1. Laser Processing Sector Having Won Strong Support from Chinese Government
Chinese government pays great attention to the development of laser processing technology and equipment, and has singled out laser processing as one of the important national projects. Being an "advanced manufacturing technology", laser processing in China has won strong support from the government and is vigorously promoted across the country. Laser processing technology and equipment was listed among the Chinese Important National Sectors, Products and Technologies as early as in 1997, was in the Outline of China's Mid- and Long-term Development of Science and Technology (2006-2020) issued in 2005, and was regarded by Chinese government as one of the frontier technologies which should be paid great attention 2006 through 2020. And in 2007, China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China Ministry of Science and Technology, China Ministry of Commerce, and China State Intellectual Property Office listed laser processing technology and equipment in the Guide to Fields of Prioritized High Technologies (Year of 2007) as one of the advanced manufacturing sectors.
2. China's Laser Processing Sector Growing Rapidly
Laser processing has achieved rapid growth in China these years, with the market size hitting RMB3.35bn in 2008, up by 21.2% year-on-year. As China is being industrialized so fast and its manufacturing being continuously upgraded, the country's laser processing equipment sector is expected to sustain its rapid growth at 20%-30% per year driven by its high-powered and high value-added products in the next three years.
China's laser processing sector gains its momentum mainly from two factors, i.e. newly-increased demand and substitute demand. Newly-increased demand refers to the demand for laser processing by the processes which cannot be completed without laser processing equipment, including laser welding which requires high accuracy, laser drilling and laser surface treating etc. This kind of demand is increasingly strong in China since the fundamental processing industry keeps innovating itself. As for substitute demand, a lot of backward processes are clamoring to be upgraded against the background that China's is at the critical period of time of upgrading its manufacturing, for example, high-powered metal cutting and PCB laser drilling. The demand for substitutes in the traditional processing field is an important factor that drives China's laser processing equipment sector to develop at higher rates than its international peers.
3. Laser Processing Market in China Still Focusing on Elementary Fields
Laser cutting and welding is the major contributor (accounting for more than 50%) to the sales of laser processing equipment in the international market, and also dominated the high end of the laser processing equipment market. In China, on the other hand, low-powered laser markers account for more than 40% of the laser processing equipment market, while laser cutting only about 30%, most of which percentage, in turn, is grabbed by foreign or Chinese-foreign manufacturers, for example, by Unit Prima (Shanghai), ROFIN, TRUMPF, and MIYACHI. The situation means that the application of China's laser processing equipment and the homegrown manufacturers are still in their elementary stage. |
