With the rapid development of the household appliance industry, enterprises living upstream and downstream of the industrial chain are constantly seeking opportunities in the tide of industry development, riding the wind and waves, and raising their sails. Unlike those hot fields, in recent years, the field of mechanical thermostat production can be said to be unremarkable. However, in the face of huge market demand, mainstream manufacturers have carefully deployed and firmly grasped every development opportunity, still driving smoothly on their own routes.
In January 2022, the reporter from "Electrical Appliances" focused on the production field of mechanical thermostats for household appliances. While understanding the development trend of this industry, changes in supply and demand relationships, and technological research and development trends, he felt the determination and progress of traditional household appliance supporting enterprises.
Maintain steady performance growth and seek opportunities to accelerate development
Mechanical temperature controllers are widely used in the field of home appliance manufacturing, and they are important components of home appliance products in the automation era. With the advent of the intelligent era, household appliances have a smart "brain" that can complete more complex anthropomorphic operations. The development of mechanical temperature controllers has encountered a "ceiling". Vertical growth has been hampered, but there is still room for horizontal expansion. The demand for mechanical temperature controllers for some traditional, popular, high-temperature, low-cost, emerging market concept household appliances is still very large. In 2021, several mainstream temperature controller manufacturers interviewed by the reporter of Electric Appliances maintained steady growth in performance, but the growth rate was less than expected. The main operating pressure came from the sharp increase in manufacturing costs caused by the soaring price of raw materials, coupled with the delayed negative impact of the COVID-19 on the manufacturing industry, which increased the instability of supply and demand in the mechanical temperature controller market.
In the field of supporting mechanical temperature controllers, Foshan Jiulong Machinery Co., Ltd. has taken over a quarter of the market share. Jiulong's product line includes capillary thermostats, rotary switches, energy regulators, intelligent control panels, temperature sensors, proximity switches, pot bottom sensors, electromagnets, and many other categories, fully supporting the production of kitchen appliances, small appliances, and white appliances. In 2021, the production of temperature controllers and switches in Kowloon exceeded 35 million sets, an increase of 15% over 2020. "In 2021, due to factors such as the increase in raw material prices and the obstruction of external export shipments for home appliance customers, Kowloon failed to achieve the set target of 25% growth for the entire year." Zhu Zhouyang, the general manager of the company, made it clear in an interview with reporters, "In 2022, there are still many uncertain factors in the industry's development. Judging from the current order situation, Kowloon has conservatively set a growth target of 15% for the entire year of 2022, and will further reduce costs, further enhance market competitiveness, and expand market share by continuing to tap potential in terms of technology, materials, efficiency, and quality."
Changzhou Fuland Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. mainly provides temperature controllers for electric water heaters, frying pans, air frying pans, electric ovens, electric heaters, washing machines, and other products. Its temperature controllers are divided into adjustable temperature controllers, temperature limiters (overtemperature temperature controllers), and KSD bimetallic sheet temperature limiters (overtemperature protection). At present, the production capacity of Flanders temperature controllers and temperature limiters reaches 46 million units per year, and the production capacity of KSD bimetal temperature limiters reaches 15 million units per year. In 2021, Flanders produced 47.29 million temperature controllers and sold 47.26 million. "In 2021, especially in the second half of the year, the environment of the home appliance market has changed dramatically, and many product categories have experienced a decline in market sales. Flemish timely adjusted its production strategy, or achieved a steady growth of 13.9% in accordance with the established goals." In fact, in recent years, Flemish has been striving to promote high-end strategies, through strict quality control of raw materials and finished products, and with Philips Arcelik and other high-end customers have established stable cooperative relationships. In 2021, Flanders passed the A.O.Smith's water heater thermostat samples were tested and a small batch order was formed.
The main products of Zhongshan Huide Temperature Controller Co., Ltd. are KST bimetal adjustable temperature controllers and hydraulic expansion temperature controllers. In 2021, the total sales of temperature controllers will increase by 20%. Chairman Wu Bin said: "In 2021, foreign trade orders for mechanical thermostats significantly decreased. From the perspective of application fields, due to the impact of the epidemic, the purchase quantity of mechanical thermostats for other household electrical products categories, except kitchen appliances, has decreased. In response to these two market changes, Huide actively adjusted its sales plans and the direction of technical personnel to fully develop mechanical thermostats that meet the demand for kitchen appliances. In addition, Huide has also vigorously invested in automated production." "Equipment, significantly increased production capacity, shortened delivery times, and worked hard on lean production management, ultimately achieving a growth in overall performance in 2021."
Changzhou Ximate Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. has built an internationally advanced production line for temperature controllers and heating tubes, which can provide customers with integrated services for the design, production, and after-sales of temperature controllers and heating tubes, and meet customer needs in a one-stop manner. Simat temperature controllers are divided into two categories: refrigeration and heating, with an annual output of 35 million temperature controllers. In 2021, Simat presented a good development momentum, setting a sales output value growth rate of 15% annually, and achieving a total output value of 600 million yuan in 2021-2023.
Pursue technological innovation and create new patterns for old products
In this era of continuous iterative upgrading and innovation to win, the technological innovation of mechanical temperature controllers seems to have posed a major challenge to production enterprises. However, according to an interview with the reporter from "Electrical Appliances", in 2021, mainstream manufacturers have proposed their own new ideas in the field of research and development in the production of mechanical temperature controllers with mature technology.
Flanders establishes an innovation mechanism, internally develops an innovation incentive system, carries out various innovative research and development projects, and improves employees' innovation awareness and ability; Participate in external research and development of complete machine factory projects, such as temperature controllers, temperature limiters, combined products, multiple sets of plug-in high current temperature limiters, etc. Chen Guowen gave further examples: "In the application field of air frying pans, some complete machine factories are switching to light wave tube heating. Flanders has proposed a dedicated temperature controller to solve the problem of high temperature control failure rate caused by high starting current, which has been recognized by its partners. Some complete machine factories export products to Europe with special requirements for plastic parts, such as flame retardant grade, leakage resistance, and marking indicators. Flanders has actively responded and developed a"Series temperature controllers that meet customer needs." In addition, in terms of manufacturing upgrades, Flanders has in recent years jointly designed and developed over 200 sets of advanced automation equipment unique to the temperature control industry, including temperature controller riveting, assembly, welding, debugging, automatic electrical performance testing, and CCD visual inspection systems. These automation equipment have greatly improved the production efficiency of Flanders. At the same time, various high-precision guidance, positioning, feeding, adjustment, testing, visual systems, and components on the automation equipment fully guarantee the quality of temperature controllers, laying the foundation for the large-scale production of zero defect products.
"The end market has new demands for component manufacturers in terms of product development and cost reduction. Therefore, Kowloon has developed several new types of mechanical temperature controllers to fully meet market demand from the perspective of new functions and costs." Referring to the product development idea, Zhu Zhouyang introduced, "Previously, a single temperature controller could only control a single heat pipe. Now, a single temperature controller can control two heat pipes, which can achieve both simultaneous control and separate control." Currently, Jiulong mechanical temperature controllers are renowned in the home appliance market for their high cost performance, reliable quality, strong ability to develop new products, and adequate technical services, with significant competitive advantages.
"In 2021, the requirements of the complete machine factory for temperature controllers have increased significantly. Focusing on the requirements for kitchen appliances and cooking food, the complete machine factory has more stringent requirements for the parameter accuracy, service life, stability, and other indicators of mechanical temperature controllers. In terms of the overall machine structure, the complete machine factory has also proposed new requirements for the installation size and multi-functional compatibility of mechanical temperature controllers. Huide has developed and applied for"The patented dual circuit temperature controller allows the entire machine to fully meet its functions and reduce costs. It has been recognized by customers and has achieved mass production." Wu Bin analyzed and said. It is understood that Huide is committed to controlling the core technology and improving the quality of mechanical temperature controllers, constantly achieving technological upgrades in the production process. In 2021, Huide achieved significant improvements in the standardization and unification of mechanical temperature controllers, multi-functional metal continuous molds, automation equipment, production processes, and other aspects.
Deeply cultivate the market and raise funds for the future
"Sailing against the current, if you do not advance, you will retreat. This is the case for seeking development in the field of mechanical thermostat production.". In this relatively dull market, the attitude of mechanical thermostat manufacturers towards the future is positive and optimistic.
"Carefully carry out the production and research and development of mechanical temperature controllers, and continuously achieve all-round improvement." A series of high-end transformation strategies have driven Flemish's performance growth, and have also given Chen Guowen confidence in 2022, He said, "In 2022, Flanders' production and sales target for temperature controllers is 50 million units (including KSD temperature limiters). In 2021, we will invest in a new production base with an annual production capacity of 15 million temperature controllers. At the same time, we are building a temperature controller production workshop with a total area of 10000 square meters. In 2022, the old temperature controller production line will be moved to a new production workshop, and the new production line will optimize the process, making it smoother and cleaner." Closely following the national "dual carbon" strategy, Flanders has started to investigate the company's carbon emissions and plans to install 5000 square meters of photovoltaic panels on the roof of the plant.
Entering 2022, Wu Bin was full of confidence and told the reporter of "Electric Appliances", "Huide will continue to increase its investment in technology research and development and production automation. We are concerned that household appliance enterprises are digging deep into consumer demand and developing diversified small household appliances, with new categories emerging constantly. Huide will more actively cooperate with the product development and testing of the complete machine factory to strive for more development opportunities." In 2022, Huide plans to complete the planning and construction of its own factory building, and build a standardized factory building tailored to the production needs of temperature controllers. In addition, Huide will further expand the staffing and equipment allocation of the R&D and technical departments in 2022, and improve the professional testing level of temperature controllers.
In addition to further expanding its competitive advantage in the field of mechanical thermostats, Kowloon will also further promote its product diversification development plan. In the face of the business opportunities presented by intelligent appliances, Kowloon will further upgrade its strategic layout in the field of intelligent controllers. According to Zhu Zhouyang, in the future, Kowloon will also enter the field of intelligent non-contact sensing, such as millimeter wave radar. He said, "The development of component companies comes from the progress of science and technology. We will closely follow the market demand, always grasp the pulse of the industry, and provide more practical and intelligent products for home appliance manufacturers." According to data provided by enterprises, in 2021, the output of intelligent controller products in Kowloon will reach 5 million sets, an increase of 50% compared to 2020; The output of sensor products reached 8 million sets, an increase of 60% over 2020.
