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Flooring biz aims for the sky Luxury items just a few years ago, but now available to the public at large, laminated floor boards are becoming increasingly popular in China, driving an industry that has been expanding rapidly in recent years. China produced 155 million square metres of laminated floor boards last year, compared with 130 million square metres in 2003, with this figure set to grow again this year, Gao Zhihua, executive vice-director of the China Timber Circulation Association, said recently. The product was first introduced into China's large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen from Germany, Sweden, Austria and Norway in the early 1990s. At that time laminated flooring was a feature few could afford, and dealers were known to make 300 per cent profits. But as the standard of living increased with China's expanding economy, the demand for this product only grew. With demand up, many Chinese enterprises saw an opening and began producing laminated floor boards with imported technology and equipment. China's own laminated flooring industry began in 1995 and reached a peak five years later, from 2000 to 2002, when annual growth remained at 40 per cent. There are currently about 300 laminated floor board producers in the country, of which most are located in Guangdong, Fujian and Sichuan provinces as well as Shanghai and Beijing. And the vast majority of them now use technology introduced from Europe. But to meet growing demand, they have been trying to develop their own patented equipment and technology to reduce costs. To guarantee the healthy development of the flooring industry, the Association of China Wood Flooring was established in November 1998. It acts as a bridge between the government and flooring enterprises and helps the businesses promote co-operation with foreign companies. Gao led a delegation of over 50 flooring entrepreneurs to Surfaces 2005, an international flooring decoration materials exhibition held in January in Las Vegas in the United States. "It was a good opportunity for Chinese flooring enterprises to get to know the development trends of the world market and establish business relations with foreign counterparts," Gao said. He will also accompany a delegation of American flooring business people to three flooring production bases - Shanghai, Zhejiang and Guangdong - to promote co-operation between Chinese and American flooring enterprises. In the last two years, the increasing demand for laminated floor boards has shifted from large municipalities to medium-sized cities in China. About 100 million square metres of the flooring is used annually in office buildings, shopping centres, convention centres and homes in medium-sized cities across the nation. And it's not just at home that these enterprises are making an impact, Southeast Asia and the Middle East have become the largest importers of China-made laminated flooring. About 20 per cent of the flooring produced in China is shipped to these areas every year. Other areas of the industry are also upping exports, for example, domestically-made bamboo flooring is a big seller in Europe with 80 per cent of all bamboo flooring made in China being shipped to European markets, Gao said. "China-made laminated floor boards are very close to their imported counterparts in terms of quality," Gao said. |
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