Recently, according to market sources, due to the impact of the earthquake, Japanese imports of chemical raw materials represented by Japan’s Mitsui have suffered from shortages in varying degrees. As a result, the prices of chemical raw materials for shoe materials are just like arrows on the strings. Faced with price increases. No one would have thought that a huge earthquake in Japan will have a huge impact on the Jinjiang shoe industry chain, and a new wave of price increases will be staged again.

"EVA prices and natural rubber prices together, the rubber, EVA and other chemical materials to be purchased in a few days certainly will rise." Recently, Mr. Ding Chen, a shoe processing company in Jinjiang, is a bit worried: a variety of chemicals in the factory inventory There is not much material left.

However, unexpectedly far more than this, due to fluctuations in the prices of chemical raw materials, some source suppliers digested the rising costs through doping additives, which directly led to a decline in the purity of chemical raw materials, coupled with the dampness of spring weather, a group of shoe materials gradually There are changes in physical properties, of which the quality of soles represented by the secondary MD is extremely unstable, and the normal delivery period cannot be guaranteed, which seriously affects the progress of the production of the upstream footwear enterprises.

A shoe industry chain affected by the earthquake in Japan, as a supplier of shoe materials, how should they deal with the quality crisis caused by this chemical raw material panic, and what predictive methods will be adopted to add a security quality lock to the supply chain? Perhaps the practice of shoe manufacturers such as Xinquanshun and Guofa is worthy of reference in the industry.

The purity of chemical raw materials based on EVA declined

Nowadays, "The majority of chemical raw materials for shoe materials companies come from Japan, South Korea, and China Taiwan." According to Jinjiang footwear industry insiders, EVA is used as the main material in public shoe materials in rubber and EVA shoe materials. Price fluctuations will directly affect the cost of local shoe materials companies. Although prices are higher than domestic chemical raw materials, their physical properties are stable and their quality is more assured. They are favored by most shoe companies in Jinjiang.

After the earthquake in Japan, Mitsui's shortage of imported chemical raw materials became an inflection point. Once again, the price of EVA and other chemical raw materials was pushed onto the soaring roller coaster. Under such a dilemma, Jinjiang shoe material companies had to temporarily replace domestic chemical materials.

"There are dozens of chemical raw materials to be used on a pair of soles. Any tiny chemical impurities that appear on the soles of the soles may affect the production quality of the soles such as foam, oil pressure, etc. What is the main material of EVA granulation? "Ding Guozhi, general manager of Xinquanshun Shoes Co., Ltd. told reporters that whether it is a one-time EVA shot soles, or two MD, EVA granulation purity has a direct impact on their quality.

“At present, even if we can buy imported chemical raw materials, most of the purity is not enough. Because of the price and material shortages, our source suppliers have recently experienced a decline in the purity of this batch of raw materials. Therefore, due to the Insufficient purity can not suppress the elastic body, the bubble does not reach the standard and other conventional quality problems come one after another, their shoes have also appeared one after another quality instability,” he said, after inquiries found that the surrounding peer sole plant also appears different The degree of quality problems, especially in the South Wind days, the quality of frequent defects, had to slow down the production rate.

Ding Jinrui, deputy general manager of Guofa Footwear Co., Ltd., said that although the wave of buying triggered by Japan's Mitsui Chemicals' stock panic has rationally subsided, chemical raw materials are closely related to the shoe industry chain, and industry insiders are constantly analyzing and estimating. However, the purity of chemical raw materials may not be immediately improved.

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Trying to replace materials

Behind this energy crisis, a number of material innovators represented by Chengchang and Xin Quanshun emerged in Jinjiang shoe materials. The relevant shoemaking research institutes started to study new materials to replace traditional EVA granulation, hoping to fundamentally Solve the problem of insufficient purity of the main material of EVA chemical industry to ensure stable properties, even in bad weather.

Ding Guozhi said with a smile that after joining hands with a scientific research institution, during this period of time, he took various chemical materials every day to ask the teacher for advice on the chemical materials, and he personally decided to study the chemical properties and physical properties of these new materials thoroughly. Try to replace the modified formula on the basis of raw materials to avoid the quality problems caused by the purity of chemical raw materials.

Coincidentally, following the introduction of consultancy management companies in the footwear foaming industry to standardize the production process and create the first lab in the industry, Cheng Chang Foam will start researching new materials to replace traditional EVA granulation this year.

Of course, the true intention of long-foaming is that it is hoped that it can get rid of the limitations of EVA granulation as a main material. Whether it is raw material price or purity and quality control, it is expected to have a relatively mature new material substitute, so as to reach the final The purpose of reducing product costs. Under this premise, whoever can develop new materials to replace the raw material of traditional EVA main materials will be able to hold more chips in the market competition. "For this, Cheng Chang, general manager of Ding Changgang see very clearly.

In fact, Dongyuan Industrial Co., Ltd. was established in 1978. It is a Taiwanese company that specializes in the import and export trade of various plastic materials and chemicals. “The cooperation between Chengchang and Dongyuan is not simply a supply-supply relationship. In particular, Dongyuan will become a think tank for the experimental material of Chengchang New Materials, and will collect more development ideas and trends for Chengchang.” Ding Changgang introduced .

Increase the degree of control or self-cast granulation production line

Regardless of whether it is Xinquanshun, or long-term, it is no exception that we hope to try through new materials to avoid purity affecting quality and effectively improve the quality and stability of products. We also hope that we can provide too much fluctuations in raw materials and stabilize supply prices.

However, a pair of soles, even if it is a small piece of foamed material, requires the formulation and proportioning of dozens of chemical materials. From experiment to production, to final mass production, this road is not easy to go.

Therefore, some people believe that, instead of being directly proportional to input and output, it is better to control the quality of the source and eliminate the quality problems caused by the purity of chemical raw materials. Ding Jinrui believes that it is not easy to change formula and proportion. Once it is replaced, it takes a long time to test it before it can be put into the market. This time, the quality tends to fluctuate. It is better than to strictly control the source of production.

The reporter recently stepped into the spacious production workshop of Jinyi Shoes Material Co., Ltd., and saw Jin Yi’s efforts to control the source of raw materials.

Here, the production line and the floor are spotless. Ye Yexiong, sales manager of Jinyi Shoes Co., Ltd. told the reporter that the company always put quality and safety first. In order to make EVA production truly meet the quality standards of downstream suppliers, Jinyi Production adopts strict quality control measures before, during and after production. From the beginning of the first process feed, the supplier must provide EVA pelletizing test report of the relevant local authorities; before selecting the material, EVA granulation must be cleaned and sieved again to remove impure impurities, and remove debris and other debris, ensuring that Each chemical raw material meets the standard of purity.

It is understood that in the more than 20 processes that EVA controls and controls production, the company has established a corresponding inspection quality supervision system, which mainly involves the import of raw materials, the clearance of production processes, and the inspection of product quality, from raw materials to products entering the market. The entire process has implemented the tracking of product quality.

In fact, as long as we can tighten the string of quality and safety, adhere to build quality assured the soles of the raw material storm, I believe it will soon disappear!