Brass valves are generally classified into brass ball valves, gate valves, globe valves, throttle valves, instrument valves, plunger valves, diaphragm valves, plug valves, butterfly valves, check valves, pressure reducing valves, and safety valves, steam trap, regulating valve, bottom valve, filter valve, drain valve, etc.

According to the main parameters, it can be classified by pressure, which can be divided into vacuum valve low pressure valve, medium pressure valve, high pressure valve and ultra-high pressure valve;Classified by brass valve material, it can be divided into non-metallic material brass valve, metal material brass valve and metal brass valve body lining brass valve.

Brass valves are widely used in high, medium and low pressure systems such as tap water, sewage discharge, cold and heat supply and gas oil supply pipelines. The largest users are the petrochemical brass valve industry, power sector, metallurgical sector, chemical brass valve industry and urban construction sector.The brass valve industry covered by this research report also includes pipe fittings matching with brass valve products.

China's brass valve industry has a 30-year history of development. It has a better resource allocation environment and lower labor costs.  Developed countries take China as the main transfer target and production and procurement base for brass valve product manufacturing, while Ningbo As a domestic "China brass valve boutique production (purchasing) base", the location advantage of the brass valve industry is very obvious. Moreover, China's brass valve plumbing products are gradually developing from high-end to high-end, and there is a large space for development. According to statistics The development rate of China's brass valve industry is generally around 15%, while China has been growing at a rate of 20-35% in the past few years. After deducting the factor of brass price increases, it still grows at an average rate of about 9%. 

Affected by the economic downturn, the growth rate has slowed down significantly, but the status of the brass valve industry in the country is still unshakable. China's brass valve industry accounts for 25.55% of the total industrial output value, and more than 90% of the products are exported. According to statistics, in 2011, the province's brass valve industry is expected to achieve a total output value of 45.2 billion yuan, of which the enterprises on the scale of China's brass valve industry are expected to achieve an output value of 24.87 billion yuan (without excluding the copper price factor), an increase of only 2.3% year-on-year. Among them, foreign trade exports were 1.426 billion US dollars, an increase of 9.9%.

The price of copper in China changes with the copper futures loan market in London and Shanghai, and has been integrated into the international copper raw material market. At present, the world's copper exporting countries mainly include Chile, Zambia, Peru, Zaire and other countries; the main copper consuming countries are the United States, China, Japan and the European Community and other countries; several major countries and regions producing brass valve plumbing, Such as Italy, the United States, Taiwan, India, and Vietnam, their copper resources have no obvious advantages compared with mainland China.

The technical equipment required for the production of different brass valve products is different. Due to the difference in specifications and sizes of brass valve products, in order to improve the sealing performance of the product, the small and medium-sized products are generally manufactured by the red punching process, and the large-scale brass valve products are generally manufactured by the red punching process. Casting process manufacturing,

Due to the high technical and environmental protection requirements of the electroplating process, all brass valve products are processed by local and surrounding professional electroplating enterprises; regarding the process of smelting copper rods from waste copper, most brass valve enterprises currently need to produce professional copper rod processing enterprises. , and individual enterprises are processed by themselves.

According to relevant information, the annual global demand for brass valves is about 100 billion US dollars, of which the United States is 16 billion US dollars, Western Europe is 20 billion US dollars, the Middle East is 16 billion US dollars, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia are 20 billion US dollars, and other countries are expected to be about 28 billion US dollars. . The specific manifestations are: Europe and the United States are in the forefront of the world economy, their old infrastructure is constantly being renovated, and living conditions pay more attention to high-end and comfortable living conditions. It has brought new demands to the development of the brass valve industry. However, due to the impact of the financial crisis and the European debt crisis, household consumption and market demand began to decline; It will be mainly reflected in the increase in infrastructure construction; in addition, the global industrialization level will increase, especially the rapid development of the automobile industry, the increase in the demand for petroleum energy, and the oil exploration in the Middle East will require a large number of pipeline brass valves. The demand for pipe brass valves is still very large; and the reconstruction of some post-war countries will also greatly stimulate the sales of brass valve products.

At present, the total annual demand of China's brass valve market is no less than 15 billion yuan. This huge market is a huge business opportunity for any internationally renowned brass valve manufacturer. At the same time, in order to ensure the coordinated development of the economy and the needs of improving people's lives in the future, China will inevitably put the construction of infrastructure, such as water, electricity, gas, and heat, as the top priority. This is precisely where the brass valve is used. Therefore, as a Chinese brass valve market which is still a new type rather than a replacement type, the potential and explosive power of its demand will be amazing. In the future, the development prospects of the domestic market of China's brass valve industry are still very optimistic.

This is mainly due to: 1. The support of national policies. With the gradual advancement of the country's policy of accelerating the revitalization of the equipment manufacturing industry, the development of the general basic manufacturing industry will receive further key support. 2. The strong market demand for brass valve products, the sustained and stable development of the state-owned economy, and the gradual expansion of fixed asset investment. By 2015, China's brass valve market will be 10% larger than the U.S. market and four times larger than Japan's. Buyers will buy brass valves worth $2.4 billion. By 2015, three of the top 10 buyers and six of the top 20 buyers will be in Asia.

From the domestic situation, Taizhou and Ningbo are the two largest copper and brass valve production bases in China. According to relevant statistics, in 1998, brass valves accounted for 51% of the national market share. After that, the market share of various domestic regions has changed, but the Chinese market share is about 50%, and it has been awarded the "China Brass Valve Capital", "China Hardware Building Materials (Brass Valve) Export Base", "China's Brass Valve Capital" by the Ministry of Construction of the People's Republic of China. China plumbing, brass valve quality production (purchasing) base" title.

From the perspective of the international situation, Italy, Taiwan and the United States, the main bases for producing brass valves in the world, mainly produce high-grade die-casting brass valves; China mainly produces middle-grade and high-grade die-casting brass valves, and gradually develops to high-grade; Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and India mainly produce low-grade brass valves.

In the face of the new situation, comprehensive analysis of the price, variety, quality, brand, scale, market and development environment of brass valve products, the overall competitiveness of the brass valve manufacturing industry is still mixed.

Compared with other domestic brass valve production places, there is no advantage in the price of labor, water, electricity and other factors and the cost of resource conversion, but it is at a disadvantage. The average monthly wages of workers in Ningbo are 100-200 CNY higher than those in Cixi, Ninghai and Fujian. Regional reasons make the freight for raw materials and finished products 400 CNY higher than that in Ningbo. In addition, the shortage of water and electricity has exacerbated the rise in production costs. .

Ningbo's main products are medium and low pressure copper brass valves and fittings, plumbing equipment and plunger valves. Medium and low pressure copper brass valves and accessories have more than 100 varieties and more than 1000 specifications of yellow (bronze) copper forged copper valves, gate valves, globe valves, check valves, filter valves, etc., which are mainly used in tap water and sewage discharge systems. Plumbing equipment includes 100 varieties of 1000 specifications, such as bathtubs, face plates and kitchen faucets, showers, showers and hoses, radiators, floor drains, etc., which are mainly used in kitchen and bathroom drainage systems. Plunger valves are also available in mass production. Ningbo Brass Valve has a wide variety of products and complete specifications. The company can also produce products with different fineness and specifications according to the needs of customers. Therefore, it has a strong market development space.

Chinese brass valve production and processing enterprises are all private enterprises, and most of them implement corporate management, forming a first-mover advantage in the system. With this advantage, the brass valve industry economy has maintained rapid growth and has shown strong development potential. At the same time, the leading enterprises and advantageous enterprises in the brass valve manufacturing industry with a long history of development in Ningbo mainly come from original accumulation, and rely less on financial support. Therefore, such enterprises are less affected by national macro policies and have strong competitive advantages. .

After 30 years of development, in 2011, there were 50 brass valve enterprises with hundreds of millions of CNY in China, and the brass valve enterprises achieved an output value of 24.87 billion CNY (without excluding the copper price factor), accounting for 22.57% of the city's total industrial output value and accounting for the national yellow market. The total output value, foreign trade export value and market share of similar products in the copper valve manufacturing industry are more than 50%. Compared with foreign TOTO, KOHLER and other large well-known enterprises with annual sales of billions of dollars, due to the small scale of enterprises, it is difficult for China to unite many small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in and compete with large enterprises and large groups in the country's large market. .

Mechanical processing in China has a history of more than 40 years. In the 1980s, mechanical processing technicians from state-owned machinery factories went to the sea to establish brass valve factories, thus forming a brass valve industry army of 50,000 people today and a group of proficient machinery. It manufactures special machine tools for automatic production, adopts domestic leading hot forging production technology, modern practical and efficient integrated processing technology and a new generation of electroplating surface heat treatment technology. The introduction of advanced testing equipment, plumbing established a brass valve product quality testing center, strengthening the testing of the purity of raw materials, product hardness and wear resistance, to ensure the stability of product quality. At present, more than 200 enterprises have obtained ISO9002, UPC, KS and other quality system certifications. Due to the lack of high-tech production equipment and production technology, the key indicators such as the smoothness and durability of some plumbing equipment cannot reach the corresponding level, which affects the international market competitiveness of the products.

Ningbo, as "China's Brass Valve Capital" and "China's Hardware Machinery (Brass Valve) Export Base", has a certain reputation for regional brands, which can be compared with Italy's "Dragon Head Valley" and Taiwan's "Dragon Head City". However, the company's own brand in the city area is not strong, and the effect is not prominent. Even well-known companies in the domestic market, when their products enter the international market, they often borrow brands from Italy and other countries for export. . At present, the city's brass valve manufacturing industry has 8 national inspection-free products, 8 provincial-level famous trademarks and famous brand products, 15 well-known brands in China's architectural hardware brass valve manufacturing industry, 3 well-known national top ten faucet brands, and national brass There is 1 well-known valve brand and 1 export-free inspection-produced skin; there are more than 400 foreign trade authorized enterprises, and more than 250 self-operated export enterprises. The total number of various brands accounted for only 1.8% of the total number of enterprises. Due to the lack of leading companies such as TOTO, KOHLER and other internationally renowned brands, the regional brands of "China's Brass Valve Capital" lack strong support.

Export products are concentrated in the Middle East, Europe, America, South Africa and other markets, of which the total sales in Europe and the Middle East account for about 75% of the total export volume. In this way, the sales market is too concentrated, and the products are easily saturated. In addition, in terms of sales share in the international market, very few products actually enter the market through their own marketing channels, and a large number of products enter the international market through the marketing channels of foreign companies. In this way, in fact, the enterprise only earns a small processing profit, and a large amount of potential income is lost.

After 30 years of vigorous development, the product specifications and varieties of China's brass valve industry have been gradually improved, the scale of the enterprise has been continuously expanded, the management level has been greatly improved, and a serialized and specialized industrial chain has been basically formed. At present, there are more than 1,000 brass valve production and processing enterprises, and more than 250 enterprises with self-operated export rights. The entire industrial cluster has formed a supporting industrial chain of professional division of labor and cooperation from mold making to copper bar processing, forging, electroplating, sandblasting, assembly, and packaging. There are many varieties and scales of products, with three series of copper and brass valves and accessories, plumbing parts, plunger valves, more than 100 varieties of faucets, faucets, pipe fittings and more than 1,000 specifications. There are more than 500 registered trademarks of Chinese brass valve manufacturers, and more than 200 enterprises have passed ISO9002, UPC, UL, KS and other quality system certifications. CNY. China's brass valve products account for more than 50% of the market share of similar products in China. The products are exported to more than 100 countries and regions such as Europe, America, Japan, and Southeast Asia. They can also be produced according to different national and regional standards.

According to incomplete statistics, the original average profit margin of brass valve exporters in China was about 5-8%, but with the appreciation of RMB, rising labor costs, and fluctuations in copper prices, the increase in interest rates has led to an increase in financial costs, and many companies have already Entering the situation of meager profit or even unprofitability, the average profit rate of the brass valve manufacturing industry has dropped to about 3-5%, and some enterprises have already suffered losses. If the development environment of the brass valve manufacturing industry cannot be effectively improved, it will be It will bring a devastating blow to those enterprises with small scale, fierce price competition, low product grade, low technical content, and slow product replacement. The brass valve manufacturing industry will face a new round of reshuffle, and there will be survival of the fittest; After the reshuffle, the vicious competition and disorderly competition in the brass valve manufacturing industry will gradually decrease, the price competition of products will return to rationality, and the profit margin will gradually increase. The leading enterprises in the brass valve manufacturing industry will rely on their core competitive advantages. (excellent talents, high-quality product quality, strong and stable supply capacity, advanced research and development capabilities, good management level), foreign purchase orders will also focus on seeking cooperation with them, so the operating conditions of such enterprises will become better and better. , the status of the brass valve manufacturing industry will become more prominent, and the sustainable development capacity will be further enhanced.

The international and domestic overall economic situation does have an impact on the economic development of China's brass valve industry, but looking at the overall situation, the main problems facing the economic development of China's brass valve manufacturing industry are as follows.

4.2.1 Unreasonable market structure and high dependence on foreign trade. 

From the perspective of market structure, the proportion of China's brass valve industry exports is too large, and 90% is used for export. China's brass valve exports account for more than 50% of the country's foreign trade exports of similar products, accounting for half of the city's foreign trade exports. The foreign trade dependence is very high, and it is vulnerable to the impact of the economic macro downturn and the rise of the RMB exchange rate. Some enterprises even completely rely on exports, running the market on a "single leg". Faced with a sharp drop in foreign trade orders, enterprises are facing difficulties in production. Due to the ups and downs of the current world political and economic situation and many emergencies, there will still be great uncertainty in the international economic environment for a period of time in the future. In the context of the increasingly close connection of the world economy, the political and economic conditions of the countries that have links with Ningbo's foreign trade will directly affect Ningbo's foreign trade imports and exports to these countries. Therefore, adjusting the market structure in a timely manner and realizing the "two legs" walk in the international and domestic markets is the sustainable development of Chinese brass valves.

4.2.2 The international market was weak and exports continued to decline. 

In recent years, due to the existence of negative factors such as the financial crisis, the European debt crisis and the Iranian crisis, the world economy has become increasingly turbulent. Affected by the decline in international market demand, increased international trade risks, national trade barriers and market price fluctuations, the foreign trade export situation of China's brass valves in 2012 is not optimistic. Because the original export growth mainly depends on the input of land, labor, capital and other resources, as well as the export method of low price competition. At present, with the continuous increase of a series of restrictive factors such as international trade friction, energy, raw materials and the appreciation of the RMB exchange rate, the continuous and rapid growth trend of Ningbo brass valve foreign trade export will be difficult to support.

4.2.3 The advantages of development are weakened, and it is difficult to consolidate and expand. 

In China's brass valve manufacturing industry, 80% of the export products are OEM, and they do not have their own brands. They are not well known in the market and have limited influence. With the intensification of global competition, Chinese private enterprises are increasingly characterized by low starting point, weak foundation, low level and weak competitiveness. In addition, China's relative shortage of resources and rising labor costs make the original operation and management unique flexibility. The advantages are gradually weakened. In order to consolidate and develop the Chinese brass valve industry in the future, it is necessary to seek new development fulcrums, earnestly transform and upgrade, and seriously take the road of coordinated and sustainable development.

4.2.4 The low, small, scattered and weak are obvious, and the overall benefit is not good. 

From the inside of the industry, China's brass valve industry has been in a "low, small and scattered" situation for a long time, with low industrial level, small scale of enterprises, few large enterprise groups, and lack of brand advantages and core competitiveness of products. The ability to resist market risks is not strong. Due to the small and scattered enterprises, poor economies of scale, homogeneous competition in the market and fierce price competition, the profit margin of the industry has declined, and many small enterprises have operated at a loss, which has weakened the overall competitiveness of the industry. From the perspective of product structure, brass valve is a general equipment manufacturing industry, which is a labor-intensive industry with relatively low technical content, while Ningbo brass valve enterprises are mostly engaged in production and manufacturing, and their products are mainly OEM production, without independent brands, basically Staying at the bottom end of the entire industry, the high-profit R&D end and marketing end are controlled by foreign companies and distributors, so the profit is very low. It does not have active pricing power in international trade negotiations, so it is difficult to choose an effective contract currency, add contract terms, adjust prices or interest rates, and always be in a passive state when dealing with transaction risks.

4.2.5 Insufficient scientific and technological innovation capability, and the market economic order needs to be quickened to guard against. 

Most enterprises in Ningbo lack the capability of independent innovation, and those who carry out innovation activities simply imitate innovation. There are only 8-10 companies in China, which have established specialized R&D institutions and R&D personnel, and the annual average research and development of new products is very limited. In addition, there is disgusting competition among companies to compete for customers by lowering prices. Although the brass valve manufacturing industry association has been established, the association lacks the means to effectively prevent vicious competition, resulting in the loss of the company's initiative in external quotations. The result is a prolonged period of low-cost production, which seriously hinders industrial upgrading.

4.2.6 The lag in platform construction restricts industrial agglomeration. 

China's high cost of water, land, roads, electricity, wages and other factors, coupled with the slow progress of China's industrial infrastructure construction, and many places in the mainland through the government's transfer payment funds, actively invest in infrastructure construction, resulting in the continuous increase of Chinese enterprises' out-migration. To a certain extent, the effect of Ningbo's characteristic industrial cluster has been weakened.

4.2.7 It is difficult for small enterprises to obtain financing and lack of development potential. Due to the small scale of small enterprises, the general customer resources, the lack of original accumulation, the lack of obvious competitive advantages, and the lack of or no collateral, the guarantee method cannot be solved, so even in the case of an order, it is still impossible or difficult to obtain Bank financing limits the further development of enterprises.

The economic development situation of China's brass valve industry in 2012 and the future: Only by concentrating on the transformation and upgrading of the industrial economy and continuously promoting the development and growth of the advantages of China's brass valve manufacturing industry can we ensure the sound and rapid economic development of China's brass valve industry.

5.1.1 The market has changed from being dominated by foreign countries to coordinated and synchronous development at home and abroad. Guide and encourage enterprises to walk on "two legs", continue to encourage enterprises to participate in overseas exhibitions, increase support for enterprises to set up sales platforms and registered trademarks overseas, and promote a group of foreign trade enterprises to set up regional marketing departments or trading centers overseas. At the same time, efforts should be made to expand the domestic market, especially to guide powerful enterprises to create a domestic brand marketing system to optimize the market structure and avoid market economic risks. Adhere to "going out, please come in", and carry out brand building at multiple levels and through multiple channels. Fully conduct market saturation surveys, combine the company's own marketing strength, select cities with good radiation for plumbing valve products, promote the government-led and enterprise-based group exhibition model, and enhance the overall regional brand of "Yuhuan Valve"; plumbing valve enterprises should Strive for government support, create famous and high-quality products at all levels and inspection-free products, set up offices and marketing centers in various places, register trademarks abroad, enter large building materials chain supermarkets, and start the company's own brand; set up a valve plumbing product display base platform to focus on our county. The products, technology and management of well-known plumbing valve companies regularly invite domestic and foreign valve purchasers and engineering contractors to visit and negotiate; while constantly exploring the domestic market, continue to pay attention to the foreign market, and adhere to the "two legs" of paying equal attention to both domestic and foreign markets. "walk.

5.1.2. Products change from low value-added to high value-added. Encourage enterprises to transfer from low-end to mid-to-high-end, from low-price technical content to higher value-added and technical content, focus on developing and upgrading a batch of high-end products that are in demand in the market and have good economic benefits, so as to form a competitive and profitable market in the market. Traditional advantages and product structure with high technology content.

5.1.3. Management has changed from extensive to refined. Increase the intensity of enterprise management training, focus on strengthening internal management, introduce talents, introduce advanced management concepts, methods and means, establish a scientific management system, change the extensive management situation, minimize the resources occupied by management and reduce management costs, and strive to improve management. To be effective.

5.1.4. The investment has changed from a speed type to a benefit type. Enterprises should be guided to invest prudently and prudently according to their own conditions, and should gradually change from investment in pursuit of accelerated development to investment in pursuit of higher efficiency, and focus on optimizing investment structure. At the same time, guide qualified enterprises to accelerate the pace of reorganization and mergers through acquisitions, equity participation, equity reorganization, asset reorganization, etc.; support enterprises to implement corporatization transformation and listing, strive to learn capital operation, and achieve development by leveraging.

5.2.1 We are committed to industrial upgrading. Relying on scientific and technological progress and government policy support and guidance, continue to extend product lines, stretch the industrial chain, and guide the valve plumbing industry from low-end to high-end: for example, from civilian medium and low pressure valves to speed up the field of industrial high pressure valves; such as from ordinary civilian valves to petroleum Development of supporting valves for chemical, nuclear power, hydropower, thermal power, pipeline transportation lines and metallurgy and other major engineering constructions; do a good job in the articles on existing civil valve products, develop environmental protection, energy saving, technical plumbing equipment; and actively provide military valves and military supporting equipment Expansion of valve field.

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