Taking advantage of seasonal changes – China Today

Making their debut in China this winter, carbon fiber snowboard boards are becoming a popular choice of resort skiers in Jilin province, northeast China. The snowboard boards were introduced by Jilin Chemical Fiber Group (JCFG), a company that provides materials for sectors ranging from aerospace to suitcase. Strong and rigid, although mild, carbon fiber has been adopted for decades by some global marks of snowboarding and ski -helmet boards.

“Carbon fiber snowboard boards are 30% lighter than others, easier to control skiing and friendlier for those who start learning,” Lu Yang, one of the company’s engineers, told Beijing Review. He added that the material is three to five times more resistant than ordinary materials, increasing the capacity of Snowboard boards to resist shocks.

In reaction to the last wave of winter sports fever in China, which began from the Beijing 2022 winter Olympic Games, household equipment manufacturers such as JCFG are running to introduce new products. But this is just part of an even larger market.

The prosperous ice and snow equipment sector, an important component of the economy of ice and snow, is driven by the growing demand not only of recreational items, such as snowboarding boards and goggles, but by equipment used in winter sports facilities such as artificial snow machines and black cleans (also called Snow Grooms).

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China has developed a line of ice and snow equipment composed of 15 main categories. In 2015-23, the number of companies in this segment went from about 300 to 900, and their sales revenue increased from less than 5 billion yuans (US $ 682 million) to about 22 billion yuans ($ 3 billion).

Running to win – Jilin is known as one of China’s ski paradise, with its long and cold winters that usually last from November to March. In recent years, their winter sports equipment companies have also stood out from the others in the country.

Last year, the provincial government defined the goal of increasing the value of ice and snow equipment in Jilin to over 5 billion yuans ($ 681 million) by 2030.

JCFG produces over 90% of China carbon fiber materials. Snowboard production began in 2023. The company’s research and development team (R&D) conducted a dozen experiments to test carbon fiber adhesion to other materials, explains Lu. After launching the new product line, the company started to collect users feedback for greater optimization.

Jilin Tengdda Technology Development, based in the city of Jilin, provides polymer-based materials for snowboard manufacturers since 2009. Wu Bida, general manager of the company, told Beijing Review that their products are applied as protective layers and also to form the edges of snowboard boards. The company’s annual production reached almost 100 tons in 2024 compared to 40 ton the previous year. Last year, their sales exceeded 10 million yuans ($ 1.3 million).

According to Wu, several global outdoor activity brands, including the French retailer of Decathlon sports goods and the US-based Snowboard Burton manufacturer, resorted to Tengda as a key supplier. The company also has a partnership with national sportswear brands like Anta for snowboard boards.

“A growing number of Chinese is participating in winter sports and the number of ski stations has been increasing in the country,” Wu said, adding that he expects a higher expansion of the snowboard domestic market.

Changchun Baningdun Sports Equipment, also located in Jilin province, produces high quality sports skates. “We have an annual production of more than 10,000 pairs, and our annual sales have exceeded 50 million yuans ($ 6.8 million),” Wang Yang, the company’s founder, told Beijing Review. The company has fulfilled many domestic and international requests in recent years. Its products were exported to United States, Germany and Australia, among others.

“Our P&D investment represents 30% of total annual revenue,” said Wang. The company now produces skates with self -development technologies. It updated the data collection method to customize the boots, using from plaster molds to 3D modeling. The company will produce more economical skates for sports enthusiasts over the next three to five years, Wang said.

Prosperous markets – Manufacturers in regions where ice and snow are rare also enjoyed the wave of winter sports. In Yiwu, Zhejiang province, a city known as “the world supermarket” because of its consumer goods market that has the dimensions of a city, sales of products such as snow glasses have increased.

Zhejiang Vista Sports Goods has been producing snow glasses since 2007 for European and American markets. After Beijing 2022, the company began to increase its investment in domestic market exploration, which now accounts for about one third of its sales.

Last year, the view invested more than 17 million yuans (US $ 2.3 million) in the expansion of production, raising the annual production of its five lines to a value of 600 million yuans ($ 82 million).

In order to provide a warmer snow experience, many textile manufacturers have introduced clothes and skiing socks with graphene heating technology. Made by a clothing company in the province of Liaoning, in northeastern China, graphene enhanced ski costumes can ensure continuous heating for six hours at temperatures as low as -40o negative Celsius.

New technologies, including 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR), were also applied by manufacturers to their products for a better user experience. For example, winter sports enthusiasts can now wear virtual reality glasses with cameras to film their activities.

Fire and ice – Although local winter sports companies are gaining popularity, established global brands continue to dominate the market, especially premium products.

“In China, many skiers and snowboarders still opt for respectable global marks,” Wu said, noting that it will still take time for local brands to develop a good brand reputation. Sun Xing, deputy director of Miit’s Industrial Culture Development Center, said at last year’s exhibition in Beijing that Chinese winter sports equipment manufacturers do not yet have the ability to innovate and need to increase their workforce training.

Domestic companies need to accelerate industrial upgrading through technologies such as AI, obtain brand recognition abroad and develop industrial nuclei leveraging local industrial chains, Sun concluded.