Pan Wei of the China Commercial Federation Laundry and Dyeing Committee: The development potential of China's laundry and dyeing industry is enormous

On November 15, 2012, the "Xuhang Forum: Transformation and Development of Made in China," hosted by Shanghai Hangxing Machinery (Group) Xuhang Laundry Technology Management Academy and co-organized by the China Commercial Federation Laundry Committee, China Light Industry Association Laundry Equipment Branch, and the International Textile Care Committee (CINET), was grandly held at the Tiangmu Lake Hantian Resort Hotel in Jiangsu. Pan Wei, Secretary-General of the China Commercial Federation Laundry Committee; Shao Shan, HR Director of Hangxing; Mr. P.N.M. Wennekes from the International Textile Care Committee (CINET); Liu Shaoxuan, Associate Professor and PhD Supervisor of the Operations Management Department at Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Ji Rui, Researcher at the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center of the Ministry of Finance and PhD in Economics, and others attended the forum.

At the meeting, Pan Wei, Secretary-General of the China Commercial Federation Laundry Committee, delivered a congratulatory speech for the event, stating:

Pan Wei, Secretary-General of the China Commercial Federation Laundry Committee

The following is a live report from HC.com Cleaning web reporter's on-site record:

Thank you! Teachers! Industry colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon!

First, on behalf of the China Commercial Federation Laundry Committee, I sincerely congratulate the convening of the Xuhang Forum: Transformation and Development of Made in China and the Hangxing 2012 Annual Supplier Seminar!

Having the opportunity to meet everyone, I first want to say that Hangxing, as a leading enterprise in China's laundry equipment manufacturing industry, enjoys wide recognition and a good reputation both domestically and internationally. It is a vibrant team full of ideals and innovation. Hangxing has been honored for three consecutive years in the national laundry industry brand survey, and General Manager Xia Xinjun was recently awarded Outstanding Manager at the China Laundry Awards Ceremony.

Hangxing's independently developed SGS system was rated as a trustworthy product in the national laundry industry in 2012.

Hangxing Group has cooperated with the association for many years, including President Xue, who is also our association's deputy director. On this occasion, I also express our sincerest thanks to President Xue and all colleagues at Hangxing. Thank you, Hangxing people!

President Xue just told me that at the 18th National Congress, seven standing committee members were elected this morning, monopolizing the spotlight. This afternoon, President Xue led all senior executives of Hangxing to meet with friends and suppliers here. I think Hangxing's event is very timely. As everyone welcomes the 18th National Congress and its grand closing, this meeting was held. Later, several experts will join us to discuss and interpret the transformation and development of Made in China, as well as the essence of the 18th National Congress.

Next, I want to talk about a few points that may not be very relevant to suppliers. I hope to play a role in inspiring discussion and provide some information or an overview of the industry's development and status for suppliers to better understand China's laundry industry.

First, the potential for development in China's laundry industry is enormous. According to our rough estimates, there are about 300,000 laundry enterprises, laundry factories, laundry plants, and laundromats above designated size in China, employing nearly 1.5 million people across the industry. The annual washing capacity is 3 billion pieces, with an annual turnover of 60 billion RMB and an annual growth rate of over 10%. Due to the large population base and rapid economic growth, China has now become a major international laundry industry country. With the acceleration of urbanization and improvement of residents' living standards, the domestic market demand in China is huge.

Second, the specialized pattern of China's laundry industry has initially taken shape. Various laundry service models are all present in China and naturally integrated through market regulation. We divide China's laundry and laundry service industry into two major categories: the first is washing of personal clothing, and the second is washing of public textiles. Everyone is familiar with personal clothing washing. Currently, there are roughly three business models for personal clothing washing: one is laundromats or full-service stores with front shop and back factory models; another is laundry factory models, central laundry factories, meaning many collection points on the street collect clothes to be washed at a central factory; and the third, which has developed rapidly in recent years and is familiar to many friends who have lived abroad, is the self-service laundry model.

Regarding public textile washing, there are two main categories: one is pure public textile washing, such as for catering, hospitals, trains, etc.; the other includes rental services within public textile washing. This is currently being explored domestically. Suppliers serving Hangxing enterprises, especially within the SGS system for public textiles, have achieved many accomplishments in the industry and are closely related to you.

Third, the legal and regulatory framework has been established. In recent years, China's laundry industry regulations have indeed made great progress compared to previous years. Perhaps in the past, people complained about poor laundry quality and didn't know where to turn. Now, there has been significant improvement in this regard.

Fourth, technical training has received attention. Under the leadership of national and local policies, and driven by local associations and well-known enterprises, various forms of training and technical exchange activities have shown a positive trend. Especially the founding of Hangxing Xuhang Academy aligns with industry development needs and reflects Hangxing's foresight and social responsibility in laundry industry management. As Director Shao said: technology is created by talent, so we focus particularly well on talent.

Fifth, self-service innovation capability has become a new driving force for industry development. Over more than a decade of rapid laundry market development, competition has been fierce, with continuous new products, new service models, and new service concepts entering the industry. On one hand, enterprises need these for their own development; on the other hand, the market demands more and higher requirements from enterprises. Having core technology and creative ability is a source of enterprise development.

Hangxing's SGS system currently serves as a representative in equipment research, development, upgrading, and integration, reflecting not only our scientific research capabilities but also Hangxing's innovation ability and philosophy.

Sixth, association organizations have gradually become more prominent, with their roles increasingly evident in the industry. Currently, there are about sixty organizations related to the laundry industry nationwide, and most provincial capitals and provinces have their own association organizations.

Seventhly, there are still quite a few problems, mainly reflected in somewhat blind expansion. Another issue is unstable quality, especially the instability in washing quality, shortage of skilled workers, and relatively high disputes. Low-end equipment floods the market, and safety accidents occur frequently. Everyone has heard about these. This year and even last year, many washing machines were indeed produced by some non-standard and technically unqualified enterprises, which has caused painful lessons for the industry and the laundry service sector.

I think all these issues deserve serious attention from our washing equipment manufacturing enterprises, including all the suppliers present here. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party also proposed to accelerate the transformation of rural population into urban population and speed up policies to enrich the people. The laundry industry has huge development potential, which will drive the development of our washing equipment manufacturing industry and also promote the growth of supplier enterprises.

Secondly, taking this opportunity, I would like to share some preliminary opinions on the Xuhang Laundry Technology Management Academy! I am very honored to speak a few points as a specially appointed consultant of the academy.

Reflect the characteristics and advantages of Hangxing, and run an academy with its own unique features. I have summarized what Hangxing's characteristics actually are. I think they are specialization, knowledge, and youthfulness.

Specialization means that Hangxing has a strong team for washing equipment production and R&D, with leading technology in the laundry industry, especially in washing equipment manufacturing. The explanation of washing equipment knowledge is also more authoritative. This advantage is something that Hangxing and Xuhang must highlight.

Secondly, knowledge: the lecturers at Xuhang Academy have a high level of knowledge. The entire Hangxing management team is rare among enterprises in China's laundry and washing equipment manufacturing industry. Moreover, we have very extensive international exchange channels, allowing us to obtain the most cutting-edge industry information. Today, Mr. Peter Wennekes was also invited here, which reflects Hangxing's internationalization and knowledge orientation. I believe we have the ability to impart this knowledge to students, giving them freshness, foresight, and updated concepts.

Thirdly, youthfulness: I have visited Hangxing's office building twice, and was greeted by smiling faces, which shows Hangxing's vitality, confidence, and youth. Youth means creativity and a better future for development.

Hangxing should determine its teaching plans and course offerings based on its advantages and characteristics, using forward-looking knowledge, advanced concepts, and practical management experience to train excellent enterprise managers. I also have one suggestion: we should cover high-end, mid-end, and low-end levels, especially in this aspect. I think Hangxing has a strong advantage here. While we hold such a high-end forum today, we should also strive to cultivate more foundational talents for the industry. I believe Hangxing has this advantage, but we need to reflect this in course design, forums, and training exchanges to adapt to these characteristics. Because the quality of our industry is well known, it includes high-end talents as well as very grassroots employees with relatively low educational levels. We also need to train these people, who are the future of our industry and potential clients of Hangxing.

In a word: we should be able to drink whiskey as well as Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor). Thank you all!