2011 China Laundry and Dyeing Exhibition Overview

The "2011 China International Laundry Industry Exhibition," jointly organized by the China General Chamber of Commerce and New Union Exhibition Service Co., Ltd., and co-hosted by the China General Chamber of Commerce Laundry Professional Committee and Guangdong New Union Exhibition Company, was held from August 4 to 6 at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing, attracting nearly ten thousand laundry industry professionals from across the country, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, as well as Europe, America, and Southeast Asia to gather in China's capital, Beijing.

The exhibition, with the purpose of "display, exchange, cooperation, and development," and the theme of "strengthening international cooperation and promoting the development of the laundry industry," focused on promoting the concepts of energy saving, consumption reduction, green environmental protection, and healthy washing. It concentrated on showcasing the latest and most advanced domestic and international water washing and dry cleaning technologies, equipment, instruments, raw materials, detergents, as well as related services such as laundry chain franchising, rental laundry services, and laundry plant design and construction, causing a strong response in the domestic laundry industry.

The event received strong support from the laundry industry associations of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, and the laundry associations of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, as well as many other provincial and municipal laundry industry associations in China. It also gained significant backing from several international organizations, including the International Dry Cleaning Association, Japan Laundry Production Agreement Association, Japan National Laundry and Sanitation Cooperative Federation, Japan Kanto Laundry Cooperative, and the Korea Laundry Industry Central Association.

This exhibition attracted over 200 well-known brands from the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Australia, South Korea, as well as mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. These included: US brands Alliance, Huebsch, Speed Queen, Cissell, UniMac, Hoffman-New Yorker, Milnor, Multimatic, Milliken, Goldman, GEP; Japanese brands Toto Folder, Sankosha, Yamamoto, YAC, Nihon Sealing, Kyosei, Rakuna, Maruso, San-ai; UK brands Andrew, Micross; German brands Transferon, Cobber, Bufa, Ecotex, Cohen; Dutch brand Goudkuil; French brands Fornet, Wistar; Spanish brands Higiensec, Unisec; Belgian brand IPSO; Danish brand Jensen; Italian brands Renzacci, Fenice, Ilsa; Australian brand Stelco; Portuguese brand Tamfelt; Korean brand Inno Clean; Hong Kong's Qili Xing; Taiwan's Yinglan; Hangxing, Weishi, Little Swan, Meilian Lihua, Zhongshi, Shenguang, Topli, Jiefeng, Oasis, Youbang, Rongchang, Riguang, Weili, and others. The exhibition scale increased by 33% compared to the previous session, with uniquely featured special booths competing to shine, creating a rich and beautiful atmosphere that highlighted the exhibition's level and grade.

Various activities during the exhibition were splendid. The "7th National Laundry Industry Vocational Skills Competition Finals" was held concurrently from August 4 to 6. Leaders and experts from the Ministry of Commerce's Service Trade Department, China General Chamber of Commerce, China Employment Training Technical Instruction Center, and provincial and municipal laundry industry associations attended the opening ceremony.

This competition is a national-level Category II competition approved by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, held every two years. It is not only the most grand and authoritative vocational skills competition in China's laundry industry but also the highest arena for laundry technology experts nationwide. A total of 142 technical experts selected and recommended by laundry industry associations from various provinces and cities competed fiercely in six projects, attracting many industry professionals to watch. It played an important role in improving the professional skills and overall quality of laundry industry practitioners in China and strengthening industry exchanges.

The forum activities were also a highlight of this exhibition. Many exhibiting companies held new product launches and technical exchange meetings, including Shanghai Weishi Laundry Equipment Company's seminar on "How the Laundry Industry Adopts Professional, Automated Equipment and Computerized Management Systems," Shanghai Hangxing Machinery Group Company's seminar on "SGS Hangxing Integrated Washing System," Germany Heinenstein Research Institute's seminar on "International Professional Washing Quality Certification RAL-GZ 992," Shanghai Qiaoliya Laundry Equipment Company's "TF and Qiaoliya Join Hands to Explore the Chinese Laundry Market," and Dalian Youbang Laundry Company's "Laundry Expert Technical Lecture," becoming excellent platforms to strengthen industry communication and promote technological progress.

The selection and recommendation activities for outstanding suppliers were especially welcomed by exhibitors. During the exhibition preparation, the China General Chamber of Commerce Laundry Professional Committee and Guangdong New Union Exhibition Company carried out the "2011 China Laundry Industry Outstanding Supplier" selection and recommendation activity. Through industry selection, 20 domestic and foreign laundry equipment and raw material suppliers, including YAC, Hangxing, Weishi, and Riguang, were awarded the title of "2011 China Laundry Industry Outstanding Supplier." The China General Chamber of Commerce Laundry Professional Committee presented honorary plaques to the winning companies and announced the list to the entire industry at the exhibition site to encourage and promote enterprises to actively innovate, improve service quality, and thus enhance the overall level of the laundry industry.

After the exhibition, the organizers conducted follow-up surveys with all participating companies. The vast majority of exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the exhibition's results and affirmed the service quality and management organization level of the organizers. Ninety-three percent of exhibitors stated that participating brought them good results and met their expectations. More than 87% of exhibitors indicated they would continue to participate next year and also provided many valuable opinions and suggestions for next year's exhibition.

Mr. Li Wenhao, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Weishi Laundry Equipment Co., Ltd.: This exhibition focused on showcasing our company's latest developed continuous tunnel drying and shaping machine, which overturns the traditional drum dryer operation, making our booth the focus of attention.

Mr. Ping Ju, Chairman of Shaoxing Topli Packaging Co., Ltd.: This is a very professional exhibition with high-quality visitors. Our on-site transaction volume was quite considerable, much better than we expected. Unfortunately, our booth application was small this year, and we brought few products. Next year, we will book a larger and more prominent booth earlier.

Mr. Sakuma Hikaru, General Manager of Wai Xin (Shanghai) International Trade Co., Ltd.: At the exhibition site, we met many new buyers, which played a certain role in helping us expand the Chinese market.

Mr. Xie Jun, Chairman of Shanghai Qiaoliya Laundry Equipment Co., Ltd.: Using this platform, we were able to fully communicate and cooperate with new and old customers at home and abroad. We will continue to support and participate in this exhibition as always.

Mr. Kim Kyung-hwi, Chairman of Korea KTE Laundry Co., Ltd.: We are very satisfied with the results of this exhibition. During the exhibition, we met many potential customers, including those interested in becoming agents for our products.

Mr. Russell Gianoli, Asia-Pacific Business Manager of Meliken Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.: This is our first tentative participation in this exhibition, and the results exceeded our expectations. Many visitors were curious about our products, and we have been answering their questions. This is a good start. Through this exhibition, we realized that products used in laundries need some adjustments to adapt to the Chinese market.

Mr. Xue Wei, Sales Manager of Hoffman New Yorker Machinery Company, USA: The staff of the organizer worked meticulously, with enthusiasm and thoughtful service, making our entire preparation and dismantling process smooth and easy.

Mr. Bao Guanghua, Chairman of Wenzhou Finnis Leather Chemical Co., Ltd.: We attach great importance to this exhibition and have achieved remarkable results. The visitors were very professional, and the onsite traffic was good. We sincerely thank the organizers.

Audience Data Statistics and Feedback

The two-and-a-half-day exhibition and concurrent events attracted 8,769 visitors from 28 provinces (cities, districts) in China, as well as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and 16 countries including Japan, South Korea, the United States, Canada, and Thailand. Among them, domestic visitors numbered 8,335, accounting for 95% of the total, while overseas visitors (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) numbered 434, accounting for 5% of the total.

Below are some visitors' comments on this exhibition:

Mr. Yan Congxiao, General Manager of Baoding Astronaut Garment Laundry Co., Ltd.: We visit this exhibition every year and feel it gets better each year. The exhibition's visitor flow, scale, and booth planning are all very good, and the competitions are also well organized.

Mr. Liang Wenxin, Director of Logistics Service Center, Zhuhai Angel Hospital: I found a piece of equipment I liked at the exhibition, and the price is still under negotiation. Labor costs are too high now, so I hope to find some good equipment to reduce staff and save costs.

Mr. Hu Qi, Deputy General Manager of Huidong Hotel, Zigong City, Sichuan Province: This is my first time visiting this exhibition, and it was eye-opening. The products displayed onsite were comprehensive and polarized, with some very high-end and some very low-end, showing a big gap. I participated in seminars and competitions and benefited a lot. The exhibition will be held in Shanghai next year, and I will continue to attend.

Mr. Zou Junjie, Chairman of Wuhan Century Shengjie Laundry Co., Ltd.: The skills competition and technical lectures were also very good, but it would be perfect if a water washing technology competition could be added. This time I mainly focused on some water treatment technology companies and gained a lot. I will consider cooperating with them later. Looking forward to next year's exhibition in Shanghai and hope it gets better and better.

Mr. Wang Chenxu, Chairman and CEO of Beijing Shangdao Mr. Leather Care Co., Ltd.: We come to visit every year. This year, we reached cooperation intentions with several companies onsite and will have further negotiations afterward. Overall, the atmosphere at the exhibition was very good.

Mr. Xie Dongsheng, Vice Principal of Ningbo Xizi Huansha Laundry Vocational Training School: I found products I was interested in at the exhibition and participated in concurrent activities, gaining a lot. I hope next year's exhibition will feature new types of chemicals and more laundry chain franchise exhibitors. I suggest the organizer hold a networking event between exhibitors and buyers to promote communication and mutual understanding between exhibitors and professional buyers.

Outlook for the Next Event

The next exhibition will be held from September 24 to 26, 2012, at the Shanghai Guangda Exhibition Center, with a planned exhibition area of 10,000 square meters and 500 booths.

The exhibition will continue to adhere to the guiding principles, purpose, and positioning of the "2011 China International Laundry Industry Exhibition." In terms of content, efforts will be made to add more high-end equipment targeting large star-rated hotels based on previous editions. Various measures will be taken to attract more foreign companies to participate and encourage the display of independently innovated products, making the content richer and more influential. Onsite supporting services will be improved to enhance service levels, and exhibitors bringing equipment will be encouraged to operate it onsite to increase the exhibition's visibility and interactivity, achieving better display effects. In buyer organization, cooperation with hotel industry associations nationwide will be strengthened to organize hotel procurement buyers, while increasing publicity and promotion targeting individual investors to attract more idle social funds into the laundry industry, gradually expanding the industry team and promoting development. Concurrent activities will add practical training courses on laundry store operation management and garment rescue, as well as visits and inspections, based on existing skills competitions, industry awards, summits, and new product launches. In publicity and promotion, efforts will be expanded abroad, especially in developing countries, gradually increasing the proportion of overseas buyers to make it a truly international industry event.