China Hardware Field Lacks Competitiveness
China is a big manufacturing and exporting country in the industry of hardware and tools. Most of the electric tools sold in the world are made in China and then exported to foreign countries. China has become the world’s major supplier of electric tools. The industrial technology of hardware and tools is lack of creative capacity. With simple market structures, weak brand impacts and other factors, many hardware manufacturers are wanting in core competitiveness.
In spite of development in Chinese hardware and tools industry, it is still far behind the development of machine tools industry. At present, Chinese sales volume of tools is 14.5 billion per year. Among that, the percentage of cemented carbide tools accounts for less than 25%. This rate is inferior than the international market. It can not meet the increasing demands of domestic manufacturers on cemented carbide tools.
For now, the structural imbalance of tools is caused by imbalances between manufacture and demands. In view of the development trend of mechanical manufacture industry, the rate of effective numerical control is increasing year by year. Under this circumstance, demands on effective and advanced tools will increase while that of traditional standard tools will decrease.
Due to insufficient independent innovation efforts of domestic tools enterprises, they tend to focus on short-term benefits and unwilling to invest on advanced facilities and technologies. They often rely on other enterprises who create new products all by themselves. Thereupon, they lose dominant rights of development and innovation. The entire level of domestic products hovers from 80% to 90%.
In order to realize sound and fast growth, domestic tools enterprises should break their current ideas on research and development. Enterprises should develop their own products from the perspective of customers.