During 2024 | With annual sales exceeding 10,000 units, what is the confidence?

Competition for existing stocks is fierce

"The strongest feeling this year is the industry's internal volume and the difficulty of corporate profitability." In Yang Xinzhong's view, this "volume" and "difficulty" have spread throughout the entire upstream and downstream. Although the production and sales volume of Xingyao Textile Machinery exceeded 10,000 units in 2023, there are still hidden dangers in the future. "First, the entire industry is highly homogenized and the competition is extremely fierce; second, customers' ability to make money is insufficient, resulting in weak equipment plans in the later period." Yang Xinzhong said that customers are also very competitive now, and many weaving mills that are currently using equipment are helpless, "because customers have basically made no profit from the original '75 cloth machine' and 'small rapier' production in the past two years. If the equipment is not replaced, it means exiting the industry. However, in the current environment, even if the equipment is updated, the competition is equally fierce."
Yang Xinzhong believes that the main reasons for the current market state are insufficient demand and innovation, as well as overcapacity. This may be the case for the next few years. After all, for relatively mature industries such as textile machinery, breakthroughs are not easy. Competition in the existing market is inherently painful, even a life-and-death struggle, but only by winning this competition can you survive the industry reshuffle and be qualified to "imagine the future."

Breaking the game with “cost-effectiveness”

"Have customers' demands for equipment changed?" the reporter asked.

"Now customers are paying more attention to unit energy consumption and high-speed adaptability on the basis of the original concerns about equipment quality, reliability, brand, appearance, etc." Yang Xinzhong said that in order to cater to market demand, many "concepts" have appeared in the market, which may impress customers temporarily, but in the long run, the ultimate value creation for customers depends on unit energy consumption and the reliability of equipment after the actual production speed is increased. Especially in the current highly involuted state, customers are more concerned about cost performance. Under the premise of equal quality, what is compared is cost, and whoever has the lower cost will win.

Under the leadership of Yang Xinzhong, Xingyao Textile Machinery has focused more on improving the core technology of its products this year. He believes that the main difference between domestic air-jet looms and imported looms now lies in the high-speed adaptability of the products, the reliability of key parts after speed increase, and the weavability of special fabrics. In order to further increase the speed, the company cooperated with SKF to produce high-speed connecting rod bearings and developed a main jet with stronger weft insertion ability.

"Because the gap between domestic and imported air-jet looms now lies in the key parts, not the difference in structural principles, nor the difference between connecting rod beating and cam beating, which are very popular in China. Because of the difference between connecting rod beating and cam beating, the advantages and disadvantages have been confirmed at the beginning of this century. This can be seen from the acceptance and sales of European and Japanese models. Which products have advantages in connecting rod beating and which varieties have advantages in cam beating. Therefore, our company focuses on improving the performance of key components and user costs, creating real added value for customers." Yang Xinzhong explained.

No foreign trade, no space

"If any air-jet loom manufacturer does not engage in foreign trade in the future, it can be said that the development space of this enterprise is not large." In 2023, the export of Xingyao looms also increased compared with previous years. When we take a long-term view, as the domestic textile industry shifts to countries with lower costs, it will inevitably drive the market focus of textile machinery from domestic to foreign countries.

In Yang Xinzhong's view, the proportion of foreign trade of weaving machinery will become larger and larger, because the market for weaving is going abroad, and the equipment must follow the market. At present, the main foreign trade markets for weaving machinery are in Southeast Asia, India, Turkey and other countries and regions. Xingyao Textile Machinery is also working hard to seize market opportunities and welcome overseas opportunities through continuous trials and explorations.

What Yang Xinzhong is most worried about now is that market competition is becoming increasingly irrational, but the gap between domestic equipment and imported equipment still exists.

"From the current situation of competition, all companies are now focusing on reducing costs, competing at low prices, and using new concepts to gain customers' short-term freshness. They are working less on key technologies, while foreign technology accumulation continues. This may continue to widen the gap between us and imported equipment. If this continues, we may only become a passing visitor in the overseas market. Now customers may temporarily choose Chinese products because of the cost. After using them for a period of time, if they feel that the overall advantages are not obvious and there are still many problems, they will never buy them again." He said.

Crisis coexists, innovative responses

At present, the production capacity of the enterprise is greater than 1,000 units per month, but whether the demand can continue is still unknown. In addition, the current market trend of low payment does make Yang Xinzhong feel quite challenged. "Now there are more and more manufacturers entering the air-jet loom camp. In order to win orders, everyone adopts low down payment to compete for the market. In the face of such a market, should we follow up or not? This brings a dilemma to the enterprise. Not following up may cause a large-scale loss of market share. Following up will cause an increase in the company's accounts receivable and may also cause bad debt risks."

This may be a common problem in the current industry, but


this step has to be taken. Yang Xinzhong believes that the core competitiveness of enterprise development must come from within the enterprise. "To put it in the simplest terms, it is how to achieve technological leadership and cost leadership, and at least one of the two. From the perspective of a century-old enterprise, if your enterprise does not have one of these two, it has no future!"
In his opinion, the worse the market conditions, the more likely new opportunities will arise.

"The main opportunities in the current market must come from continuous innovation. For example, the hot sales of flannel air-jet looms this year and the emergence of highlight products such as 8-jet jacquard looms are all the result of innovation. However, the emergence of these highlight products requires our companies to have the ability to respond quickly and respond quickly to market needs by improving the design." He said that judging from the domestic demand for air-jet looms, the climax of major products has passed, and the next focus should be on products in niche areas, such as fiberglass, denim, flannel, cord fabrics, etc.

Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. In 2024, while consolidating the domestic market, Xingyao Textile Machinery will actively expand overseas and set up service centers in key markets. In terms of technology, it will focus on the research and development of functional configurations in niche areas such as towels, fiberglass, and denim to increase the adaptability of products.

In the new year, Xingyao Textile Machinery will have another journey after the milestone, which is worth waiting for.

Zhejiang Xingyao Textile Machinery Co., Ltd. integrates scientific research, production and technical services. Its main products include: air-jet looms, high-speed energy-saving air-jet looms and large-package air-jet looms. It currently has a large scale and development in the market.