"Hard-earned savings, a return to pre-liberation." June 2, in Jining investment to open a mask production plant Wang Gang (a pseudonym) so to surging news to describe their own kill import mask market encounter.
In mid-April investment in the production of masks, two orders in 10 days, three days of production, profits of three or four hundred thousand. Wang Gang recalled, at that time, see mask machine is like seeing the gold mountain.
After the situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse. at the end of April, with the market saturated, supply is greater than demand, and then no big orders; masks profits have plummeted, Wang Gang and his partners invested more than 3 million, seeing to be a waste of money.
May Labor Day, think what to do is not interesting, Wang just rely on playing games every day to anesthetize themselves.
There is such a saying in the industry: "The first to live in a mansion, later on the rooftop." The steady income, is the mask, raw materials and mask machine "pour master".
The "mask machine is like a money printing machine," "there are masks town created many millionaires," and other rumors, industry insiders are more evasive. "Chinese people talk about the rich do not show. In addition, also worried about being scolded for making national wealth."
One of them emphasized, "You only see those who laugh, did not see those who cry."
Making 150,000 a day, "it feels like I'm just waiting to count my money."
In recent days, Wang Gang has been considering a career change.
In 2012, from the salesman to do Wang Gang, as a minority shareholder, and partners in Jining, Shandong Province, opened a non-woven bag factory. 2016 began to do the main foreign trade orders, annual sales of more than 6 million, the profit is still considerable.
Because of the lack of money, Wang Gang, 34, has not been able to buy a house.
Before the epidemic, relying on these years to do foreign trade savings of five or six hundred thousand, he looked at a second-hand house in Jinan, paid a deposit, plans to do the formalities after the year.
All of this was disrupted by the epidemic.
In late March 2020, Wang Gang's factory resumed work. At that time, the outbreak of the epidemic abroad has been outbreak, there is no foreign trade orders. Domestic exhibitions and events that require non-woven bags are also suspended. "There is a lot of pressure, no orders, workers will be lost, re-recruitment, training, there are costs." Wang Gang recalls.
Workers in production. Interviewed for the picture
The main reason that prompted Wang Gang and his partners determined to kill the import mask market, is that a number of peers transitioned to the production of masks, "I heard that they made a few million." They believe that the company has been doing foreign trade, is considered an advantage.
April 7, Qufu Baoli Medical Technology Co., Ltd. business license is done. April 10, through the WeChat group bought four sets of second-hand disposable mask machine arrived and debugging, began production. Because we have been doing foreign trade, Wang Gang knows the importance of quality. 15 April, the company got SGS China and EU CE certification.
Just got the certification, the company received an order of 1.1 million disposable protective masks from Italy. At that time, the filtration 95% level of meltblown cloth more than 500,000 per ton, accounting for the cost of each mask RMB 90 cents, can be sold for a piece of three or four. Because it is a foreign trade company orders, the other side to take more than half of the profits, each mask can also earn two or three cents.
"The other side to be very urgent, we riveted production, two days and two nights to complete the order." Wang Gang recalled that, in the end, the masks passed customs smoothly, and the quality control is also qualified. Two days earned two or three hundred thousand, Wang Gang feel crazy.
"Looking at the mask machine, it's like seeing a 'golden mountain'." Wang Gang said that at that time, it felt like waiting to count the money.
Because it is a second-hand mask machine, and not from a large factory, there are always problems, such as the press is not neat, need to debug, affecting the production schedule. Wang Gang and partners did not hesitate to sell the four sets of mask machine. Originally bought each set of 200,000 yuan, sold 180,000 yuan. Then, re-purchase a set of large factory disposable mask machine.
On April 20, the N95 mask machine purchased at a cost of 2 million also arrived at the plant. This is 15 days from the time they paid the full amount.
Immediately following, the company received an order of 300,000, the other side as long as the N95 mask "white" (Note: the mask slicer is more expensive, the other side of the enterprise may be reluctant to invest), to take the past secondary processing, and then exported to Singapore.
"We earn 50 cents each, a day and a night to earn 15 million." Wang Gang said, "You think about what that feels like."
The profits were staggering, and the investment was not low: with the $400,000 spent on remodeling the aseptic workshop, the investment had reached more than $3 million.
The sterile workshop of Wang Gang's business. Interviewed for the picture
At that time, the partner joked that he had two sons to marry a daughter-in-law, Wang Gang also want to marry a daughter-in-law, according to this, you can make three million a month, "the money to marry five daughters-in-law is also enough".
While prices are low, all the savings have been invested in the Wang Gang, and even restarted to look at the house. He calculates that even if he is a minority shareholder, two months can be divided into more than a million, "when the direct full payment to buy a house".
What they did not expect is that the mask market will turn sharply in half a month.
"The first to live in a mansion, and later on the rooftop"
After the domestic epidemic stabilized, many individuals and businesses still have inventory, and the demand for masks has also decreased.
After the second big order, although the domestic several hundred (mostly families for their own use), five thousand ten thousand (enterprise resumption of work with) orders still have, but Wang Gang's mask factory from the end of April and then did not receive a big order.
At that time, the mask market was already saturated.
Wang Gang panicked, began to send a circle of friends, mobilized all the relatives and friends to help sell masks, but the effect is very little. "A friend found a local epidemic prevention command leadership, a question, people still stock many masks."
Eyeball check professional version of the data show that, subject to business registration, from January 1 to May 31, China's mask-related enterprises newly registered 70802, compared with the same period in 2019, an increase of 1255.84%. Among them, 35,260 were registered in April, and began to decline in May to 10,283. In addition, according to CCTV reports, in March and April, China's inspection and release of exports of masks reached 27.8 billion, about three times last year's total global production of masks. 1.06 billion masks were exported in one day on April 24th.
To May Day, Wang Gang completely lost confidence, "really do not know what to do, every day to play the game to anesthetize themselves, the night has been playing to the exhaustion can not bear to sleep. The only time to go out is to buy cigarettes."
Not to mention no orders, even if there are orders, according to the later masks profitability want to recover the investment, but also impossible. Seeing the savings to be blew away, Wang Gang feels that he "a return to the pre-liberation", living a very failed.
A number of industry insiders said that the epidemic serious period, due to the closure of the road control, want to kill the import mask market is not easy. At that time, "many factories converted to produce mask machine", still a machine is difficult to find. At the highest, N95 mask machine speculation to more than 2.3 million, more than 1 million disposable mask machine. Order machine to full payment, and delivery more in half a month, or even a month later. As a result, the epidemic first stabilized when killing investors in the mask market, can be put into production in mid to late March are considered early. And, at that time, the mask machine factory simply do not come to the door to install, many mask machine debugging is not good on the "nest" in that.
According to these industry insiders to observe estimates, the epidemic began to stabilize the mask production line into the field of investors, 90% are unable to recover costs. "Not on the N95 mask machine is better, on the N95 mask machine, loss of millions is normal."
There is a saying in the industry: the first to live in a mansion, and later on the rooftop.
In a mask town in China, a mask salesman driving a Maserati told the surging news, after the entry into the trap quite a lot, these are mostly relatives and friends to invest in partnership, lost money, inevitably conflict. "You only see those who laugh, did not see those who cry."
Still decided to leave the machine
After the May Day holiday, after friends enlightenment, Wang Gang feel better, willing to come out to do something.
Wang Gang heard that some of his counterparts in Zhejiang Province at the beginning of the domestic epidemic stabilized, began to do masks, "did a period of time, immediately sold the machine." Today, the price of a disposable mask machine has fallen to two or three hundred thousand, but there is no market. Wang just discussed with his partners, or decided not to sell the machine. in May, there was a mask factory to find them, proposed to let them put the mask machine in the factory, and then according to the number of masks produced divided, they also refused.
Wang Gang said, at present, the non-woven bag market is recovering, they decided to non-woven bags as the center of gravity, the mask as a side business. The reason is that there are not many formal mask manufacturers around.
And Wang Gang encounter similar Li Lei (a pseudonym), and Wang Gang choose different. He is a domestic mask town people, brother-in-law's family is open mask factory. When the domestic epidemic first stabilized, he spent more than 2 million on a set of N95 mask machine, compared to the disposable protective masks, each N95 mask profits to be much higher. However, the mask machine has been debugging bad, can not put into production. Worried about the mask machine down to scrap metal price, he to 300,000 price, the mask machine sold.
Even so, the first "pour mask" Li Lei said, he also earned more than 100,000 yuan.
During the epidemic, like Li Lei, pour mask machine, masks, meltblown cloth, a steady profit, many have made a fortune. However, the most profitable, or those who originally produced masks, as well as the epidemic early kill the market.
An epidemic, leaving a "mask machine is like a money printing machine" "mask towns create many millionaires" and other rumors.
In this regard, these industry insiders have avoided talking about. "Chinese people talk about rich not exposed. In addition, they are also worried about being scolded for making national wealth."
Now, the market was not up to the mask production standards of 80% level (filtration efficiency) of the following meltblown cloth, has been from 400,000 to 500,000 per ton, plummeted to 10,000 yuan per ton. 95% level of meltblown cloth, but also from the highest of six or seven hundred thousand down to 250,000, 99% level of meltblown cloth from more than 700,000 to 300,000 yuan.
Wang Gang told the surging news, before the meltblown cloth is difficult to buy, worried about price increases, in the production of the first batch of Italian orders, the company scrambled to buy more than two tons, and half of the useless. According to the current price of masks, and then produce and sell can only save money. More miserable, even the orders are not.
"We are worried, in the consideration of opening online stores, to broaden the mask and non-woven bag sales." Wang Gang said, now, the domestic mask market is saturated. However, those countries with less developed light industry, the demand for masks is still relatively large, as long as the quality is up to standard, can still be exported. Now the mask factory price is still higher than before the epidemic, compared to the previous profit of a few cents per mask, now the profit is still considerable.
"Outside is also reported to be good news, parents ask, but also said it is okay." Wang Gang can only grit his teeth and hold on, "the only remaining hope in the export, who does not know how the situation of the epidemic in the future, side by side to see it."