Casting Washing and Dyeing Exhibition National Brand

——Interview with Pan Wei, Secretary-General of the China Commercial Federation Laundry and Dyeing Professional Committee ▲ Director Wang Shuyuan (first from left) and Secretary-General Pan Wei (middle) of the China Commercial Federation Laundry and Dyeing Committee communicating with exhibitors
▲ The exhibition site is very popular

Talking with Pan Wei, Secretary-General of the China Commercial Federation Laundry and Dyeing Professional Committee, is a pleasant experience and a unique insight into a new field. The laundry and dyeing industry in China has developed rapidly, especially in the past decade, with increasing standardization. However, due to lagging industry management during this rapid growth, issues such as irregular operations and high complaint rates have hindered development. There is an urgent need for industry standards to be introduced to further promote the growth and strengthening of laundry and dyeing enterprises.
The laundry and dyeing industry in China has a long history, but its modernization has only spanned a little over a decade, making it a "new industry." Therefore, standards must keep pace with the rapid development of the laundry and dyeing sector. The reality is that there are no existing standards to reference, and many standards need to be developed from scratch, which is understandably challenging. The task is arduous and long-term. The China Commercial Federation Laundry and Dyeing Professional Committee (referred to as the "Laundry and Dyeing Committee") has not stopped progressing; they have begun formulating industry standards to promote standardized development of the Chinese laundry and dyeing industry and foster enterprise growth through regulating industry order.
Today, as China's laundry and dyeing industry integrates with international markets and competes directly with global laundry giants, many enterprises realize that to grow and strengthen, they must build brands and improve service quality. Pan Wei deeply understands the importance of this shift in mindset. Building a brand requires a sound industry order to support it; otherwise, chaotic management and disorderly competition make it difficult to nurture brands. Providing quality service is crucial for brand cultivation and must be done according to clear guidelines. The introduction of industry standards has profound significance for the healthy development of the industry.
Along with the development of the laundry and dyeing industry, the China International Laundry and Dyeing Industry Exhibition (hereinafter referred to as the "Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition") has grown rapidly over eleven years riding the industry's momentum. Today, compared to international exhibitions, what gaps does the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition have? How should it develop and grow?
Pan Wei said: We have our unique understanding of the global laundry and dyeing industry and well-known international laundry exhibitions. Foreign renowned laundry exhibitions, especially the Clean Show in the USA, Clean Vision21 in Japan, Texcare in Germany, and Detergents Expo in Italy, each have their characteristics and hold important positions in the global laundry industry. Compared to these, the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition has obvious gaps. However, while striving to narrow these gaps, the Laundry and Dyeing Committee vigorously develops the unique features of the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition, seeking greater development through differentiated exhibition organization.
The Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition is held alternately in Beijing and Shanghai each year, similar to Japan's Clean Vision21, which alternates between Tokyo and Osaka every December. Is the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition learning from the Clean Vision21 model? Facing doubts, Pan Wei believes that holding the exhibition alternately in these two regions is based on the development status of China's laundry industry. The laundry service industry in the north is relatively denser than in the south, and due to climate reasons, northern residents have a higher frequency of laundry. Moreover, Beijing, as the political center, easily attracts industry and public attention, and its exhibition industry is well developed. Holding the exhibition in Beijing considers both industry development advantages and regional benefits. Shanghai is chosen mainly because one of the main exhibits is washing equipment, and equipment manufacturers are mainly located in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, facilitating their participation. Additionally, Shanghai's developed economy and status as China's largest port city help attract international manufacturers and expand the international exhibition market.
The Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition has a significant gap in exhibition scale compared to internationally renowned exhibitions, compounded by the impact of domestic venue hardware facilities. To grow bigger and stronger, the biggest challenge for the exhibition is how to create distinctive features. Pan Wei deeply understands the importance of relying on the Laundry and Dyeing Professional Committee, which is also what makes the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition different from international exhibitions: the committee participates in organizing and hosting the exhibition, fully utilizing its responsibilities to carry out a series of activities, especially industry competitions led by the association. By hosting the National Laundry and Dyeing Industry Vocational Skills Competition, it cultivates national technical experts in the laundry industry, improves professional skills, and promotes industry development. As early as 2009, during the exhibition, the committee integrated various resources to hold the first "China National Laundry Festival," composed of the International Laundry Conference, exhibition, and competitions. Pan Wei said: We are not satisfied with this and should continuously innovate in development, fully exploring the role of the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition as an industry communication platform.
The composition of exhibitors at the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition also has its characteristics. Most foreign laundry industry exhibitions are dominated by equipment companies. The Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition exhibitors include not only equipment companies but also some franchise chain service providers. The display of franchise chain service brands is absent abroad, which is an innovation of the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition and a point of high expectation from Pan Wei.
Facing increasingly fierce global competition and continuous invasion by foreign exhibitions, the Laundry and Dyeing Committee and its partners are more motivated and confident. The entry of foreign exhibitions into the Chinese market indirectly reflects the huge development potential of China's laundry industry. How the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition seizes opportunities and responds to challenges is an urgent issue to be resolved.
In the next stage of the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition's development, Pan Wei places greater reliance on the committee's role. He introduced that industry standards are being formulated intensively, and the committee will further play its due role, taking the lead in standard formulation. Meanwhile, the committee will integrate resources to hold a series of training sessions, lectures, competitions, and organize related enterprises to participate in symposiums during the exhibition, strengthening industry communication and further promoting the exhibition platform effect. Encouragingly, many companies hold new product launches, signing ceremonies, and customer appreciation events annually during the exhibition, which Pan Wei hopes to see and which indirectly reflect the exhibition's effectiveness.
The 2010 11th China International Laundry and Dyeing Industry Exhibition saw high enthusiasm from enterprises, with over 20 more brands participating than previous years, especially an increase in international brands. The Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition is gradually becoming internationalized, not only reflected in exhibition area but also by the continuous participation of international brands, increasing its internationalization level. In 2011, the exhibition will move to the China International Exhibition Center, joining professional exhibitions, signaling further scale expansion and influence enhancement. Moving towards new goals.
In the next decade of development, facing challenges, the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition is becoming more mature and confident. Pan Wei said that based on its original shining features, the exhibition will innovate again in content and form, reflecting the development characteristics of China's laundry industry, possessing independent exhibition rights, truly realizing the exhibition's national brand and internationalization, operating with differentiation and specialization, and the Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition is soaring as expected by the Laundry and Dyeing Committee.

Postscript: At the end of November, it was early winter in Beijing, yet the afternoon sunlight was warm and pleasant. After a half-hour drive, I arrived at the China Commercial Federation Laundry and Dyeing Professional Committee and met with Pan Wei, the Secretary-General of the committee. Pan Wei, a former military officer, has been involved in the national laundry and dyeing industry since 2000. Just like the China International Laundry and Dyeing Industry Exhibition, which has gone through more than a decade, his military efficiency, sense of responsibility, and ambition are admirable during our conversation. His words reveal his deep love for China's laundry and dyeing industry. Pan Wei has a wish: he hopes to build the China International Laundry and Dyeing Industry Exhibition into "the exhibition of Chinese laundry and dyeing people" and make it famous worldwide. They have been working hard for more than ten years and will continue to strive to fulfill this wish.