Rapid modernization in the Chinese sheet metal processing industry

China Market Insider The future of sheet metal processing in China

2025-02-11 A guest post by Henrik Bork* | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

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The sheet metal processing industry in China is currently experiencing a rapid phase of modernization. What exactly this means, you can read here.

The Chinese suppliers are expanding and could soon be at the forefront of the European wind turbine industry.(Image: © Eisenhans - stock.adobe.com) — The Chinese suppliers are expanding and could soon be at the forefront of the European wind turbine industry.
(Image: © Eisenhans - stock.adobe.com)

Automation and the use of industrial robots in sheet metal processing are advancing rapidly. This reduces production costs in cutting, bending, and welding sheet metal but requires significant investments.

Therefore, a growing consolidation in the Chinese market is currently being observed, where many of the estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Chinese companies in the industry have to give up, while a number of large "national champions" are emerging, which are faring better compared to foreign competitors, such as Trumpf in Germany, year by year.

The two most important trends currently shaping the future of sheet metal processing in China are automation and digitalization, which have been systematically promoted by the government in Beijing as part of its "Made in China 2025" modernization plan for ten years.

Manufacturing with CNC machines has long since become established at leading Chinese companies, such as in the Yangtze River Delta at Dongshan Precision, Baoxin Technology, Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment, or the Xinpeng Company. The use of digital twins is also spreading rapidly.

The delta remains one of the leading regional industrial centers in the People's Republic. For this reason, successful foreign manufacturers in China, such as Trumpf, Rittal, the Sanmina Corporation, and Murata Machinery, have also invested in sheet metal processing facilities there.

However, a second region is currently becoming increasingly important. The Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province, around Guangzhou, Foshan, or Dongguan, part of the generously supported "Greater Bay Area" by Beijing, is attracting many investments in the most advanced sheet metal processing production lines.

Electromobility and communication technology are booming

Here in southern China, it is particularly clear which downstream industries will generate the strongest increase in demand for sheet metal processing in the near future. The future industry of e-mobility, for example, is booming in China and demands more and more and increasingly lighter car roofs, roof racks, or engine mounts made of aluminum or steel.

Another growth industry is manifesting thanks to Huawei and its suppliers in Shenzhen in the rapidly growing cluster of manufacturers of the latest communication technologies, which in turn is boosting the business of sheet metal processors in the region.

Other future industries in the Chinese manufacturing sector relevant to sheet metal processing include renewable energies (housings for wind turbines, aluminum frames for solar panels, etc.), as well as consumer electronics and the space industry, where China is currently showing great ambition in the race with the USA.

In both regional clusters in the Pearl River and Yangtze River deltas, a strong trend towards hydroforming processes is particularly noticeable in the course of modernization. But artificial intelligence and machine learning are also being rapidly integrated into the processes to meet customers' desire for increasingly customized and precise components.

Another direction of modernization that will continue to intensify in the foreseeable future is sustainable or "green production." Not only are modern manufacturing plants in China becoming increasingly energy-efficient and thus more cost-effective overall, they are also increasingly processing modern materials and processes to provide their customers in Europe and North America with the environmental certificates that are required there.

China's own desire for increasingly sustainable and climate-friendly manufacturing, which culminates in the promise of Chinese State and Party leader Xi Jinping to achieve climate neutrality by 2060, is also driving this trend in sheet metal processing towards greener, resource-efficient, and emission-reducing production methods.

The outlook for the medium to long-term future shows that China's sheet metal processing companies are likely to become more internationally competitive year by year.

In the course of its new development paradigm with "high-quality productive forces," which include factors such as automation, big data, and robotics, China will propel its sheet metal processing industry even further into the age of digitalization and artificial intelligence in the coming years.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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Foreign quality manufacturers, including those in Germany, will have to brace themselves to defend their global market shares.

*Henrik Bork is Managing Director at Asia Waypoint, a consulting agency specializing in China, based in Beijing. "China Market Insider" is a joint project of the Vogel Communications Group, Würzburg (Germany), and Jigong Vogel Media Advertising in Beijing.