First, the activity has a theme, but I don't think it's meaningful to trade in old household appliances, such as telling consumers that old household appliances will cause fires, consume more electricity, or donate them to theme activities such as Hope Primary School. )
Second, the pricing of old household appliances, sometimes because of the unfair pricing of old household appliances, not only makes consumers disgusted, but also brings bad publicity to manufacturers.
The development history of air conditioning In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a rare dry weather in the United States. In order to solve the problem of cold and heat sources of air conditioning in arid and water-deficient areas, the United States took the lead in developing air-cooled chillers, replacing cooling towers with air heat dissipation. Its English name is: Air cool Chiller, or Chiller for short!
In the history of air-conditioning, the United States has developed and improved the central unit air-conditioning system with air ducts, and has received strong support from air-conditioning equipment dealers and distributors who are installing and maintaining the unit air-conditioning system with air ducts on site. WRAC is the simplest and cheapest system, which can be easily purchased in retail stores and installed by itself when the continuous high temperature comes. At the same time, SRAC without air ducts and special purpose acquisition companies have been developed and perfected in Japan since 1970s, driven by different American markets. After that, the equipment design and manufacturing technology was transferred to China in 1990s, through joint venture with local companies (including local manufacturers of major components such as compressors, heat exchangers, electric actuators, fine valves and electronic controllers). In the 1990s, China also absorbed the advanced technology of large air-conditioning equipment from other advanced countries and established joint ventures with most large American companies. Today, China is a top country, and its major local factories and joint ventures produce a large number of SRAC and special purpose acquisition companies to meet the growing domestic market and export demand. In the past few years, Japan has been exporting SRAC and special purpose acquisition company products to China, Europe and the Middle East to open up new markets. However, China is now the largest exporter of air conditioners. In 200 1 year, the total export volume of WRAC, SRAC and special purpose acquisition companies reached 5 million units, and it is estimated that 7.5 million or 8 million units will be exported in 2002, while Japan is losing its export status.
Review by country
United States of America
The United States is the largest air-conditioning market, accounting for 28% of the total sales of air-conditioning equipment in the world, and most of them are unit air-conditioning systems with air ducts. The proportion of heat pumps is relatively low, with 200 1 accounting for 20% in quantity and 30% in sales. There are some obvious reasons for the difference between American air-conditioning market and other countries:
Most people live in suburban detached houses with vast space. For the comfort of the whole indoor space, it is more convenient to install air ducts.
Energy prices are relatively low, electricity and gas can be supplied nationwide, and gas stoves can be used for heating through natural gas pipe networks in winter.
Most land is not suitable for heat pump without auxiliary electric heating in cold weather in winter, and auxiliary electric heating is not economical.
A strong network of industrial distributors and economic agents promotes the central air conditioning system with air ducts, which has relatively low installation cost and provides delayed maintenance support.
Japan
Household air conditioners began to be produced locally by WRAC or imported from the United States in the 1960s. Because most people live in the living area and only have strong requirements for air conditioning in a single room, central system is generally not used to save expensive electricity bills. However, many people complain that high running noise and vibration are unacceptable in the bedroom. At the same time, it is not convenient to install in the room.
After the painful experience of WRAC, SRAC was later developed into indoor wall-mounted installation, which made the room air conditioning unit run quietly and install conveniently. Functionally, although SRAC has lost the functions of fresh air intake and return air exhaust, the single room air conditioners of WRAC and SRAC are almost the same in the presence of people. In the buyer's market, additional small SRAC units are needed, which are characterized by low noise and can be easily installed as "additional units" in the bedroom. Heat pump type can be well accepted by people in cooling and heating seasons. Some features, such as lower noise, more sufficient heating capacity, lower power consumption (i.e. higher efficiency), smaller unit size or improved indoor air distribution, attract users' attention and interest. Because the energy cost is cheaper than electricity and the heating capacity is higher at lower ambient temperature, kerosene stoves are still widely used to heat indoor space. However, SRAC heat pump is an indispensable use for many people in the bedroom. It can not only run safely, but also prevent fire, because the indoor temperature is low and the room space is good when sleeping. Lifestyle has changed, from opening doors and windows so that you can breathe fresh air when you sleep to closing doors and windows with locking devices for urban safety, which requires buying more SRAC units indoors. Forced fans are installed indoors to suck in fresh outdoor air and exhaust indoor air, and heat exchange elements are used to achieve the purpose of energy saving. The breakthrough technology involved in the 1980s solved the inherent shortcomings of heat pumps and promoted the sales of SRAC units.
In discount stores, such as white goods, including the main cost of sending and installing, has triggered a price war. The installation of SRAC is very simple and fast, and people with low technical level on site can complete the installation, refrigerant piping and wiring of the unit within a few hours.
In the past, there were some quality problems, such as refrigerant leakage, component failure and comprehensive failure, which were directly related to factory maintenance or subcontracting maintenance units.
Now with the improvement of product reliability, after-sales maintenance calls are greatly reduced. However, the business form is still the same as before. SRAC is sold through discount stores with low cost, and after-sales service is directly undertaken by the manufacturer or its sub-contracted maintenance unit.
The sales of special purpose acquisition companies are similar to SRAC's light commercial market. Manufacturers are more engaged in the sales of so-called "multi-purpose acquisition company systems in buildings", contact air conditioning system designers and mechanical contractors, and maintain high added value with manufacturers. 1 The special-purpose acquisition company that combines compression and condensation units with multiple indoor units is increasingly popular in newly-built houses with refrigerant pipes installed on the walls.
The government and public utility companies (such as electricity and natural gas) and the units responsible for formulating national energy policies are subsidizing the development of new technologies and promoting the installation of new air-conditioning systems with attractive stimulus plans. These products include commercial energy-saving heat pumps, GHP and direct gas absorption refrigerators. The exciting benefits of discounted energy prices make users willing to install new energy-saving air conditioning systems or use them for technological transformation at much lower operating energy costs. In this way, even if the initial cost increases, the investment recovery is still very attractive.
Exploration of "Great War" in Air Conditioning Industry
At the same time that the new air-conditioning forces have risen rapidly, the pattern of the whole air-conditioning industry has also begun to change. Galanz, represented by a powerful new air-conditioning force, stands on the shoulders of the world giants, integrates and introduces the world's most advanced production lines, management and technology, and is positioned as an internationally specialized air-conditioning manufacturing center of world-renowned brands. In just over a year, its exports have entered the top three in China's air-conditioning industry, mainly in developed markets in Europe, America and Japan. It can be seen that in today's increasingly serious product homogenization trend, as long as your product quality and technical content have a leading edge, the cost-effective advantage will obviously develop rapidly. According to Galanz Group's "High-quality Air Conditioning", "Recommended Products for International Trade" and a large number of quality certification certificates issued by authoritative organizations such as the American Quality Certification Committee, it shows that the domestic air conditioning industry has formed a new force.
Just as the strategy of small profits but quick turnover represented by Galanz is developing rapidly, some established enterprises, especially those with huge inventory, have announced that they will fight a "service war" to stop it. The reporter made a survey on the service level of major air-conditioning factories at present, including the survey of users, and found that the strength of the new force is almost the same as that of the first-line brands. It is worth mentioning that air conditioners are semi-finished products, and almost all factories mainly rely on the professional service teams of wholesalers and distributors for installation and maintenance. This is true for first-line brands and second-line brands, because the installation fee and after-sales service fee paid by the factory to the merchants are carefully calculated by individual merchants. Gome, Suning and large and medium-sized franchisees all have their own huge professional installation teams, and no factory can reach this level at present. Followed by social professional institutions, these institutions are facing a dozen or dozens of shopping malls, mainly supermarkets and general department stores, and their professional level is also quite high. Thirdly, the wholesale agent has a professional team, and finally, each factory has a supplementary team. During the peak season, individual enterprises claim that the installers mobilized from the factory are all production line workers, and the installation level is far less than that of professional teams. Air conditioning is commonly known as three-point product and seven-point installation, which mainly refers to strong installation professional skills. At present, the services between factories are mainly telephone return visits, some of which are more or less. Generally, after the factory is installed, there will be 3-5 phone calls to pay a return visit. One of the main purposes of the return visit is to get close to the merchants and the installation team. It is not just a "service" to consumers. So, there is no fundamental difference. The difference is that individual enterprises, as a kind of advertising content, invest a lot of advertising fees to promote hype services. Individual enterprises think that this is the most basic product addition, and there is no unique advantage, so they don't invest in advertising to speculate.
Air-conditioning products have fought a technical word concept war, that is, everyone has ordinary technology, and some use a new term, which makes many people think that this is a new technology, and manufacturers are also speculating. Not now, because it's not good. A few leading enterprises started this situation, followed by a large number of enterprises, and the air-conditioning industry was in a state of "leaderless". Because it turns out that everyone is imported or the domestic assembly level is similar, and the imported ones are better, such as Valin. The real difference is that some people will promote hype, marketing power will be willing to invest, and some people will not speculate, thus making a difference in scale. In the past two years, large-scale enterprises have been continuously affected by disasters, with a large inventory backlog, sharp price reduction of raw materials and actual depreciation of inventory products, which has formed a strong financial pressure on enterprises, and the original advantages have suddenly become a huge disadvantage and a heavy burden.
In the past two years, Galanz and Oaks have been shouting price wars. Galanz 2 billion entered the air conditioner, saying that it would cut the price of air conditioners by half. At that time, many manufacturers spit on Galanz, but from now on, the price has dropped by half or even more. Judging from Galanz's promise, who is talking about honesty? Some people may say that this is a price reduction regardless of quality. Who can say that Panasonic in Japan has dropped to more than 654.38+10,000 yuan, and the price has dropped by more than half, so there is no quality guarantee; South Korean LG splitter price 198 yuan, no quality. Who dares to say that the products of some enterprises that hold high against price wars have not been reduced in price? They just have too much inventory, and they are unwilling to replenish water to the merchants and change models, so that the merchants can bear the "old models" that were eaten at high prices in the past.
The air-conditioning war has been going on for many years, and the industrial concentration is becoming more and more dispersed, but there is no world giant like color TV, especially microwave oven. What does this mean? It is worthy of our reflection and study. China's entry into WTO objectively makes us compete with multinational companies that have monopolized for many years. For industries that are already unprofitable, multinational companies can't make any money. At most, they lose money and share a piece of cake, and more losses account for more; Lose less, take less. For some profitable industries, it depends on who has a high level of productivity and can grab more profits. If there is a serious overcapacity, it will eventually become meager profit or unprofitable. At this time, it is the time to really fight for strength.
Air conditioning industry is a traditional standardization industry, and it is difficult to make revolutionary innovation. For example, Galanz stainless steel advanced air conditioner has obvious advantages. It is fashionable in some coastal cities and humid areas of the Yangtze River basin, but it is fashionable in dry areas, and the fundamental advantages of the products are difficult to reflect. In the future, air conditioners will mainly change in intelligence, new materials and styles. At present, digital technology, new materials and other aspects, regardless of new and old brands, are standing at a starting line. Galanz's introduction of the world's first advanced stainless steel air conditioner and the world's first digital intelligent four-sided air conditioner is enough to prove this point.
In the survey, the reporter found that many businesses and experts are very optimistic about these new forces, such as Galanz. A considerable number of experts believe that the air-conditioning industry in China, and even the air-conditioning industry in the world, has been rewritten by these new forces because they are enterprising.
The history of domestic central air-conditioning industry is at least 40 years ahead of schedule.
The large central air-conditioning market, once dominated by American and Japanese manufacturers such as Maxwell, Carrier, York and Trane, was broken by domestic brands for the first time this year. On August 28th, Chongqing Midea Industrial Park, a joint venture between Midea Group and Chongqing GM Group, was officially put into production, and the first centrifugal air conditioning unit manufactured by the new factory also rolled off the assembly line on the same day. A refrigeration expert from Shenzhen who attended the off-line ceremony told this reporter that the commissioning of Chongqing Industrial Park was unusual because Chongqing General Motors produced the first centrifugal refrigerator in China as early as 1964. Now, after the successful brand grafting of Hemei, it is estimated that the historical process of domestic central air-conditioning industrialization is at least 40 years ahead of schedule.
According to reports, with the upgrading of central air conditioners in large and medium-sized buildings and the rapid growth of domestic central air conditioners in China, the market "cake" of central air conditioners has attracted more and more attention. Take Shenzhen as an example. At present, more than 2000 high-rise buildings have adopted central air conditioning units, but up to now, more than 90% of the buildings are equipped with products from American and Japanese manufacturers. Although some domestic enterprises have also introduced central air-conditioning facilities such as screw machines, due to the limited investment in the whole machine, the market share has been far from that of American and Japanese manufacturers. Now, this pattern is finally expected to be rewritten.
The core refrigeration technology can be called America and Japan.
Midea Chongqing Industrial Park is located in Chayuan New Town, Nan 'an District, Chongqing, covering an area of 800 mu, with a total investment of over 654.38 billion yuan. The first phase of the project, Chongqing Midea General Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd., is jointly invested and established by Midea Group Co., Ltd. and Chongqing General Industry (Group) Co., Ltd., and has a number of internationally advanced and most complete flexible large-scale central air-conditioning production lines, with an annual output of 3,000 centrifugal chillers and screw chillers. According to experts, Chongqing Midea Corporation has the international advanced core refrigeration technology of air conditioning-centrifugal refrigeration compression technology, which has unique technical advantages in the field of central air conditioning.
Through this joint venture, Midea has mastered the leading domestic ability to independently design and manufacture centrifugal units. At this point, Midea's central air-conditioning has the strength to challenge its leading Japanese and American manufacturers in the two major fields of multi-connection and large and medium-sized water-cooled central air-conditioning, and has jumped to the ranks of the world's leading central air-conditioning manufacturers.
The development of domestic air conditioning industry highlights the watershed.
The commissioning of Midea Chongqing Industrial Park will become a watershed in the development of domestic air-conditioning industry. Midea's central air conditioning will establish its leading edge by virtue of the leap of its core competitiveness, and Midea Group will move towards greater development.
Fang Hongbo, president of Midea Refrigeration Appliance Group, said in an interview that the competition of manufacturing industry depends on the advantages brought by leading core competitiveness, including the advantages of total production cost, service network and technology research and development. After Midea Chongqing Industrial Park was put into production, it localized the application of foreign leading technology, and provided consumers with high-quality personal service with a design more in line with China's national conditions.
In addition, the breakthrough of foreign technology monopoly has directly led to the decline of total production cost, and it has a more rational cost advantage in front of international brands. From then on, the day when more than 80% of domestic large-scale central air-conditioning technologies are provided by foreign manufacturers will become history. On the other hand, Midea Central Air Conditioning has 35 product management centers and more than 70 regional offices in China, which is the most powerful marketing, technical service and accessories service network in China. At the same time, its product research and development system is also equipped with a national enterprise research center. The commissioning of Chongqing Industrial Park has fully integrated the advantages of Chongqing GM in technology and talents with the advantages of Midea Group in management mechanism, capital and marketing. Under the strong alliance, the core competitiveness of Midea's central air conditioning has been greatly improved.
It is understood that after the commissioning of Chongqing Industrial Park, Midea has two central air-conditioning manufacturing bases in Shunde, Guangdong and Chongqing, of which Shunde base in Guangdong mainly produces commercial central air conditioners, household central air conditioners and other products, with an annual production capacity of more than 3 billion units. Chongqing Industrial Park will produce large central air conditioners, mainly centrifugal units, screw units and air-cooled heat pump units. According to the group's strategic development plan, Midea will turn Chongqing Industrial Park into the largest R&D center and production base of central air conditioning in China, and within three to five years, it will form a manufacturing base of large household appliances and electromechanical equipment with an output value of over 5 billion yuan and an output value of surrounding supporting industries of over 2 billion yuan.
According to reports, there are hundreds of formal central air-conditioning manufacturers in China, with a market capacity of nearly 20 billion; By 20 10, the total capacity of the central air-conditioning market will reach 50 billion yuan. According to experts' analysis, with the breakthrough of core technology monopoly of domestic brands and the introduction of relevant national standards, the domestic market is gradually becoming standardized and mature, and has entered a transition period from blindly worshipping foreign countries to rational consumption.