Hangzhou, Zhejiang – Polyurethane leather developed and made by Anhui Anli Material Technology was used in the seats of delegate transportation vehicles for the G20 Summit held earlier this month in Hangzhou.
With 10 to 20 years’ lifetime, Anlli claims its PU leather has world-leading performance in hydrolysis resistance, aging resistance and lightfastness. It is also odourless with low VOC emission, the firm said.
China has been tightening its rein on less eco-friendly manufacturers. According to Anli, at of the end of 2015, nearly half of PU leather facilities in Wenzhou, the country’s hub for the segment, were shut down for good.
China’s total PU leather production volume dropped 6% last year compared with 2014; export value declined by 0.4%. Roughly 20% of the country’s manufacturers in the sector have either closed down or been acquired by larger competitors.
Based in central China’s Hefei, Anhui, Anli is the country’s largest maker of eco-friendly, functional PU leather with 70kT/year PU resin capacity and 70m m/year capacity – 19 production lines for the dry process and 18 for the wet process – and 18.5m m/year additional facilities in progress, the company told UTECH-polyurethane.com.
“Eco-friendly, functional PU leather is a well-integrated, agile segment” and will outgrow the overall sector, said the company’s half-year report.
Exporting to 70 countries, the company has been supplying to international brands including Nike, Adidas and Samsung, covering applications such as shoes, home furnishing, handbags, sporting goods and packaging.
Over the first six months of 2016, the company posted a 28% year-on-year jump in net profit to CNY 33m ($5m) on a 4% rise in revenue to CNY 673m.
“Synthetic leather makers and downstream clients are moving from coastal China to inland areas, which will bring us increasing regional advantage and more opportunities,” said the half-year report.
Exchange Rates: Xe.com 21 September 2016.