap in my country's coatings industry in terms of industrial concentration, economic benefits and competitiveness is more significant. Taking Akzo Nobel as an example, its high-performance coatings sales accounted for 60%, EBITDA accounted for 71%, and operating profit accounted for 61% in 2024. In contrast, in my country, although there are more than 2.430 enterprises above designated size in the coatings industry, the average scale of the enterprises is relatively small, with an average annual output of only 11.600 tons, an average annual income of 134 million yuan, and an average annual profit of 8.622 million yuan. The sharp contrast highlights the huge gap in scale and concentration of my country's coatings industry.
Emerging trends continue to emerge
It is gratifying that a number of leading enterprises have also emerged in my country's coatings industry, which have made significant progress in innovation, green transformation and digital upgrading, and are actively promoting the industry to move towards high-quality development. However, to achieve the goal of becoming a coatings power proposed in the "13th Five-Year Plan", we need to benchmark with developed countries and build a number of world-class companies with international competitiveness. This requires us to use internationally renowned multinational companies as a reference, and on the basis of affirming our own progress, deeply analyze the gap, identify weaknesses and shortcomings, and clarify development goals and directions.
In the future, China's coatings industry should focus on technological innovation, increase investment in the research and development of high-end coatings, overcome key technical problems, improve product quality and performance, and fill the gap in the field of domestic high-end coatings. At the same time, through industrial integration and optimization and upgrading, we can improve industrial concentration and enhance the scale effect and market competitiveness of enterprises. In addition, we need to actively promote green and digital transformation, adapt to the development trend of the global coatings industry, and promote the progress of the industry with the concept of sustainable development.
From a coatings power to a coatings power, it is the only way for China's coatings industry. Although this road is full of challenges, as long as we dare to face the gap and dare to innovate and break through, we will be able to achieve strength and excellence in strengths and weaknesses and make up for shortcomings, create a group of world-class companies with international competitiveness, and let China's coatings industry shine more brightly on the global stage.
