Qiangbang New Material IPO Innovation Drives New Quality Productivity and Empowers the Printing Industry to Thrive

China Listed Companies Network/Article

The packaging and printing industry is an important industry of the national economy, with the blueprint of Chinese-style modernization slowly unfolding, how to build a new quality of productivity has been in its development process of the "must answer". Focusing on the packaging and printing industry, Anhui Qiangbang New Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Qiangbang New Materials), as a leading brand focusing on the research and development, production and sales of printing plates, is helping the packaging and printing industry to move towards high-end, intelligent and green with its forward-looking layout and precise reform strategy.

At present, Qiangbang New Materials is about to set sail in the main board market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and this milestone leap is not only the broadening of financing channels, but also a major adjustment of its development strategy. This means that Qiangbang New Materials will officially enter a new stage of development driven by "industry + capital", accelerate industrial upgrading and technological innovation through the power of the capital market, further consolidate and expand its leading position in the industry, jointly promote the innovation and application of new material technology, and contribute to Chinese modernization.

Focus on high-end fields and cast a leading position in the industry

Qiangbang New Materials focuses on the R&D, production and sales of printing plates, and is committed to providing customers with printing plate products with excellent performance, realistic printing effects, high print resistance and stable performance. After years of R&D accumulation, the company has built a relatively complete printing plate product system including thermal CTP version, UV-CTP version, green environmental protection version, photosensitive resin flexographic plate, PS plate, etc.

With the improvement of domestic environmental protection standards and the progress of green printing technology, including the improvement of green plate making, green printing process, VOCs recycling and treatment, etc., the printing industry in mainland China is developing in a more environmentally friendly and green direction. In the offset printing plate market, the green CTP plate does not need to be rinsed with chemical reagents, which avoids the emission of volatile harmful substances, so it is more environmentally friendly. In addition, compared with traditional plates, the green CTP plate reduces the post-processing process, simplifies the production process, makes the operation more convenient, saves time and costs, and avoids performance fluctuations in the chemical development process. Therefore, the green and environmentally friendly plate will promote the sustainable and stable development of offset printing technology.

For a long time, the competition in the global flexographic plate market has been mainly concentrated in overseas leading companies, such as United States DuPont, Flint, Asahi Kasei, etc. In terms of market share, these foreign companies still dominate. As of 2023, only a few domestic enterprises represented by Qiangbang New Materials have the mass production capacity of flexographic plates. According to the data provided by the Printing Equipment Branch of the China Printing and Equipment Industry Association, during the period from 2020 to 2023, the sales scale of Qiangbang New Materials ranked second in China and the top five in the world.

Open a new pattern of competition in printing plates

In the printing plate market surrounded by foreign capital, how does Qiangbang New Materials achieve global competition and maintain the forefront of the industry? Looking back on the development process, Qiangbang New Materials has never stopped exploring, and the innovation gene runs throughout. As a benchmark enterprise in the industry, daring to be the first to seek breakthroughs is the "only way" for Qiangbang New Materials to always maintain its development potential and upward vitality.

Since its establishment, Qiangbang New Materials has been focusing on the application of photosensitive materials in the field of printing plates. With the in-depth research on the formulation of photosensitive materials and the accumulation of production experience, the company has mastered the formulations of photosensitive adhesives applied to all core products (including the specific composition and proportion of main materials, auxiliary materials and solvents), and has the ability to optimize the formula and supporting production processes and equipment, thereby improving the production efficiency. In terms of flexographic plates, through the introduction and training of the core technical team, the photosensitive materials used by the company are independently developed and produced, becoming one of the few domestic manufacturers that have mastered the key materials and core technology processes of flexographic plate production.

After years of accumulation, the company has formed certain R&D technical advantages, and built a relatively complete printing plate system, covering thermal CTP version, UV-CTP version, green environmental protection version, photosensitive resin flexographic plate, PS plate, etc.; At the same time, it has accumulated rich technical experience in the formulation, proportion, electrolysis, sealing, coating and other process control of chemical reagents at all stages of printing plate production, and has mastered the production process and core technology of main products. As of the signing date of its prospectus, the company has 86 patents, including 29 invention patents, showing the company's strong technological innovation capabilities.

After years of growth, Qiangbang New Material's products have covered almost all offset printing plates and flexographic plate categories. The printed plate produced has excellent dot reproduction, which can accurately restore the graphic information in the original; Excellent inking ability to ensure that the ink is fully displayed on the surface of the substrate; and long-lasting print durability, which allows the same set of plates to be reused more times. Compared with domestic companies in the same industry, the company has been in a leading position in the research and development of photosensitive materials, and its products have the strength to compete with internationally renowned enterprises such as Fujifilm in Japan, DuPont in United States, Agfa and Flint in Europe.

Innovation and development to lay a solid foundation for development

In fact, for the printing plate industry, the concept of new quality productivity is concretized and put into practice, which means that enterprises must promote and achieve coordinated development at multiple levels at the same time. This is not only a process of technological innovation, but also how to effectively integrate these technologies into product development, production processes and service models to create solutions that truly meet the needs of the market.

Qiangbang New Materials actively implements scale effect and has become one of the largest printing plate manufacturers in China. The company has 7 offset plate production lines, with an annual production capacity of 80 million square meters. In the procurement process, large-scale production has improved the overall bargaining power of the company's raw material procurement and reduced the procurement cost; In the production process, large-scale production reduces material loss, better controls production costs, and further ensures the stability of product quality. With excellent product strength and cost performance, it has greatly promoted the application and popularization of "green environmental protection" printing methods in China.

At present, Qiangbang New Materials has established a complete sales network across the country, and gradually expanded to the international market, and established a sales and service system in Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia and other regions. Its products have been sold to 28 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, as well as more than 60 countries and regions abroad.

With its excellent technological innovation capabilities and profound industry accumulation, Qiangbang New Materials has won wide recognition in the market. The company is a national high-tech enterprise and a national specialized and special new "little giant" enterprise, attaches great importance to technological innovation and R&D investment, continuously improves the company's R&D level and innovation ability, and won the title of "Top 50 Specialized, Specialized and New" in Anhui Province.

The growth dividend is obvious, and the future prospects are promising

There is no doubt that the printing plate industry is an area full of sustainable growth potential, which provides a broad imagination space for the future development of the industry leader Qiangbang New Materials, and the dividends of growth are obvious.

In 2022, the total output value of the mainland's printing industry reached 1.42 trillion yuan. This figure is expected to grow to 1.61 trillion yuan by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.16% during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. In order to promote the high-quality development of the printing industry in mainland China during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period and effectively promote the construction of a printing power, the National Press and Publication Administration has formulated the "Special Plan for the Development of the Printing Industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period", and put forward a grand goal: by 2035, the output value of the printing industry in mainland China will rank first in the world.

Judging from industry data, as of June 30, 2022, the cumulative installed capacity of domestic unit-type flexographic printing machines has reached 3,467 units, of which 2,816 are Chinese-made printing presses, accounting for more than 80%. Of the 231 new printing presses added in 2022, domestic printing machines accounted for 217, while imported printing machines accounted for only 14. With the continuous improvement of the performance of domestic equipment, this has effectively promoted the growth of the market share of domestic flexographic printing machines and created new development opportunities for domestic flexographic plates.

Looking forward to the future, with the successful entry into the capital market this time, Qiangbang New Materials will closely follow the trend of the times, actively embrace the national policy orientation, uphold an open and inclusive attitude and innovative and enterprising spirit, and rely on the guidance of new quality productivity to drive the packaging and printing industry to move steadily towards a more environmentally friendly and green direction.