At present, 60% of the approximately 20,000 molding presses imported annually in China are precision injection molding machines. In terms of multi-layer co-extrusion molding machines, it is difficult for China's presses to accurately control the thickness of the molding machines compared with foreign presses. Among the products exported by China, the low-end products account for more than 90%. In 2003, a total of US$3.936 billion was imported into China's plastic machinery, an increase of 54.7% year-on-year, far higher than the export growth rate. In 2003, the gross output value of China's plastics machinery industry was 12.821 billion yuan, and the sales amount reached 12.206 billion yuan. Both of these two years have grown at an average annual growth rate of over 13%, and they have the world's largest press company, Haitian Group. In terms of exports, in 2003, China exported 583 million U.S. dollars worth of molding machines. During the past ten years, China’s annual growth rate of average machine exports has reached 41%. In 2003, China’s export volume of plastics machines accounted for 37.9% of the total output value of the plastics industry in the year. .
It can be seen that the gap between the level of China's plastics machinery industry and the world's advanced level is increasing. If we do not catch up with the high-tech industry as quickly as possible, China will lose the initiative in the competition of the world's presses.
Experts believe that at present, the gap between China's press industry and foreign countries is mainly reflected in the production speed, precision, and measurement and control level of presses, especially precision machines. It is not enough to rely solely on the introduction of foreign technology to bring the level of China's presses into line with the world as soon as possible. It is imperative to rely on independent research and development of cutting-edge technology to change the backwardness of China's presses. At present, on the research of environmental protection, energy saving and sustainable development, presses technology is in the same line with China's foreign developed countries. The gap is not obvious. We can start from this field and develop new energy-saving and environmental-friendly presses to develop high-end markets. The development of energy-saving presses should not only be studied from the performance of the presses themselves, but also form a chain with materials and processing technologies so as to promote the overall level of the industry. As an international research and development trend, energy-saving molding machines are not just a simple piece of energy-saving components, but they must be based on a thorough understanding of the performance of raw materials, and be based on the performance standards of the final product to develop specialized molding processes and equipment. The auxiliary equipment can achieve the purpose of energy saving. To improve the overall level of presses, it is necessary not only to develop press manufacturing technology, but also to have a high level of material R&D and technology. Therefore, press designers and manufacturers must not only have pupil mechanics but also have an understanding of the plastic processing process.
In 2003, China's press market capacity has reached about 100,000 units (sets), of which about 83,000 sets of domestic presses, and about 17,000 sets of imported presses. Although home-made presses accounted for 80% of the market's capacity, their sales accounted for less than 20% of the total press market. The single machine price of imported plastic machines is 8-10 times that of domestic equipment, and the added value is much higher than domestic machine. With the implementation of the national macro-control policies, steel prices have stabilized, and the rising trend of labor costs in China is also very obvious. Therefore, it is increasingly difficult to fight for price competition by relying on low-price, low-margin low-end products. China's plastics industry can only change the situation of “big but not strong†presses in China, and strive to increase its competitiveness in the international market.