“Stone slab is such an explosive product. It is triggering changes in the basic ecology of the ceramic tile industry and creating many pain points and difficulties for us... while creating new ecological opportunities.”
On December 24, at the first Golden Rock Award Ceremony and the launch ceremony of the 2021 "Top Ten Brands of Building and Sanitary Ceramics" guided by the Foshan Ceramics Industry Association and hosted and hosted by China Ceramics Network, the Foshan Ceramics Industry Association Dr. Yin Hong, Secretary-General and Professor of South China University of Technology, delivered a speech entitled "Stone Slab Application Market and Development".
△Dr. Yin Hong delivered a speech at this event
Zhongtaojun compiled the relevant key points based on the transcript of Dr. Yin Hong’s speech for your reference.
1
Everyone has a different opinion in the rock slab market
Dr. Yin Hong expressed his views on the slate market through three examples.
The first example is a story. A shoe merchant went to an island to inspect the shoe market. He saw that the residents on the island had the traditional custom of going barefoot for generations, and he left disappointed. Soon, another shoe merchant arrived on the island. When he learned that the islanders did not have the habit of wearing shoes, he was overjoyed and thought that there was great potential for exploration and development. Sure enough, after hard work, he achieved great success and made a lot of money.
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Second example: A leader of an industry association sent people to investigate the furniture markets around the capital and found that none of the furniture manufacturers in those furniture markets, especially the high-end furniture market, used slate. But in June, when the epidemic was first released, Dr. Yin Hong served as the host of a sanitary ware forum. He asked the secretary-general of the sanitary ware association how big the application market of slate is in the sanitary ware industry. The secretary-general replied that it was incredible. The "Four Heavenly Kings" of the industry have not yet started using rock slabs. Rock slabs are already popular. If the "Four Heavenly Kings"If it can be used, how big is the market for rock slabs?
The third example: From January to October 2020, the cumulative output of marble and granite plates nationwide was 613 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 5.48%. Many people think that this is the impact of slate on the stone industry. However, looking at the data from October alone, the national marble and granite plate production increased by 13.46% year-on-year, reaching 68 million square meters. Therefore, some people think that slate has no impact on stone. In Dr. Yin Hong's opinion, the impact of rock slabs on stone materials has not yet begun, rather than not happening.
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Some people think that the market for slate can reach 400 billion yuan - but in fact, the market for ceramic tiles currently does not have such a big market. Some people think it is 200 billion, others think it is 100 billion, and there is a very pessimistic person who says The maximum is 2 billion. Therefore, Dr. Yin Hong believes that the application market of rock slabs is a matter of opinion and wisdom.
2
How to define rock slab?
Where do rock slabs come from?
Dr. Yin Hong believes that the development and evolution process of rock slabs is: ceramic tiles → large-sized ceramic tiles + large-sized thin ceramic tiles → ceramic large slabs (thin slabs).
What is the definition of rock slab?
In Dr. Yin Hong’s opinion, So far, rock slab is just a commercial term without a complete and precise definition. Stone slab is almost another name for ceramic slab at first. It looks taller, elegant and natural, and is easily accepted by manufacturers, processors and consumers. In the minds of manufacturers, processors, and perhaps consumers, rock slabs have better post-processing properties than ceramic slabs. Only after the introduction of technical standards for rock slabs, there are clear boundaries and differences between rock slabs and ceramic slabs, or rock slabs and ceramic tiles.
3
What do you think of this new species of rock slab?
Stone slab is a new category and a hot product. There are different opinions among ceramics people when it comes to slate.
Some people say that the rock slab is a wind vent, and pigs can fly into the sky at this vent; some people say that the rock slab is a pit, and it is easy to die heroically if you step on it. To be a slate, is it to be a pioneer or a martyr?
What do you think of rock slabs?
In his speech, Dr. Yin Hong quoted a famous saying by Liang Ning, a famous product manager who is known as the "Goddess of Product Managers": "A new species with explosive development will definitely trigger ecological changes and ecological opportunities."
Dr. Yin Hong believes that “Stone slab is such an explosive product. It is triggering changes in the basic ecology of the ceramic tile industry and creating many pain points and difficulties for us... At the same time, new ecological opportunities are created ”
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Dr. Yin Hong gave an example, "(Domestic slate production lines) last year had about a dozen lines or less than 10 lines, but this year it has already exceeded 100. According to the statistics on September 30 this year, I I remember clearly that it was 88. By October 30, there were 11 more. In November, there were at least a dozen or twenty. The number in December has not been counted yet. It is estimated that it will reach 110. There is no problem at all. It is a new species with explosive development. It has a large market and wider applications. It is definitely a fully incremental market..."
4
Stone slabs have a wide range of applications and markets
Currently, slate has been widely used in many fields such as ceramic tiles, stone, kitchen and bathroom spaces, furniture industry, integrated ceilings, refrigerators, yacht decks, etc.
Dr. Yin Hong said, "Stone slabs have no boundaries. Wherever slabs are used, slabs can be found."
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Why do rock slabs have a wide range of applications and markets?
He thinks there are five main reasons: First, slate irreplaceable (as an upgraded version of ceramic tiles, slate is also Ceramics are a type of ceramics. Ceramics have shown infinite vitality in the development process for thousands of years. In the historical changes, various materials have been updated and iterated. What we see is the substitution of ceramic materials for other materials. There are almost no substitutes for other materials. Ceramics); secondly, rock slabs are made from soil, sand and gravel. Raw materials, appropriate formula, ground into slurry with water, spray-dried and granulated, pressed into shape, dried into kiln, calcined by fire, the finished product is made into porcelain, the final product is as hard as a rock, a culmination of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, known as a touch of stone The reputation of turning into gold); thirdly, slateharmless, non-toxic, no aldehyde, no residual poison; fourthly, slate span style="color:#3498db">It has appearance, quality, texture, culture, history, story, etc.; fifthly, rock slabs can be highly personalized and Unique, unlimited copies, unlimited patterns.
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In Dr. Yin Hong’s view, “porcelainBrick is a cheap and high-quality all-weather building decoration material, and slate is an all-round home decoration board with high quality and good quality. The tiled ceiling is broken up by slate. ”
5
How many pain points does rock slab have?
Dr. Yin Hong summarized the main pain points of rock slabs in his speech.
First, the speed of slateproduction (repetition, copying) far exceeds the speed of processing, home design and consumer demand, resulting in liquidation, excess, saturation, and falling into Price wars and vicious competition have made the market chaotic.
The second is that rock slabsonly have concepts, no definitions, and no standards. The boundary with ceramic slabs is not clear, and the boundary with ceramic tiles is not clear either. These problems require the introduction of strict technical specifications, standards and the implementation of adequate supervision to solve these problems.
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Third, rock slabs are difficult to process. Brittle, easy to cause cutting cracks, fragile, not resistant to impact, and potential safety hazards; hard, making cutting, chamfering, and edge grinding difficult, long processing time, and almost impossible to repair. The solution to these problems depends on the advancement of ceramic material modification technology and the improvement of processing equipment levels.
Fourth, rock slabs are difficult to package, transport, install and pave. Ceramic tiles are almost one of the few building materials and household products that have no after-sales service at all. Slate is slowly changing this attribute.
The fifth is rock slabBranding is difficult. We have to sell rock slabs to dealers, processors, material dealers, and home customization manufacturers. It is difficult to protect the market. The quality and brand height of rock slabs do not depend on which equipment or company produces them, but are more reflected in the processing details, that is, in the final product. The end products of slate have stronger brand attributes and brand value; slate manufacturing companies should process slate, and the best way to make slate home products is to fully cooperate with strategic alliances with home furnishing companies.
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Dr. Yin Hong said that if it is possible to overcome these pain points of slate, or as long as some of them are overcome, the ceramic industry will take a step forward, and ceramic companies will take another step forward.
6
What basic ecological changes will rock slabs cause?
Dr. Yin Hong believes that rock slabs will lead to basic ecological changes in five aspects.
1. Enhance the height of ceramic companies and ceramic tile brands. Due to its tall characteristics and the basic image of “no big slabs, no big brands”, rock slabs represent the strength and technical equipment of ceramic companies, and at the same time drive the improvement of ceramic tile brands. Making rock slabs is one of the ways for ceramic companies to achieve overtaking in corners.
2. Change ceramic companies’ understanding of after-sales. Ceramic tiles are almost one of the few building materials and household products that have no after-sales service at all. Slate is changing the properties of ceramic tile products, prompting transportation, paving (continuous lines, tight seams) and installation services and even the emergence of third-party service platforms.
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3. Promote the three-dimensionalization of brand, marketing and channels. Stone slabs are sold to distribution agents, material suppliers, processors, end customers and site buyers, decoration companies, designers, etc., so that the entire marketing system will be integrated.
4. Promote pan-home furnishing panelization. From large slates to small slates, slates have no boundaries, breaking the ceiling of ceramic tile applications and leading ceramic tiles to become sheet-based. Slates can be found almost everywhere where sheets are used.
5. Bring a full incremental market with a wider range of applications. With the slate as the center, the upstream includes raw materials, equipment, glaze, ink, etc., the middle includes production, sales, management talents, etc., and the downstream includes processing, design, packaging, transportation, paving, etc. All will become incremental markets.
