Fiberglass has become an indispensable material in modern industry due to its excellent insulation, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, and high strength. By 2025, China’s fiberglass industry has made significant progress in production scale, technological innovation, and smart manufacturing. Yet it also faces new challenges in structural upgrading and global competition. This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the industry’s current status and future development path, incorporating perspectives from the digital economy.

Industry Overview: Growing Output and Structural Optimization

In 2025, China’s total production of fiberglass yarn reached 7.23 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%. Among these, output of high-performance and special-purpose fiberglass yarn (excluding high-modulus and ultra-fine yarn) reached approximately 98,000 tons, a surge of 11.3% year-on-year. This reflects strong market demand for high-end products and opens new opportunities for fiberglass mesh manufacturers focused on high-performance materials.

Exports have also demonstrated strong resilience. Annual export volume of fiberglass and related products (excluding glass wool) reached 1.797 million tons, an increase of 3.5%. The adoption of smart manufacturing and digital transformation has significantly enhanced the international competitiveness of products such as fiberglass mesh.

The industrial structure continues to optimize, with a noticeable leader-firm effect. Three major companies – Jushi Group, Taishan Fiberglass, and Chongqing International – account for over 68% of national production capacity. They have become central forces in driving the R&D and application of high-performance products. Driven by the “Dual Carbon” goals, the proportion of low-end products is gradually decreasing, while the variety of high-performance fiberglass yarn is expanding into new applications, better meeting customized needs such as high-performance fiberglass mesh wholesale.

Technological breakthroughs have been made in several areas. Tank furnace technology, material formulations, surface treatment, automated equipment, and energy-saving technologies have reached internationally advanced levels. In particular, key technologies such as 120,000-ton roving tank furnace drawing production lines, full-furnace pure oxygen combustion, waste heat recovery, and intelligent control systems have been independently developed, laying a solid foundation for industry upgrading.

Smart applications continue to deepen. In advanced enterprises, the automatic data acquisition rate for process data exceeds 95%, and the automation adoption rate exceeds 90%. The deep integration of MES and ERP systems has significantly improved production management efficiency and the capability for customized production of fiberglass yarn.

Empowerment by the Digital Economy: Intelligent Transformation and Ethical Tech

With the rapid advancement of the digital economy, new business formats like social e-commerce and live-stream e-commerce have become “super engines” for the development of the fiberglass industry. They not only help products reach the global market but also profoundly reshape the industrial ecosystem. “AI+” is no longer just a technological tool but a core driver transforming production and organizational models.

Government departments are actively building digital platforms to efficiently connect suppliers of raw materials for fiberglass yarn with fiberglass mesh producers, removing market barriers and optimizing service chains to help businesses pursue innovation and quality. Industry associations are enhancing young talents’ understanding and promotion capabilities of building materials (e.g., the performance advantages of alkali-resistant fiberglass mesh) through public training programs such as e-commerce boot camps and entrepreneurial exchange meetings. This assists direct sales teams of mesh manufacturers and engineering mesh suppliers in reaching target customers more accurately.

In the context of rapid AI development, the global competitive landscape is undergoing profound changes. Competition among major countries in cutting-edge fields like AI and cyberspace is intensifying, with data security, cross-border flow, and algorithm governance becoming major concerns. Fiberglass enterprises also face digital compliance and ethical challenges.

“Tech for Good” serves as a fundamental principle for AI development, emphasizing that technology must serve human needs and social well-being. For fiberglass mesh manufacturers, while pursuing technological upgrades (e.g., using AI to optimize production processes) and economic benefits, it is also essential to consider their social, ethical, and environmental impacts, striving to balance progress with ethics to foster more inclusive and sustainable development.

Challenges: Shortage in High-End Supply and Uneven Smart Adoption

Despite notable achievements, China’s fiberglass industry still faces multiple challenges. The supply capacity for high-end products is insufficient; high-performance products like fiberglass mesh account for only about 1% of the total. Limited scale and inconsistent quality stability make it difficult to meet the demands of the high-end market.

In terms of core technology, gaps remain in the manufacturing processes for special fibers’ mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties, as well as in specialized sizing agents, film formers, and deep-processing technologies. The lack of high-end equipment also restricts industrial scaling.

The adoption of smart manufacturing is uneven. While leading companies are at the forefront of intelligentization, many small and medium-sized mesh manufacturers are constrained by funds, technology, and talent. They face challenges such as high costs for equipment upgrades, difficulties in technology adaptation, and insufficient motivation for transformation.

The Path Forward: Innovation, Sustainability, Intelligence, and Collaboration

To address these challenges, China’s fiberglass industry must take action in several key areas:

1. Strengthen Technological R&D: Deepen research on formulations and processes to improve product performance. Focus on breakthroughs in specialized sizing agent technology for high-performance fibers and promote the development and application of high-quality products like environmentally friendly fiberglass cloth.
2. Build a Self-Controlled Industry Chain: Enhance the security of key raw materials, develop differentiated high-performance fibers (e.g., special roving) suitable for various composite processes, and promote low-cost manufacturing technologies. Build an integrated supply chain from “raw material – fiber – product – composite” to accurately respond to downstream demand.
3. Accelerate Green Transition: Promote clean production and resource recycling, optimize the energy structure, and reduce carbon emissions. Lead the green transformation of fiberglass mesh manufacturers.
4. Advance Comprehensive Intelligentization: Leverage leading enterprises to develop common technologies and establish intelligent control and digital process platforms. Promote lightweight, low-cost, and easy-to-maintain smart solutions to help fiberglass mesh producers improve quality and efficiency.
5. Deepen Digital Integration and Ethical Governance: Actively utilize new e-commerce channels to expand the market while adhering to the principle of “Tech for Good.” Direct technological capabilities toward enhancing product safety, environmental friendliness, and supply chain transparency to achieve a unity of economic效益 and social value.

Outlook

China’s fiberglass industry is at a critical juncture in transitioning from being “large” to “strong.” Facing dual pressures of global competition and domestic transformation, only through continuous core technological breakthroughs, enhanced self-sufficiency and controllability of the industry chain, practicing green manufacturing, and bridging the intelligence gap can the industry comprehensively strengthen its high-end product supply capability. This will boost the global competitiveness of products including fiberglass yarn, roving, and deep-processed products like fiberglass mesh, ultimately achieving high-quality and sustainable development.