Wallpaper is the most common type of decoration material for interior walls and ceilings, which are usually produced in the form of rolls.
Wallpaper can be on paper, fabric and polymer basis. There are several classifications of types of wallpaper, depending on the level of moisture resistance (non-moisture resistant, moisture resistant, washable and super washable), type of surface (smooth, with a relief pattern, imitating the texture of other materials), and density (light and heavy).
If you are going to produce wallpaper, decide what kind of wallpaper will be in your assortment. The most popular wallpaper now is painting - this is a whole group of wallpapers with a deep embossed coating and the absence of a multicolor ornament. Their other name is structural or textured wallpaper.
This type of wallpaper is divided into three subspecies: paper wallpaper, non-woven and glass. These types of wallpaper differ in both characteristics and materials used in their manufacture.
The main feature of wallpaper for painting is that they can be painted and repainted with any dispersion paints. As a rule, such wallpapers are produced either in white or (less commonly) in warm pastel colors - light green, yellow, blue, cream, pink.
Another type of wallpaper - vinyl - fairly reliably imitate various natural materials. This type of coating is durable, durable and hygienic. Almost all wallpapers of this group are waterproof to one degree or another. They are used for pasting rooms requiring frequent wet cleaning (kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, etc.).
True, they have a drawback - they do not let air through. Although modern technology allows the production of vinyl wallpapers with micropores, which provide ventilation. Vinyl wallpaper consists of two layers. The bottom layer - paper or non-woven - is covered with a thin layer of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), after which a pattern and / or embossing is applied to the surface of the wallpaper. Often, such wallpaper is impregnated with a special composition that protects the walls from the formation of mold and fungus.
Vinyl wallpapers are divided into several groups - with a pronounced texture (foamed vinyl), with a smooth surface (compact vinyl), especially dense vinyl wallpapers. Vinyl wallpapers with a flat surface include wallpapers with the silk-screen technology with different thicknesses of the vinyl layer.
Paper wallpapers are the most widely used materials, due to their low cost and ease of use. They are environmentally friendly, breathable (“breathable”), and when using special impregnation, they acquire properties such as moisture and wear resistance. Paper wallpapers can be with a smooth surface or with various textures and embossments, single-layer or multi-layer.
Single-layer wallpapers are called “simplex”, and double-layer wallpapers are called “duplex”. Another modern look of traditional wallpaper is three-layer with a smooth lower layer, which reduces the risk of deformation of the canvas when glued to the wall.
Less common and more expensive types of wallpaper are velor and quartz. Velor wallpapers are made on a non-woven or paper basis with a pattern in the form of a fleecy application. They are distinguished by high decorative properties, but are laborious to care for and are afraid of water. Moisture can cause dissolution of the adhesive layer and subsequent delamination of the wallpaper.
Quartz wallpapers are made on a non-woven basis with a top layer of colored sand (quartz). They reliably mimic the surfaces of natural materials, are resistant to abrasion and mechanical damage. In addition, thanks to the painted basis of the canvases, when gluing such wallpaper, the joints are almost invisible, which creates the effect of a uniform coating.
Organization of wallpaper production
To organize your own wallpaper production, one or two technological lines will be sufficient, depending on what kind of wallpaper you are going to produce and in what volume. For example, most foamed vinyl wallpaper production lines have the ability to combine two printing methods — deep and silk-screen.
The production capacity of such a line can reach 3-4 million euros per year. The most popular are German, Dutch, Belgian, English and American equipment.
The cost of such a wallpaper production line starts at 30 million rubles. (This price is not new equipment 90s release in working condition). Such a line includes a machine covering a sheet of wallpaper with a vinyl layer, a line for embossing, printing and cutting, auxiliary equipment (a raw material mixer and a vinyl raw material return).
Such equipment requires at least 1800 square meters of production space, and the total energy of the line is 250 kW. Design capacity reaches 60-80 meters per minute. Wallpaper production equipment is designed to work 18 hours a day, 300 days a year.
Production technology consists of several stages. Non-woven material in a roll is fed into the machine, covering the wallpaper with a vinyl layer (consumption of 100-300 grams / sq. M). Then, the sprayed material enters the drying oven, and then into the cooling unit. After that, the coils of the semi-finished product are loaded into the line of embossing, printing and cutting.
At the last stages of production, the product enters the heating furnace (for foaming PVC), passes the embossing stage, again enters the roller cooling unit and is cut into rolls, usually 10 meters long.
Manufacturers of expensive wallpaper most often import raw materials from abroad. Budget wallpapers are made from materials of domestic production. The list of necessary raw materials includes paper, paints, varnishes, polymer pastes (for the manufacture of washable wallpapers). Paper is purchased at pulp and paper mills in Russia, Finland, Sweden or less often in Germany. 1 ton of paper of foreign production will cost about 20-25 thousand rubles. For the production of high-quality high-quality wallpapers, mainly imported paints and vinyl paste are used.
To service a production line for wallpaper production, at least 15-18 people working in two shifts will be required.
Of course, wallpaper production is a large-scale and costly enterprise. Will such expenses pay off? Assessing the prospects for developing a wallpaper business for the next few years is quite difficult. The Russian wallpaper market is characterized by unstable behavior - periods of sharp growth are replaced by a consumer recession. For example, in 2004 a small increase, which was noted before, was replaced by a significant decline - by 21%. Over the next two years, the market share grew again by 9%, and in 2007 it started to decline again. In the same period, the volume of imports decreased significantly. Nevertheless, in 2009 another positive increase was outlined.
Although analysts note that the growth rate of production of domestic wallpaper enterprises is still very small. But this affected mostly the production of paper-based wallpapers. More modern wallpaper materials, on the contrary, are very popular. However, experts do not advise hurrying so far with a complete withdrawal of paper wallpaper from the assortment of manufactured products.
For example, during a crisis, paper wallpapers, which are cheaper than vinyl, again attracted the attention of consumers. A wide range of wallpapers and a great demand for visually similar product models contributed to the relative stability of the wallpaper market during the crisis. Customers maintained their previous volumes of purchases, reorienting to less expensive positions. In addition, the high retail retail margin in relation to producer prices also played a role.
The high margin allowed market trading to keep wallpaper prices stable. In general, in the mass of repair services there is an increase in the share of wallpaper work. This is due to a shift in consumer demand towards less expensive cosmetic repairs. In the face of declining purchasing power of the population, the demand for wallpaper, which is a traditional decoration material for our country, will increase. Even if this increase is small, with a significant drop in imports, domestic products will still be in demand by consumers.
There are not so many domestic manufacturers of wallpaper. Among the largest factories, one can distinguish KOF Palitra LLC, Saratov Wallpaper, OJSC, Erismann LLC, Mayprint LLC, and Turinsky Pulp and Paper Plant CJSC.
Obviously, this market segment is still promising for investment. Especially if you can offer good quality products at competitive prices and original designs. By the way, about the design ... Domestic wallpaper products are clearly inferior to imported materials precisely because of their design and limited color scheme. If you focus on products of an average and above an average price category, then you should pay attention to the variety of collections of wallpapers you produce.
It is also necessary to think over the marketing system of finished products in advance. Pay attention primarily to the central and northwestern areas. Indeed, according to market research, the main Russian buyers of wallpaper are residents of large cities and the most industrially developed federal districts.
An important point to consider in your business plan is pricing. Keep in mind that the share of raw materials in the cost of production is up to 70%, energy and rental space - 15%. The average retail price per roll is 400 rubles. The profitability of this production is approximately 35-40%.
Pavel Biryukov
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See also:
Wallpaper production video