The order curve of spunmelt nonwoven equipment is becoming a new window into the direction of industrial upgrading. In the first half of 2026, Hongda Research Institute saw new contracts surge 148.7% year-on-year and its order backlog rise 86.4%. Both figures far exceed the industry average, signaling that downstream clients' willingness to invest in high-end production lines is being released intensively, and the equipment maker's delivery capability and technical service radius have become key variables determining whether orders are landed in this round of expansion.
Regional and Demand Structure Behind the Order Surge
Looking at the market distribution, overseas projects in Poland and Turkey are advancing with on-site installation and technical services, while domestically, the Fujian project has passed acceptance, Hebei project delivery has made substantial progress, Zhejiang contracts have taken effect, and new customer intentions in Jiangsu are heating up. This multi-point flowering is not accidental—European demand for sustainable nonwoven materials continues to rise, while Turkey, leveraging its geographical advantage, has become a production transfer hub connecting Europe and Asia. Domestically, industrial upgrading in southeastern coastal provinces is visibly faster than in inland regions, and the active orders in Fujian and Zhejiang are highly correlated with the expansion of local hygiene material and filtration material industry clusters.
For equipment makers, an 86.4% growth in order backlog means production capacity is locked for the next 12 to 18 months, but it also places higher demands on supply chain management and on-site service teams. Overseas installation and commissioning cycles are typically 30% longer than domestic ones, and exchange rate fluctuations and logistics costs must be factored into quotations. For companies planning to purchase similar production lines, current order scheduling may extend into 2027, so locking in technical solutions early is more important than price bargaining.
Technology Innovation from Lab to Engineering
Beyond order growth, the pace of technological breakthroughs is equally noteworthy. After three years of R&D, the ionic liquid solvent bamboo fiber project has fully entered the pilot design stage, with 3D modeling and engineering design completed as scheduled, and construction drawings planned to be completed in Q3. This means the process is no longer confined to papers or small-scale trials but has the engineering foundation to move toward industrialization. Compared to the traditional viscose method, the ionic liquid solvent method has significant environmental advantages. If the pilot is successful, it could change the supply pattern of regenerated cellulose fibers and offer a new green raw material option for the nonwoven sector.
The self-developed wide-width PE/PP bicomponent spunbond line has successfully completed trial production and achieved commercial delivery, with product performance fully meeting standards. The significance of wide-width lines lies in the improvement of output per unit time—each 10% increase in width can boost capacity by about 15% at the same speed, while reducing energy consumption and labor costs per unit. Multiple breakthroughs in specialty fiber spinning processes indicate that the company's technical reserves in differentiated products are thickening, laying the foundation for future entry into high-value-added fields such as medical, filtration, and battery separators.
Management Upgrades and Industrial Transmission Effects
Notably, Hongda Research Institute completed the full rollout of SAP and BIP systems in the first half of the year and newly established or revised 11 institutional rules. The implementation of digital management systems is superficially an internal efficiency issue, but in essence it reflects the enhancement of risk control capabilities after scale expansion—when order volumes double and projects span multiple countries, the lack of a unified data foundation will lead to cost accounting distortions and delivery delays. This move also sends a signal to the industry: competition among equipment manufacturers has shifted from single-point technology competition to a comprehensive capability contest of “technology + delivery + management.”
For downstream nonwoven fabric producers, the high growth in equipment orders often foreshadows the concentrated release of new capacity over the next two years. Buyers need to be wary of the risk of regional oversupply, especially in the hygiene materials sector, where the peak of new production line commissioning may coincide with a slowdown in market demand growth. It is recommended to prioritize production lines with flexible production capabilities during equipment selection, so as to quickly switch product structures in response to market changes.