Since the 1980s, with the large-scale entry of international manufacturing enterprises and the advancement of domestic technologies, China’s flooring industry has entered a prime period of development, achieving substantial progress in both raw materials and construction technologies.
However, judging from the industry situation in recent years, the mid-to-high-end market, especially the high-end segment, is still largely monopolized by foreign brands. Domestic enterprises have made few breakthroughs in this field, and there is even a risk of losing share in the mid-end and low-end markets. Based on a summary of the current situation of domestic flooring materials, this paper analyzes the industry status quo.
Globally, developed countries with an early industrialization history such as the United States, Japan and France have a flooring industry history of sixty to seventy years, with highly mature product technology and construction craftsmanship. The main material categories are as follows:
As the earliest resin-based material applied to flooring, it features the most sophisticated technology and accounts for the largest market share. Foreign markets are dominated by solvent-free systems, with a small proportion of water-based systems and very few solvent-based products. At present, most overseas material companies have phased out the production of solvent-based flooring materials.
The development of polyurethane flooring materials lagged behind epoxy products, and their production and construction technologies are relatively difficult to control. Nevertheless, they have been increasingly widely adopted in recent years due to their superior comprehensive performance.
Polyurethane materials feature adjustable comprehensive properties, ranging from elastic variants to products with hardness comparable to epoxy resin. They outperform epoxy resin in resistance to organic acids and organic solvents, and possess unparalleled flexibility. They are widely used in machinery manufacturing, food processing and other industries. Similar to epoxy flooring, foreign polyurethane flooring mainly adopts solvent-free systems, supplemented by a small amount of water-based products.
It is an unsaturated system polymerized from methacrylic monomers, forming a cross-linked network structure through free radical reaction with peroxide cross-linking agents.
Different from epoxy and polyurethane materials, cross-linked acrylic products deliver excellent weather resistance and are suitable for outdoor applications. Its fast cross-linking reaction greatly shortens the construction cycle. Moreover, it can cure well even at sub-zero temperatures, enabling construction in cold environments.
The current status of domestic resin-based flooring materials is reflected in the following three aspects:
(1) Similar to the international market, China’s flooring industry is also dominated by epoxy materials, but solvent-based epoxy products take the lead, accounting for about 70% to 80% of the total flooring material market. Solvent-free systems are relatively few, and water-based systems are even less common.
(2) Almost all domestic polyurethane materials are solvent-based, with a solvent content of 30% to 40%. Mainly including polyester and polyether polyurethane, most are only suitable for thin-coat flooring projects, with barely any solvent-free or water-based products available.
The above two types of solvent-based products occupy the vast majority of China’s flooring material market. In the early stage, foreign countries applied such materials mainly as concrete sealers without strict thickness requirements. In China, the concept of intermediate coat flooring materials was created: quartz sand and other fillers are added as leveling layers to increase thickness, but the overall strength is greatly reduced compared with solvent-free products.
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