When the "high-end game" on expo banners turns into quantifiable technical parameters on equipment booths, the transformation of the nonwovens industry truly begins. At the 19th China International Technical Textiles and Nonwovens Exhibition (CINTE26), held in September 2026, signals from carding equipment makers were clearer than ever: the era of pure capacity competition is over. Fine-tuned carding solutions tailored to mainstream processes such as spunlace, thermal bond, and needle-punch are becoming the new dividing line for production efficiency and product quality.
Expo Trends: From Selling Machines to Selling Processes
The layout of CINTE26 reveals a notable shift—equipment makers no longer merely display machines; they present complete carding logic for specific nonwoven processes. Jinlun Carding's showcased solutions target three mainstream routes—spunlace, thermal bond, and needle-punch—emphasizing uniform fiber carding under high-speed operation. Behind this is the increasingly demanding customer: spunlace lines need higher speeds, thermal bond lines require more stable basis weight, and needle-punch lines must balance strength and hand-feel. Generic machines can hardly enter the procurement lists of leading companies.
At the expo, executives and technical staff from Andritz, Anhui Jinchun, Shandong Yongxin, and other upstream and downstream firms engaged in deep discussions focused on product adaptation, process optimization, and line efficiency. This cross-segment dialogue was denser than in previous years. In the past, equipment purchases were often decided by owners; now process engineers arrive with specific pain points—such as neps exceeding limits on a thermal bond line or fluctuating fiber entanglement on a spunlace line. Whether equipment makers can offer on-the-spot solutions has become a key factor in closing deals.
Policy Pull: The Invisible Driver of Equipment Upgrade
A special detail at this expo was Jinlun Carding's innovative products being featured in the W5 hall's "15th Five-Year Plan" special zone for technical textiles. This is not merely an honor; it directly links national industrial guidance with micro-level product innovation. Given the policy support for high-end nonwoven equipment during the 14th Five-Year period, the 15th Five-Year is expected to emphasize self-reliance and energy efficiency of critical equipment. For equipment makers, R&D directions must resonate with the national medium- and long-term plan; otherwise, even technological leadership may face passive positions in project approvals and market access.
For downstream factories, the tangible impact of policy is a shortened equipment renewal cycle. Old lines with high energy consumption and insufficient intelligence will be phased out faster under new environmental and efficiency standards. Many visitors at the expo asked not only about prices but also about compatibility with existing plant space and MES systems. This shift from "buying a machine" to "integrating into a system" is a micro-level sign of industrial high-end transformation.
Industrial Impact: Carding Precision Sets the Ceiling for Nonwoven Quality
The carding process is often called the "heart" of a nonwoven line, as its uniformity directly affects the basis weight deviation and strength consistency of the web. Jinlun Carding's emphasis on "high yield, high speed, high quality" is not a parallel list but a progressive logic—without high-precision card clothing tooth design and stable winding technology, fiber damage increases at high speeds, ultimately lowering product grade. This explains why high-end nonwoven fabrics have long been dominated by a few international brands: the hidden threshold of carding equipment is harder to cross than apparent line speed.
For Chinese nonwoven enterprises, while improving equipment localization is important, a more notable risk is the tendency to overemphasize hardware and neglect software—purchasing high-end carding machines without the corresponding process database and tuning experience, thus failing to fully release equipment performance. The heated technical exchanges at the expo reflect the industry's urgent need for such "soft power." Equipment makers that, like Jinlun Carding, extend their role from manufacturer to process service provider—offering full-lifecycle support from card clothing selection to line commissioning—will strengthen customer loyalty and build a moat against homogeneous competition.