进入中国市场后的近40年里，德国胶王不断迈出发展的脚步。作为一家拥有超过百年历史的德国家族企业，胶王对中国市场有怎样的观察与思考？他们在中国市场的发展有怎样的规划蓝图？在家具上下游邵博士与德国胶王亚太区副总裁Dr.Ralf Schelbach（夏瑞博博士）的交流中，或许有一个答案。

● 德国胶王亚太区副总裁  夏瑞博（右）

家具上下游  邵博士（左）

 

在过去20年里，你看到了中国家具市场有哪些变化？

What changes have you seen in the furniture market over the past 20 years?

 

二十年前，中国进入高速发展期。因此，企业需要掌握专业知识，配合恰当的工艺流程，才能为家具行业及终端用户制造高品质产品。那么，如何实现这一目标呢？如何恰当地施胶？如何确保粘接效果尽可能优良……市场中有大量需要学习的知识，客户也变得更加专业——这也是为什么我们招募了大量技术服务人员以便能协助客户。我曾说过，我们不仅需要销售团队，更需要具备专业技能的人员来指导我们的客户。

20 years ago, China entered a period of rapid development. Consequently, companies need to master professional knowledge and work with appropriate production processes to manufacture high-quality products for the furniture industry and end-users. So, how can this goal be achieved? How can the correct application of adhesives be ensured? How can we ensure that the bonding effect is as good as possible... There is a wealth of knowledge to be learned in the market, and customers are becoming more professional - this is why we have recruited a large number of technical service personnel to assist our customers. I have said before that we need not only a sales team but also personnel with professional skills to guide our customers.

●不断加入胶王中国的专业技术人才

大约十年前，当市场初现整合端倪时，市场需求也开始发生了变化。那时牌桌上的大玩家——五大定制企业，已经在他们的领域中展现出了非凡的专业性。

About a decade ago, as the market began to show signs of consolidation, market demand also started to change. At that time, the big players at the table—the five major custom enterprises—had already demonstrated exceptional expertise in their respective fields.

  

随后，市场的重点已经悄然间转变成了流程优化、成本优化——因为产品质量已经足够好之后，就需要在所做的事情上变得更有经济效益。在那个阶段，企业大量投资新设备，似乎没有任何限制。同时，这也导致市场中出现了更多非知名品牌场品：这意味着许多小型家具生产商开始专注于国内市场，而更多的品牌家具制造商则更专注于出口市场。

Subsequently, the focus of the market has quietly shifted towards process optimization and cost optimization—because after the quality of the products was good enough, there was a need to become more economically efficient in what was being done. At that stage, companies heavily invested in new equipment, seemingly without any limits. At the same time, this led to the emergence of more non-famous brands in the market: this means that many small furniture manufacturers began to focus on the domestic market, while more branded furniture manufacturers focused more on the export market.

 

众所周知，在过去的三年中市场渐变得更难了。当人人都涌入一个市场，一定是因为盈利可观，尤其是家居行业——我们必须承认正是这样的高利润，才吸引了大量的参与者。市场增速如此之快，我们今天不得不面临产能过剩所带来的问题。

As is well known, the market has become more challenging over the past three years. When everyone rushes into a market, it must be because the profits are substantial, especially in the home industry—we must admit that it is such high profits that attract a large number of participants. The market growth is so fast that today we have to face the problems caused by overcapacity.

  

之后，市场因为各种原因大幅下滑，现在发展到了对整个市场进行洗牌的阶段。这就需要我们同时抓牢品质和效率，以提高我们客户的竞争力，帮他为他的客户和终端用户带来价值。

Afterwards, the market has significantly declined due to various reasons, and now it has developed to a stage where the entire market needs to be reshuffled. This requires us to grasp both quality and efficiency simultaneously, in order to enhance the competitiveness of our customers, and help them bring value to their customers and end-users.

你如何看待中国家具行业未来的发展与竞争？

How do you see the future development and competition of China's furniture industry?

在家具行业中，小企业可能需要增长到更大规模，才能有机会提高产量并降低成本。而大型企业就需要解决如何有效管理产能过剩的问题，因为产能的不充分利用会带来巨大的成本负担。

In the furniture industry, small businesses may need to grow to a larger scale to have the opportunity to increase production and reduce costs. Large enterprises, on the other hand, need to address how to effectively manage overcapacity, as the underutilization of production capacity can lead to significant cost burdens.

 

中等规模的企业则需要确定自身的品牌定位，决定未来走哪条发展道路：他们是否要增加产量？他们会思考如何获取新客户，是否需要拓展出口市场，是否需要在中国以外的地区布局（比如东南亚）等系列问题。由于现在的出口障碍、贸易战等因素，许多家具公司正转向东南亚市场，打造更加国际化的企业形象。

Medium-sized enterprises need to determine their brand positioning and decide which path of development to take in the future: Do they need to increase production? They will consider how to attract new customers, whether they need to expand into export markets, and whether they need to establish themselves in regions outside of China (such as Southeast Asia), among other issues. Due to current export barriers, trade wars, and other factors, many furniture companies are turning to Southeast Asian markets, creating a more international corporate image.

在整个家具市场处于存量的市场阶段，为什么德国胶王仍然敢于在中国投入新基地？

Since home furnishing market is currently at a stock market phase, why does Jowat Group still have the courage to invest a new base in China?

 

德国胶王是一家拥有超过100年历史的公司，我们在过去的发展过程中也经历过这样的情况。尽管有上述的挑战，德国胶王仍然致力于深耕中国市场，因为我们确实看到了公司创新的机会。

Jowat is a company with a history of over 100 years, and we have also experienced such situations in the course of our past development. Despite the challenges mentioned above, Jowat remains committed to deepening our presence in the Chinese market, as we truly see opportunities for innovation for our company.

 

中国市场是一个充满活力的市场。我们相信，单纯作为一个贸易公司在中国市场中参与竞争将会不再具有优势。比如研发中心距离这片市场有一万两千公里远，我们想要研发新品并在市场上进行测试的周期就太长了。如果你想要服务你的市场，你就得靠近它，否则就会被淘汰。

The Chinese market is a dynamic one. We believe that simply participating as a trading company in the Chinese market will no longer be advantageous. For example, if the development center is twelve thousand kilometers away from this market, the cycle to develop new products and test them in the market becomes too long. If you want to serve your market, you need to be close to it, or else you will be eliminated.

● 胶王位于浙江平湖独山港的制造研发基地

 

所以我们需要本地化制造，如此才能更灵活地应对客户需求的快速变化，尤其在年轻一代的消费群体中，这种变化会更快。同时，有了本地化生产，我们的产品在中国市场中也更具有价格竞争力。因此，做出在中国投资建设新基地的决定比一二十年前要清晰得多。从战略上讲，我们对新的生产研发中心的投资是理智的，并不会受到家具市场放缓的影响，而且我们将进一步扩展在家具领域中的规模。

Therefore, we need localized manufacturing to be more flexible in responding to the rapid changes in customer demands, especially among the younger consumer groups, where these changes occur even faster. With localized production, our products are also more price-competitive in the Chinese market. Thus, the decision to invest in building new bases in China is much clearer than it was a decade or two ago. Strategically, our investment in new production and R&D centers is sensible and will not be affected by the slowdown in the furniture market. Moreover, we will further expand our scale in the furniture sector.

● 浙江基地办公室区域

5年后的胶王中国会是什么样子的？

What will Jowat in China be like in 5 years?

五年后，胶王在中国将发展成为各个市场领域（也包括家具行业之外）的知名品牌。我们的主业仍将是家具行业，但我们也将扩展到其他应用领域。最重要的是我们能够在中国生产整个产品线。我们将从一个特定的产品领域开始，通过学习新技术、获取新经验和发展更强更优秀的团队，不断推进到更多新领域。

Five years from now, Jowat will have developed into a well-known brand across various market sectors in China, including beyond the furniture industry. Our main business will still be the furniture industry, but we will also expand into other application areas. Most importantly, we will be able to produce our entire product line in China. We will start with a specific product area, and through learning new technologies, gaining new experiences, and developing a stronger and more excellent team, we will continuously advance into more new fields.

● 胶王丰富的产品应用领域

在未来5年里，我们的团队会有更多人才的加盟，并成长为了足够优秀的专业人员。通过针对性的培训，他们能够完全理解粘合剂在客户端的应用过程以及客户的真实需求，并且在客户前两次的样品试用之后，就能从我们上千种的产品体系中找到最适合客户的那一款，来帮助减少客户在产品使用阶段投入的大量时间、精力与财力成本。

In the next five years, our team will welcome more talents and grow into sufficiently competent professionals. Through targeted training, they will fully understand the application process of adhesives at the client's end and the real needs of the customers. After the first two rounds of sample trials by the clients, they will be able to find the most suitable product from our extensive product range of thousands, to help reduce the significant amount of time, effort, and financial resources that clients invest during the product usage phase.

● 胶王丰富的产品体系

当然，我们还需要开发新产品。我无法预测到五年后家具行业会诞生什么新需求，但我们一定需要面对各种不同的应用条件，比如季节变化、湿度、温度。我们不仅要生产这类产品，还要了解并能指导客户在不同环境条件下使用对应的产品。这个过程会更复杂，因为这不仅仅关乎产品本身，还包括其他方方面面。

Of course, we also need to develop new products. I can't predict what new demands will emerge in the furniture industry in five years, but we will definitely need to face various different application conditions, such as seasonal changes, humidity, temperature. We not only need to produce such products, but also need to understand and be able to guide customers on how to use the corresponding products under different environmental conditions. This process will be more complex, as it's not just about the product itself, but also includes many other aspects.

● 满足不同应用环境的胶王产品

与此同时，我们还将积极引入人工智能及其他前沿技术，深度融合至我们的组织管理架构、供应链系统及日常业务流程之中；深度优化运营流程，确保我们能够更加敏捷、准确地捕捉市场动态与客户需求的变化趋势，从而为客户提供更加卓越的服务体验。

At the same time, we will actively introduce artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies, deeply integrate them into our organizational management structure, supply chain systems, and daily business processes; deeply optimize our operational processes to ensure that we can capture market dynamics and changes in customer needs more agilely and accurately, thereby providing our customers with a more superior service experience.

我们还将推进更多方面的发展。我对中国市场持有坚定的信心，深信我们正朝着正确的方向稳步前行。中国已经崛起为一个极具影响力的市场区域，我坚信在未来的两年里，市场可能会经历一段相对平稳的发展期，直至中国消费者对国内市场的信心被再次唤醒。诚然，这个过程中难免会遇到一些小的挑战与挫折，但这都是市场发展的常态。胶王作为一个历经百余年风雨的品牌，早已经历过市场发展过程中的无数起伏与波动，因此，我们对此并不会感到担忧。

We will also promote development in more areas. I have firm confidence in the Chinese market and am convinced that we are steadily moving in the right direction. China has risen to become a market area of significant influence, and I am convinced that in the next two years, the market may experience a relatively stable period of development until the confidence of Chinese consumers in the domestic market is rekindled. Admittedly, this process will inevitably encounter some small challenges and setbacks, but these are the norm in market development. As a brand that has weathered over a hundred years of trials and tribulations, Jiao Wang is well accustomed to the ups and downs of market development, and therefore, we are not concerned about this.

面对挑战与机遇，德国胶王坚定深耕中国市场，通过本地化制造与技术创新，不断提升竞争力。展望未来，德国胶王将持续扩展业务领域，为中国市场带来更多创新与价值。