Recent industry cases show that in some mainstream weaving machine sectors, especially in air-jet looms, the core performance of domestic equipment has indeed approached or even reached the level of imported products. Moreover, with their extremely high cost-effectiveness and rapid service response, they are achieving large-scale domestic substitution.
The progress of domestic equipment did not occur overnight. There are several key driving forces behind it:
The success of the "joint equipment research" model: Taking the cooperation between Zhejiang Wanzhou and Qingdao Haijia as an example, the textile enterprise opened up its 20-year accumulated production process database and jointly proposed over a hundred improvement suggestions with the manufacturer. As a result, the efficiency of domestic jet looms increased by nearly 20% within four years. This close upstream and downstream linkage has accelerated the technological iteration.
The ultimate cost-performance advantage: When the core performance is similar, the domestic equipment is approximately half the price, which is highly attractive to textile enterprises and can significantly shorten the investment return cycle.
Achieving superiority in certain specialized fields: For instance, in the field of spinning equipment, Yichang Textile Machinery's K3501H type direct twisting machine has completely replaced imported equipment, with a market share exceeding 65%, and its quality indicators have reached the international leading level.
Objective perspective: Areas where the gap remains
Although there has been significant progress, in some fields with extremely high requirements for integrated technology, domestic equipment still faces challenges:
Ultra-high-end and special models: For special frame looms used in weaving heavy-duty industrial fabrics (such as canvas and filter cloth), imported brands still hold a dominant position due to their unique technologies (such as a switchable weft insertion system and a wefting force of up to 5.5 tons).
Basic research and cutting-edge technologies: In terms of the long-term durability of materials, the operational stability under extreme conditions, as well as the original innovation of next-generation intelligent and flexible production systems, international leading brands still have a profound accumulation.
For enterprises considering equipment procurement, they can make decisions based on the following approach:
Choose domestic equipment: If your production mainly focuses on mainstream areas such as cotton weaving, home textiles, and regular clothing fabrics, and you are sensitive to investment returns and require rapid and flexible local service support, then the current high-performance domestic looms are an ideal and economical choice.
Considering imported equipment: If your products fall into specialized fields such as extremely high-end fashion, technical textiles, industrial fabrics, etc., and if there are extremely strict requirements for the extreme performance and absolute stability during long-term operation, and if your budget is sufficient, then importing high-end models remains an important option.
In summary, domestic looms have demonstrated strong competitiveness in the mid-to-high-end mainstream market and have achieved a leap from "usable" to "easy to use". However, at the top of the technological pyramid, it will still take time to fully lead the field.