Recently, the 2024 China Furniture Coatings Industry Annual Ceremony & Brand Selection Award Ceremony was grandly held in Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong Province, co-hosted by authoritative national coating industry institutions and professional coating media. After preliminary review of applications, market data research, real-name voting by end clients and multiple rigorous evaluations by an expert jury, Foshan Biaofu New Materials Co., Ltd. (Biaofu UV Coatings), a local Shunde enterprise specializing in eco-friendly UV coatings for over a decade, stood out among thousands of participating furniture coating manufacturers nationwide. It was awarded the prestigious 2024 Outstanding Brand of China Furniture Coatings and shortlisted for the 2024 Top 10 UV Furniture Coatings list, emerging as a benchmark brand specializing in UV coatings across South China.

This honor is an authoritative recognition of Biaofu’s comprehensive strengths in product R&D, environmental practice, end-user service and industrial contribution. It also marks that local domestic UV coating brands from Shunde have entered the first tier of China’s furniture coating sector, setting an exemplary model for the nationwide green transformation from oil-based coatings to UV coatings in furniture finishing.

The title of Outstanding Brand of China Furniture Coatings is a highly prestigious award in China’s furniture coating industry. The selection adopts a quantitative evaluation system covering six core dimensions: market share, environmental performance, technological innovation, customer reputation, social responsibility and sustainable development potential. The jury consists of experts from coating research institutes, procurement leaders of leading furniture manufacturers and senior industrial engineers. Scores are comprehensively calculated based on annual on-site application data, third-party product test reports and financial statements. Only over 20 enterprises receive this honor each year, featuring extremely strict selection criteria and high industry recognition.

Against the backdrop of the industry-wide environmental upgrade, the phase-out of oil-based coatings and the large-scale replacement by UV coatings, Biaofu has claimed this award thanks to its differentiated product portfolio focusing on veneer-specific UV coatings, LED cold light eco-friendly UV coatings and dual-curing functional UV coatings, supported by reliable product quality and full-cycle application services.

Foshan Shunde is renowned as the Hometown of China’s Coatings and Capital of China’s Furniture, with a complete industrial chain covering coating raw materials, furniture manufacturing and coating equipment, serving as a trendsetter for China’s furniture coating industry. Back in 2007, solvent-based PU coatings with high VOC content dominated the domestic market, while UV photocurable coatings were still in the initial stage. Most coating enterprises rushed into the traditional oil-based coating market for short-term profits. Foreseeing the general trend of green coating development, Mr. Yang Jie, founder of Biaofu, established the factory in Shunde. Biaofu became one of the first high-tech enterprises in South China dedicated exclusively to the R&D and production of eco-friendly UV coatings, and formulated its long-term development strategy: Focus on UV coatings, uphold environmental protection, specialize in wood finishing and serve industrial clusters.

Leveraging Shunde’s superior industrial location, Biaofu avoided the pitfalls of blind full-category expansion and homogeneous price competition prevailing in the industry. Instead of venturing into the saturated market of general PU and water-based coatings, the company has long concentrated on the segmented field of wood furniture UV coatings. It has continuously upgraded its standardized production base and built an enclosed, intelligent eco-friendly production line with an annual output of 5,000 tons. The whole factory is equipped with enclosed raw material storage systems and closed-loop waste gas recovery devices to strictly control pollutant emissions at the source. Its environmental management standards exceed the local access requirements for fine chemical enterprises, fully aligning with Shunde’s overall plan to build an eco-friendly coating industrial cluster.

After more than a decade of steady development, Biaofu has grown from a small start-up into a national high-tech enterprise and national technology-based SME. It holds a number of utility model patents and invention patents involving improved UV topcoat formulas, flexible veneer UV formulations and low-temperature UV coatings adapted for LED lights. The annual revenue of its flagship UV coating products exceeds 100 million RMB. The company serves over 300 end furniture manufacturers, with products applicable to all finishing scenarios including panel custom furniture, high-end solid wood furniture, veneer wrapping, irregular woodwork and furniture accessories. Its sales network covers major furniture industrial belts across South, East, North and Southwest China. Stable cooperative relationships have been established with well-known furniture clusters such as Nankang in Jiangxi, Linyi in Shandong and Dongyang in Zhejiang. A solid market foundation has laid a firm groundwork for winning the Outstanding Brand award.

Environmental performance and technological innovation account for 40% of the total evaluation weight in the selection, which are the core strengths that helped Biaofu outperform numerous competitors. Targeting long-standing industrial pain points such as cracking of coated veneers, poor adhesion on high-oil solid wood, uncured areas on irregular workpieces and high energy consumption of traditional mercury lamp UV systems, Biaofu maintains substantial investment in R&D. It has built an in-house standardized physical and chemical testing laboratory and established industry-university-research cooperation platforms with fine chemistry departments of local universities in Shunde to tackle technical challenges in wood UV coatings and continuously upgrade product formulas.

For its star product — flexible veneer-specific UV coatings, the R&D team spent two years adjusting raw material ratios and curing parameters, successfully solving the common problems of veneer cracking during bending and film cracking in low-temperature environments. The product soon became a top choice for solid wood veneer finishing and captured a large market share of veneer UV coatings in South China. To meet the industry’s demand for energy conservation, Biaofu took the lead in launching a full range of UV coatings for LED cold light systems. Compared with traditional mercury lamp UV products, its energy consumption is reduced by more than 50%, and the curing time is shortened to 1~3 seconds. The products help downstream furniture manufacturers cut electricity costs and optimize factory space, delivering advantages in environmental protection, efficiency and production cost, and have become the preferred choice for end-users upgrading production lines in recent years.

All Biaofu UV products adopt strictly selected raw materials, with formulas free of benzene substances, formaldehyde, heavy metals and other harmful additives. All products have passed China’s Ten-Ring Environmental Label Certification and EU RoHS testing, with VOC emissions far below national mandatory standards. The coatings produce no pungent odor during application and require no costly waste gas treatment equipment afterwards, enabling furniture enterprises to easily pass environmental assessments. In random third-party inspections in 2024, more than a dozen mainstream Biaofu UV products all met relevant standards, earning high scores from the jury for excellent environmental and physical properties. Meanwhile, the company has developed new trendy products including two-component modified UV coatings, matte soft-touch UV coatings and high-transparency log-style UV coatings, catering to the market trends of Italian minimalist and log-style home decoration, enriching its product lineup and expanding application scope.

The organizing committee commented that an outstanding brand excels not only in products, but also in comprehensive service capabilities to empower the industry and end clients. Unlike most coating suppliers that merely sell products with inadequate after-sales support, Biaofu prioritizes the development of localized service systems and regards technical service as one of its core competitiveness, which also contributed greatly to its award.

Based in Shunde’s industrial cluster, Biaofu has set up a dedicated team of coating engineers, providing free full-cycle services for thousands of local furniture manufacturers, including on-site factory surveys, production line renovation design, phased commissioning for the transition from PU to UV coatings and on-site technical guidance. To address the concerns of small and medium-sized furniture factories that hesitate to fully replace UV equipment due to budget constraints, Biaofu proposed a phased upgrading solution: replace primer with UV first, then upgrade topcoat step by step, which greatly reduces trial-and-error costs. In 2024 alone, the company helped nearly 100 local small and medium-sized furniture factories complete the transition from oil-based coatings to eco-friendly UV coatings, effectively driving the green upgrade of the regional coating industry.

For national clients, Biaofu arranges dedicated regional account managers to provide follow-up services. Formulas are fine-tuned according to local wood characteristics, production environments and product positioning to deliver customized solutions. Regular professional training on UV coating technologies is held for distributors and end factories, covering operation skills for new LED equipment and construction tips. Biaofu has evolved from a simple coating supplier into an all-round service provider integrating coatings, technologies, solutions and after-sales support. After over a decade of development, the average cooperation term with its key furniture brand clients exceeds 8 years, with a repurchase rate ranking among the industry’s top tier. Excellent reputation among end users brought Biaofu massive votes in the public poll.

Furthermore, Biaofu actively participates in industrial standardization. It has been invited to numerous national furniture coating summits and Shunde coating industry forums to share practical experience of green UV coating application. The company firmly opposes low-quality, substandard UV coatings that disrupt the market, adheres to eco-friendly formula standards, and helps eliminate the vicious competition of bad money driving out good money, fulfilling its social responsibility as an outstanding brand.

In an interview with industrial media at the award ceremony, Mr. Yang Jie, General Manager of Biaofu, stated: The title of 2024 Outstanding Brand of China Furniture Coatings is recognition from the industry and the market for our long-term commitment to green UV coatings, and also an incentive for our high-quality development ahead. Taking root in Shunde is our eternal foundation, and focusing on eco-friendly UV coatings is our persistent pursuit.

Driven by the national dual-carbon goals, the nationwide transition from traditional oil-based coatings to green alternatives is accelerating. The domestic UV coating market has maintained an annual growth rate of over 12% for years. High-end solid wood furniture, whole-house customization, furniture export and automotive interior components have become four major growth markets for UV coatings. Riding on the momentum of this award, Biaofu has mapped out its future development plans:

First, further increase investment in cutting-edge new material R&D, focusing on three major directions: bio-based eco-friendly UV coatings, solvent-free high-solid UV coatings and low-temperature flexible UV coatings. The company will explore emerging markets such as medical wood accessories and new composite material finishing to expand the application of domestic UV coatings.

Second, deepen industrial chain collaboration within the Greater Bay Area. Partner with local resin raw material suppliers and automatic coating equipment manufacturers in Shunde to build a green coating industrial alliance. Integrate upstream and downstream resources to launch cost-effective complete UV renovation packages for small and medium-sized factories, accelerating the promotion of eco-friendly coating replacement in sinking markets.

Third, implement refined operation of national sales channels. Expand presence in established furniture industrial parks in East and North China. Meanwhile, leverage its environmental advantages to explore supporting markets for furniture exports in Southeast Asia, helping Shunde’s local UV brands go global and meet international green coating standards.

Going forward, Biaofu will take this Outstanding Brand award as a new starting point. It will stay true to its original aspiration of green coating development, drive product iteration through technological innovation, empower the whole industrial chain with refined services, and continue to play a leading exemplary role. The company will help Shunde polish its reputation as the Hometown of China’s Green Coatings and keep leading the domestic UV coating industry amid the green upgrade of China’s furniture finishing sector.

From launching its UV coating business in Shunde in 2007 to winning the prestigious Outstanding Brand award in 2024, Biaofu has forged a remarkable growth story for local UV coating brands from a pioneer to an industry leader, guided by four core principles: dedication, innovation, environmental protection and service. This prestigious industry award represents joint recognition from the market, clients and authoritative juries for Biaofu’s overall strength, and also mirrors the rise of domestic specialized eco-friendly coating enterprises.

As the coating industry marches toward low-carbon and green development, Biaofu will remain focused on the UV coating track. With dual advantages in technology and brand, it will continuously lead the high-quality development of furniture UV coatings and facilitate China’s furniture finishing industry to fully embrace the new era of all-eco UV coatings.