The order curve for spunbond/meltblown nonwoven equipment is becoming a sensitive indicator of China's nonwoven industry upgrade direction. In H1 2026, Hongda Institute's new contracts surged 148.7% year-on-year, and backlog grew 86.4%. This growth far exceeds the industry average, suggesting that downstream clients' investment willingness for high-end production lines is being released intensively, and nonwoven materials themselves are shifting from volume-driven to quality-driven.
The industrial logic behind the order surge
The doubling of orders is not an isolated phenomenon. From an industry chain perspective, spunbond/meltblown nonwovens are continuously expanding their application boundaries in medical, hygiene, filtration, and packaging. Demand for differentiated products such as flushable, biodegradable, high-strength, and low-elongation materials is rising, forcing equipment makers to offer more flexible process solutions. Hongda's order structure includes overseas projects in Turkey and Poland for on-site installation and technical services, domestic project acceptance in Fujian, delivery progress in Hebei, contract effectiveness in Zhejiang, and warming intentions from new customers in Jiangsu. This multi-point blooming pattern indicates that demand-side pull is systematic, not a one-off replenishment in a single market.
For equipment makers, high order growth also means pressure on delivery capacity and service networks. The 86.4% backlog growth implies a dense delivery period in the next 6-12 months, where supply chain management and on-site commissioning efficiency will become key variables determining customer repurchase rates. At the same time, overseas project progress tests the maturity of Chinese spunbond equipment in standard alignment and localized services. Recognition in Turkey and Poland provides a reference for entering the EU hinterland.
Technological breakthroughs in green and high-performance tracks
Orders reflect current success, but technological reserves are the future moat. Hongda's ionic liquid solvent bamboo fiber project, after three years of development, has fully entered the pilot engineering design stage, with 3D modeling and engineering design completed on schedule, and construction drawings planned for Q3. This technical route targets green substitution for viscose fiber—traditional viscose production has high pollution and energy consumption, while ionic liquid solvent method uses physical dissolution instead of chemical derivation, with high solvent recovery and sustainable bamboo cellulose sources. Once industrialized, it will reshape the raw material supply pattern of nonwovens.
Another noteworthy line is the wide-width PE/PP bicomponent spunbond production line that successfully completed trial production and achieved commercial delivery, with product performance fully meeting standards. Bicomponent spunbond technology uses sheath-core structure design to achieve low-melting thermal bonding, balance softness and strength, and is widely used in hygiene materials, medical protection, and filtration media. Wide-width means higher unit output efficiency, directly reducing downstream unit costs. Additionally, multiple special fiber spinning processes have achieved breakthroughs, indicating deepening reserves in differentiated fibers.
What do these technical milestones mean for buyers and factories? On one hand, the pilot maturity of green fibers will provide more raw material options for downstream nonwoven factories, but short-term supply is limited, so early trial orders should be secured. On the other hand, commercialization of wide-width bicomponent lines will accelerate the elimination of old single-component equipment, opening a cost-effective window for equipment upgrades.
Management digitalization and risk control catch-up
Order surges often mask management shortcomings, but Hongda's full launch and continuous optimization of SAP and BIP systems shows a clear understanding of management complexity after scale expansion. In H1, 11 new or revised systems were established, covering risk control and refined management—uncommon in a high-prosperity period where most companies focus on expansion while ignoring internal controls. From an industry perspective, as equipment companies shift from selling single machines to selling complete lines plus services, contract cycles lengthen, overseas variables increase, and digital management capability directly determines gross margin stability.
For peers, this is a signal: competition in nonwoven equipment is moving from single technical parameter comparison to comprehensive capability competition in technology, delivery, service, and management. Companies that only bet on a single hot equipment and lack system integration and overseas service networks may lose profits during delivery even with full order books.
Implications for buyers and foreign trade enterprises
From a buyer's perspective, the current order surge implies longer delivery times, so planned procurement is more stable than emergency procurement. Meanwhile, the progress of green fiber pilot projects suggests raw material structures will change in the next 2-3 years, so equipment selection should reserve process flexibility. For foreign trade enterprises, Hongda's experience in Turkey and Poland shows that acceptance of Chinese spunbond equipment is increasing in EU-neighboring markets, but localized service capability is the key.