Guangdong Carpoly
Jiangmen. By the end of 2002, the Carpoly Group formally established, with four regional companies in Guangdong, Sichuan,
Shanghai and Hebei provinces. In 2010, Carpoly Group integrated Fabrico Chemical Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Zhenggao
Industrial Co., Ltd. for IPO, and expanded the area of its business to range from paint to ink and packaging areas.
Coatings World recently had the chance to talk with Carpoly
head, Mr. Cao Shuchao to gain an inside-out perspective on the
Chinese paint and coatings industry. We discussed Carpoly’s current role in the market as
well as its plans for the future.
sion in foreign channels is very rapid. These factors give them
obvious advantages. But with the healthy and rapid development
of Carpoly, now the gap between Carpoly and these two foreign
brands is gradually narrowing.
Coatings World: What is the current size of the
Chinese coatings market?
Cao Shuchao: In 2009 the total production of
China’s paint industry added up to 7,554,400
tons, which surpassed the U.S. for the first time,
rewriting the history of the coatings industry.
With China’s accelerated urbanization and the
rapid development of industry, in the year of
2010, China’s paint industry has maintained a
considerable growth pace. The latest data
showed that the total production of Chinese
paint was 9.666 million tons, an increase of
22. 8 percent; architectural coatings represented
about 3,519,000 tons, an increase of 23. 7 percent. So the expected value of China’s coatings
industry in 2010 will reach USD $18 billion.
According to the World Paint & Coatings Industry Association
(WPCIA) and Coatings Association (PRA), the production of
global coatings in 2010 will total up to 22. 15 billion liters with
an output value of more than 1,000 billion dollars. Therefore,
China owns an equivalence of about one-fifth of global paint
production, which indicates the important position of the Chinese paint market.
CW: Do you see competition from North American and West-
ern European paint companies within China’s borders as a
threat, or does it help to set yourself apart from the competition?
Shuchao: Our biggest competitor is AkzoNobel
whose business scope is much broader than ours.
Within the powder coatings, coil coatings and
automotive coatings fields, their achievements are
much greater. However, thanks to their strength,
the competition from AkzoNobel has helped to
improve Carpoly’s standing and set us apart from
many local competitors.
Yao Ming, along with the other
members of China’s national basketball team, is featured on this
Carpoly paint product.
CW: What are Carpoly’s short- and long-term
goals in China?
Shuchao: The short-term goal of Carpoly in
China is to reach sales of 50 billion RMB by
2015. The long-term goal is to reach 100 billion
RMB ($15 billion) or more by 2020. We are con-
fident we can achieve these goals.
CW: Are there any plans to expand outside
China’s borders?
Shuchao: We have plans to expand to external
markets. In fact, Carpoly has established the International Trade
Department through which we have been conducting business
with Vietnam, South Africa, South America, Central Asia, the
Middle East and 17 other countries and regions. In the future, we
will consider the acquisition of an appropriate foreign enterprise.
CW: What is Carpoly’s market share in China in the various
markets it serves and what are your growth projections for the
future?
Shuchao: During 2010, Carpoly recorded sales of $302 million,
and became second only to foreign brands in China. In terms of
market share in China, Carpoly owns about 1.7 percent. In architectural coatings, Carpoly in 2010 had the same overall share
with production of about six million tons, accounting for 1.7
percent of the 3.519 billion tons of output.
CW: Are there any plans to partner with foreign paint companies
from North America and Western Europe?
Shuchao: Yes, if the conditions permit. We hope to acquire an industrial paint business outside China’s borders. We are looking
CW: Does your competition come mostly from other domestic
suppliers or from foreign firms who are continuously pouring
money into their China operations?
Shuchao: Most of Carpoly’s competitors come from foreign
countries, most notably AkzoNobel from the Netherlands and
Nippon Paint from Japan. They rely on continued and strong financial advertising, shaping of higher brand awareness and seizing a large number of consumers. Similarly, with capital,
technology, management and other areas, their rates of expan-
Modernized production equipment inside one of Carpoly’s plants.
