China Becomes The Most Important Market Of Textile Dyestuff Huntsman Group

Huntsman (Huntsman) is one of the world's largest manufacturers and marketers of special chemicals and dyestuffs, ranking the 500 largest in the world. It was founded in 1970 by Jon Meade Huntsman (Sr), mainly chemicals, plastics, automobiles, aviation, and Jon. Spin Product, shoes At present, there are more than 12000 employees, such as Nike, Adidas, and burshelon, all of whom are Huntsman's customers.

Huntsman and China are also very influential. As early as 1992, the polyurethane technology service center was set up in Shanghai. In 2006, Huntsman textile dyeing and finishing (China) Co., Ltd. was established in Guangzhou. It is worth noting that the current US ambassador to China, Jon Meade Huntsman (Jr), has briefly served as chairman and CEO of Huntsman group, and he has a Chinese name "Jon Huntsman".

In March 11th, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary establishment of Huntsman group, this reporter interviewed Mr. Paul Hulme, President of the textile and dyeing division of Huntsman group.

　　 China surpasses the US

Becoming Huntsman's most important market

In August 17, 2006, Huntsman textile dyeing and finishing (China) Co., Ltd. was established in Guangzhou, which is the inevitable result of the transfer of global textile center to Asia, especially China. At that time, Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman group, asserted that in the next 5 years, China would surpass the United States as the largest market for Huntsman business. Taking root in China shows Huntsman's great confidence and long-term vision of China's economy.

Reporter: please tell us about the development of Huntsman textile dyeing and finishing department in China.

Paul: China is the most attractive growth market for us. We now have many important production facilities and assets in China. We have expanded our R & D center in China. It is not only a local research center in China, but also an integral part of our global research center. Our technological power in Europe, the United States and India will shift to China. In terms of business composition, 55% of our textile dyeing and finishing business's global revenue comes from Asia, and 50% of these 55% come from China.

Reporter: after purchasing the textile dyeing and finishing business of Huntsman, we have reorganized its textile department. Please introduce some important changes of Huntsman in recent years.

Paul: when we bought the textile dyeing and finishing department of Ciba in 2006, the Department was almost on the verge of bankruptcy. Indeed, for the Ciba group, this piece of textile is not its core business, nor does it realize that the development of the entire textile industry has shifted from the west to the trend of Orient, so if we did not buy it at that time, it would be bankrupt like the present one. In recent years, we have made a series of adjustments in the global layout, shifting major production facilities to Asia, reducing the number of employees in Europe and North America, and attracting more talents in Asia, especially in China. After 3 years of restructuring and efforts, the business sector has now turned the corner.

Reporter: Textile dyeing What kind of situation is facing the industry? What kind of goals does Huntsman hope to achieve?

Paul: the current situation of textile dyeing and finishing industry is very unique, and it is the first time that I have met in 30 years. Desta was bought by KIRI in 2009, but up to now, their four big factories in Germany have not returned to normal operation. In addition, the company announced that it would close its textile chemicals plant in Switzerland, and it is estimated that the plant will be moved to Asia in the next two or three years. We have another competitor who has announced that we no longer do textile chemicals business. For the first time in history, three of the four big suppliers have problems, which has caused great uncertainty to customers. In contrast, Huntsman's strategic focus is very prominent. We are still focusing on the Department of textile dyeing and finishing. We hope to make full use of our competitive advantage during this turbulent period to retain our main customers.

　　 Sales revenue 5%

Research and development of green technology

Low carbon economy is a hot topic of the international community, and China is no exception. The development of low carbon economy in the textile industry is also a hot topic in the "two sessions" which were closed shortly ago. Huntsman has already been in the forefront of the world in terms of energy conservation, emission reduction, testing standards and certification system in textile dyeing and chemical industry.

Reporter: what measures will Huntsman textile dyeing and finishing department take to develop new technology and new products, so as to ensure the status of its industry leader?

Paul: actually, we have many new product reserves. The textile and dyeing Department accounts for 5% of the sales revenue every year. Especially in the past two and a half years, many R & D funds are focused on developing green technologies and products. On the one hand, our products can help customers reduce 30%~40%'s water and electricity consumption; on the other hand, our products can also help customers better meet the environmental standards, exhaust emissions less, and waste gas contains less chemicals.

Especially after a round of economic crisis, people's awareness of environmental protection is stronger. They are more inclined to choose products produced by green technology, which is exactly Huntsman's strong point. In 2009, we launched 30 new products, and more will be launched in 2010, many of which are green. So compared with our competitors, we have more advantages.

Reporter: some retail brands have labeled Huntsman on the terminal products. What are the criteria for testing and certification of these labels?

Paul: we have two kinds of cooperation with retail brands, one is dyed products, the customers use our dyed products to make the products brighter and brighter. Labels show that our dyed products are environmentally-friendly. Another category is "High IQ" intelligent products, such as Hugo Boss shirts and Lining's sportswear, all have the logo of High IQ. In the next few months, we will also launch a "Huntsman TE" brand environmental protection project with some retail brands, and our labels will also be there.

We have many technical laboratories all over the world, one in Shanghai, Panyu and Qingdao in China. These laboratories are responsible for setting up standards and testing products. If they meet the standards, they will be certified. In Shanghai, we also have a testing standard technology center for textile dyeing and finishing, so that we can complete the testing and certification function of products. In fact, this is also the benefit of our three years of reorganization. Now we have become a unified network in all laboratories all over the world, so that our technical knowledge can be shared and greatly improved the efficiency of research and development.

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　　 Differentiation strategy

Cast three competitive advantages

The chemical industry in the era of globalization is undergoing profound changes. If China has low cost advantages over the past 10 years, the cost of China now is very high. Therefore, Huntsman's development in China is based on the road of innovation and flexible adjustment of business models, so as to create a competitive advantage that rivals do not have.

Reporter: what are the advantages of Huntsman in comparison with other dyeing and chemical companies?

Paul: first of all, after 3 years of reorganization and integration, we are right. market Demand reacts faster. We have R & D centers in Asia, which can provide technical support to some key customers faster. This is the advantage that other competitors do not have. Second, we have cost advantages. The restructuring reduced our operating costs by US $20 million, which is impossible before integration. And the global supply chain. Although the chemical industry is not known for its high efficiency in supply chain management, customers actually attach great importance to this aspect. For them, price is not the only important factor, and timely delivery, quick response time, etc. We are aware of this problem. In this industry, we should say that we have done the best.