The world's largest maker of home appliances, China Midea, calls for closer cooperation with the plastics industry to develop the next generation of materials that can replace sensors or provide new foam insulation.
Xiong Yuming, director of the Center for Materials Research at the United States, said at a technical conference organized by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and the organizer of the China International Exhibition on Plastics and Rubber Industries (Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd.) on December 7: 'We pay more attention to this Material innovations in the field and look forward to some new materials that will replace traditional sensors for our new products. "
In the 1980s, when Midea entered the home appliance market and started to manufacture technically under-developed fans, the group is now looking at multi-function appliances with a higher technological content and defines smart materials as capable of responding to environmental changes or Self-healing material.
The company said it is looking at its plastic suppliers for new innovations in foam insulation, dust control, anti-fingerprint and catalysts.
"As a home appliance manufacturer, we are hungry for new materials, but most new materials are unfortunately still under test, such as ultra-hydrophilic and superhydrophobic materials that are easy to clean," said the director.
Midea has expanded into technology-intensive markets: in 2016, for example, the acquisition of the German robot maker KUKA into the industrial automation and medical robotics market.
The group said its innovation center in Foshan can accommodate more than 10,000 research and development staff.
The one-day event was held in the Shenzhen Manufacturing and Development Center. The seminar will include lectures given by the Shenzhen Modern Materials Association on the new Chinese government funding mechanism to involve the insurance industry in the development of financing materials.
The project includes 129 different product categories including advanced steel and non-ferrous metals, advanced chemicals and composite materials as part of 'Made in China 2025' project.
The event also included the development of additive manufacturing in China, communications with the automotive industry, and research on composites of mixed graphene, vinyl and other polymers.
A spokesman for Bliss Technology Co., Ltd., China's largest plastics compounding company, said the company expects the materials for smart appliances to be the key drivers for the study, and all the talk of technology comes down to urging the industry to continue focusing on end-consumers demand.
David Kusuma, vice president of research and product innovation at Tupperware Brands, said at the conference that the company focused on how to improve the quality of life of its products and is increasingly targeting multi-functional product development.
He said: 'Because the price is not cheap, the idea must be novel and the product must be attractive.' In an interview after the presentation, he urged plastics researchers to keep in mind the appetite of end consumers, saying: 'The problem is, You can not focus on the technology, you must focus on consumer needs, you can find those who can meet the needs of the technology, because if you first focus on technology, and finally no one needs those technologies, you will futile Get
He also said at the conference that emerging-market consumers have been the company's key drivers of growth, with about 66% of Tupperware's sales coming from emerging markets in 2016 and more than half of the global middle class expected to be concentrated in Asia Pacific by 2020 Region.He said: 'For any company want to go global, we must consider and pay attention to this point.'
For the first time, the conference is hosted by Adsale Exhibition and the American Association of Plastic Engineers (SPE), headquartered in Bethel, Connecticut, and Zhu Yuelun, the chairman of Adsale Exhibition, said both companies are looking at more annual joint activities.