When a spunlace line increases its speed by a hundred meters per minute, the achievement rarely belongs to a single device; it is a coordinated leap across carding, lapping, and spunlace processes. At the recently concluded 19th China International Technical Textiles and Nonwovens Exhibition (CINTE26), this systematic technological competition was concretized: card clothing manufacturers are no longer just selling consumables but offering complete solutions covering spunlace, thermal bond, and needlepunch. This signals that the high-end transformation of the nonwovens industry has moved from single-point breakthroughs to system integration.
Signals from the Exhibition
CINTE26, held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, serves as a barometer for the Asia-Pacific nonwovens sector. The most notable move was that some carding equipment makers placed their exhibits in the special zone for the 15th Five-Year Plan for technical textiles in Hall W5. This reflects two layers: national industrial policy is guiding nonwovens upgrading down to specific process links, and enterprises are aligning R&D with national mid-term plans to capture policy dividends and market opportunities.
From on-site exchanges, leading companies focused on product adaptation, process optimization, line efficiency, and technology iteration. Representatives from Andritz, Anhui Jinchun, Shandong Yongxin, Jiangsu Huafeng, and Huafu Group engaged in deep discussions with carding equipment suppliers, indicating a shift from pure buyer-seller relationships to joint problem-solving. For buyers, this may change equipment selection logic—no longer just looking at card clothing life or price, but whether the supplier can contribute to overall line efficiency.
Carding Technology: The Invisible Ceiling of Nonwoven Quality
Carding is often regarded as the heart of a nonwoven line, as its evenness directly affects basis weight stability and final product consistency. Jinlun Card Clothing's high-output, high-speed, high-quality carding solutions target the most painful point for nonwoven makers: when speed rises, web quality drops. This involves complex matching of card clothing tooth shape, density, arrangement with fiber materials and process routes.
From an industrial trend perspective, spunlace demand in medical and wiping materials continues to grow; thermal bond competition in hygiene products has reached a fever pitch over basis weight and softness; needlepunch in filtration and automotive interiors demands higher strength uniformity. Different processes require vastly different carding setups. Suppliers covering all processes essentially help customers reduce trial-and-error costs. For factories, switching card clothing suppliers is no longer a simple purchase but an opportunity for process upgrading.
Beyond the Exhibition: Transmission Paths of Industrial Upgrading
The high-end model at the exhibition reveals three transmission paths for nonwovens industry upgrading. First, technological iteration on the equipment side is forcing consumable suppliers to shift from manufacturing to service—selling card clothing alone is unsustainable, while providing process diagnostics and custom design becomes a new competitive edge. Second, policy planning for the 15th Five-Year Plan will accelerate elimination of outdated capacity, favoring lines capable of high-speed stable operation. Third, end-market performance requirements are transmitting backward through the chain—from terminal brands to nonwoven makers to carding equipment—ultimately landing on microscopic parameters like card clothing tooth geometry.
For foreign trade enterprises, this upgrading trend means the value-added watershed for export products is forming. If still competing on low price per square meter, profit margins will be further squeezed; but by leveraging efficient carding equipment to improve quality, there is a chance to enter high-end medical and filtration supply chains in Europe and America. Notably, senior executives from multiple leading companies visited the exhibition in person, indicating that the industry now treats technical collaboration as a strategic priority rather than a workshop-level concern.