Interview | Yongtenai: Promoting National Spirit Through National Manufacturing – An Interview with

The Chinese nation grows stronger and more resilient each time it overcomes a hardship. This time, we were not knocked down by the "novel coronavirus" pandemic; instead, we have become even stronger. This character of daring to fight, not fearing defeat, and refusing to give in is our national spirit. We have a nation that grows tougher through adversity, and its resilience is unimaginable. For our national enterprises, although they have undergone the baptism of the virus, those that manage to persevere will inevitably reach new heights.

Cheng Hanwen, General Manager of Yongtenai Wood Door Business Division

At the 22nd CBD Fair, Cheng Hanwen, General Manager of the Yongtenai Business Division, said in an interview with our publication: "After a disaster, people will feel that whether it is a supply chain enterprise or a manufacturing enterprise, it must be rooted in the domestic market for our country to have the confidence to face the world. If domestic manufacturing cannot develop and we rely solely on foreign things, Chinese enterprises will never be able to go global. Upholding national culture and promoting the national spirit, Yongtenai aims to play the leading role of a major company in the woodworking adhesive field and build a national brand in China's woodworking adhesive industry that can resonate worldwide."

Mainly Promoting "After-Sales-Free Adhesive"

At this exhibition, Yongtenai mainly promoted reactive polyurethane hot-melt adhesive. This product is known as an "after-sales-free adhesive". It has a high technological content and is currently monopolized in production mainly by Fortune 500 companies, with few domestic enterprises capable of producing it. In recent years, Yongtenai has increased R&D investment and built a production base for this type of product in Qingdao. Now, reactive polyurethane hot-melt adhesive has become Yongtenai’s main promoted signature product.

The greatest advantage of reactive polyurethane hot-melt adhesive is that it is irreversible and not affected by environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, offering advantages that traditional adhesives cannot match. Traditional adhesives can develop bonding problems due to environmental, climate, and temperature influences. When customers' products are sold across the country, especially when used in harsh environments, ordinary adhesives can experience problems like debonding, thus increasing after-sales service issues. However, reactive polyurethane hot-melt adhesive, being irreversible, is very minimally affected by temperature, humidity, and the environment.

At the same time, the eco-friendliness of reactive polyurethane hot-melt adhesive is excellent. It is a bulk-type adhesive with a strong sealing effect, causing no pollution during the production process or user application. Cheng Hanwen explained, "Because of its high quality and pollution-free nature, Yongtenai has invested considerable effort in this area over the past two years. The Guangzhou Research Institute and Qingdao R&D Center have successfully developed high-quality and user-friendly reactive polyurethane hot-melt adhesive products that stand out in the industry. Building on this, Yongtenai has also launched a 'cleaning-free' product that requires no cleaning when used with special equipment, reducing the burden on workers and factories. This is relatively rare in the industry." At this year's Guangzhou CBD Fair, Yongtenai's debut of this product was well received by numerous visiting customers.

Specializing in High-End Products in the Woodworking Adhesive Field

Yongtenai is a well-established enterprise with over 20 years of development history, ranking among the top domestically. It specializes in high-end products in the woodworking adhesive field and currently has three major production bases—in Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Qingdao. At the end of 2019, Yongtenai invested in another enterprise in Qingdao, which is referred to as an adhesive "Intelligent 4.0" factory. "A chemical plant does not typically have a large workforce. This factory is highly and comprehensively intelligent among our woodworking adhesive facilities. Yongtenai is a comprehensive, group-structured enterprise. We started with woodworking adhesives, which are our main products and carry the most weight in our company. Yongtenai currently has in-depth cooperation with many customized furniture and wooden door enterprises, and our rate of new customer acquisition is the fastest in the industry." Cheng Hanwen further described Yongtenai's development plan.

Yongtenai has no retail channels; it supplies only factories and focuses exclusively on high-end products. Its current competitors are mostly foreign companies, such as those from Germany, the United States, and Japan. Competition with similar domestic enterprises is relatively limited because Yongtenai has formed a differentiated competitive position with other domestic companies in terms of products. Cheng Hanwen said: "When we first started, we mainly cooperated with wood product companies from Taiwan and Hong Kong. Later, we established good cooperation with domestic customized furniture and wooden door enterprises. Due to its outstanding quality, Yongtenai's market share in the domestic market has continued to increase."

Eco-Friendliness and Intelligence Are Future Directions for Adhesive Development

Cheng Hanwen believes, "In the future, eco-friendliness will remain a major development direction for woodworking adhesives. The eco-friendliness here refers not only to being environmentally friendly during use, but also when made into wood products, and even during our production process and the customer's usage process. Strict VOC emission levels, formaldehyde-free products, and heavy-metal-free products are the future trends."

Currently, environmental requirements for contract orders and retail orders are seeing leapfrog increases, as Chinese consumers' environmental concepts have undergone a qualitative change compared to before. Therefore, eco-friendliness has become a permanent topic. Yongtenai does not produce products that fail to meet the "10-Ring Certification" standards, such as general oil-based products; it mainly manufactures two types: bulk-type adhesives and water-based adhesives.

In terms of application, adhesive manufacturers must continuously adapt to the demands of intelligent production lines in the future, which is also a development direction for adhesive enterprises. Applying glue is a labor-intensive process, but industry development requires products to change to match the production lines, which is Yongtenai's strength. Cheng Hanwen said: "We have launched a series of revolutionary products, such as the composite AB adhesive, a one-component 3-minute fast pressing product. In the door industry, our market share exceeds 95%. In the market, 95% of wood product companies that have or are about to install such production lines use Yongtenai's products. This is a tremendous achievement and progress from our R&D efforts over the past decade."

Currently, Yongtenai has three laboratories: The first is the basic research laboratory, which mainly conducts experiments from basic research directions such as formulations and raw materials; the second is the production research laboratory, where Yongtenai's products enter this small-scale lab before going to the production line—Yongtenai staff call it a "miniature factory". Products are re-tested in this laboratory to finally determine if they are ready for production; the third is the product application laboratory, which is the final checkpoint before products leave the factory. From R&D and application to matching with production lines and integrating with production processes, Yongtenai's products are relatively advanced in early-stage application, which is also the foundation of Yongtenai's survival. Established on research and development, Yongtenai has always been an R&D-oriented enterprise in the adhesive field. For many years, R&D has been Yongtenai's most important department.

Being Rooted Locally Gives Confidence to Face the World

The impact of the pandemic is two-sided. During this pandemic, many manufacturing enterprises saw potential crises, one of which is the supply chain crisis. Previously, many domestic companies favored purchasing adhesive products from large international corporations. Now, support for domestic industries has increased significantly. In the first half of this year, Yongtenai's order volume increased rather than decreased.

In the second half of this year, the fully automated factory invested in by Yongtenai in 2019 will be completed. In the new factory, Yongtenai will produce some new products, and production capacity will see a huge boost. Currently, the capacity of Yongtenai's three existing production bases is already fully utilized, and the fourth factory is expected to start mass production by the end of the year. Cheng Hanwen frankly stated, "Our goal is to build a comprehensive enterprise in our industry that integrates scientific research and sales, further playing the leading role of a major company in the woodworking adhesive field."

Regarding the outcome of participating in this CBD Fair, Cheng Hanwen was very satisfied. "The attendance at this year's CBD Fair exceeded expectations. Initially, we thought fewer people would come out due to the pandemic, but overall, the fair was bustling with visitors. The attendees were purposeful, and there were many effective customers. From this, it can be seen that although the industry will undergo changes, it will develop in a positive direction, and for scaled-up supply chain enterprises, things will get better and better. After the pandemic subsides, domestic enterprises must diligently strengthen their 'internal skills'—comprehensively enhancing their capabilities in technology, production, management, and other aspects. Only in this way can our national enterprises have the confidence to face the world."