Encyclopedia of Metal Doors and Windows Industry （including industry status， development history， knowledge map of the industrial chain， and market prospect analysis）

At present, steel and aluminum doors and windows have become the mainstream of the metal doors and windows market in China. The export volume of doors and windows products is much higher than the import volume, covering multiple countries such as India, Cambodia, and Indonesia. In 2024, the export volume of steel-made doors and windows in China reached 371,600 tons, with a year-on-year increase of 14.48%; the export amount was 1.219 billion US dollars. The export volume of aluminum-made metal doors and windows reached 303,000 tons, with a year-on-year increase of 14.85%; the export amount was 1.617 billion US dollars.

I. Definition and Classification

Doors and windows are extremely important functional components that protect against wind, rain, dust, and insects and achieve physical properties such as thermal, acoustic, and light environments in buildings. They have dual decorative effects on the exterior of buildings and the indoor environment and directly affect the safety, comfort, energy efficiency, and improvement of people's living quality of buildings. Metal doors and windows are made of metal materials such as aluminum, steel, and iron. According to the material, they can be classified as stainless steel doors and windows, steel doors and windows, copper doors and windows, aluminum alloy doors and windows, and insulated aluminum alloy doors and windows. 

II. Business Model

1. Procurement Model

Metal door and window manufacturing enterprises usually purchase raw materials such as metals, components, and glass, adopting a "production-driven procurement + reasonable inventory" procurement model. The enterprise conducts procurement based on the production plan customized by the production department. Additionally, to ensure the normal operation of production activities, the enterprise usually maintains a certain safety inventory of raw materials. For large customized orders, the enterprise usually purchases fixed-sized and material-specific raw materials according to customer requirements, and appropriately reduces or does not provide safety inventory.

2. Production Model

Metal door and window enterprises usually adopt a "sales-driven production" model. The marketing center transfers customer orders to the manufacturing center for production scheduling and material preparation. The manufacturing center organizes personnel for production. At the same time, through the assessment of the qualifications of raw material suppliers, random on-site inspections, arrival inspection of raw materials, as well as random inspections of each process during production and full-process self-inspections and full-process inspection of finished products, the enterprise ensures the quality of the entire production process. In addition to self-production, mature metal door and window enterprises outsource the production of painting, bending, and line cutting processes to reduce management costs.

3. Sales Model

Metal door and window enterprises adopt a sales model combining direct sales and distribution. The direct sales model is mainly for customized orders for large-scale venues, where the sales department of the enterprise expands customer sources, fully understands customer needs, and provides design plans and quotations after fully understanding the customer's requirements. After the production is completed, the enterprise directly delivers the products to the customer and settles the payment. The distribution model is mainly for individual and family orders. Under the distribution model, the enterprise signs a distribution contract with the distributor, and after the distributor obtains the terminal customer orders, the technical staff reviews and optimizes the design based on the customer-provided size, product series, color, etc. After the production is completed, the distributor delivers the products.

III. Industry Policies

1. Department in Charge and Regulatory System

Metal door and window is uniformly planned by the National Development and Reform Commission for the industry's strategic development; the industry's competent department is the National Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ministry, and the industry's self-regulatory organization is the China Building Metal Structure Association and the China Building Decoration Association.

The National Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ministry is mainly responsible for formulating industry policies and industry planning, and conducting macro-control on the industry's development direction; the industry's quality and technical supervision department is the Product Quality Safety Supervision and Management Department of the State Market Supervision Administration, responsible for product quality supervision.

The China Building Metal Structure Association and the China Building Decoration Association's management and service functions for the metal door and window industry mainly manifest in promoting industry technical exchanges and talent training, promoting the sustained and healthy development of the industry, etc., in terms of self-regulation, coordination, and supervision.

2. Industry-related Policies

In recent years, relevant national departments and industry associations have continuously supported and encouraged the development of green building materials, especially encouraging the aluminum alloy and break-through aluminum door and window manufacturing industries to transform and upgrade in the directions of green and low-carbon, energy conservation and environmental protection. The release of policies such as "Opinions on Further Rescuing Consumption Potential and Promoting the Continuous Recovery of Consumption" and "Civil Building General Specifications" has encouraged the vigorous development of green consumption, promoted the large-scale development of green buildings, vigorously developed prefabricated buildings, actively promoted green building materials, and accelerated building energy conservation renovations. With the upgrading of residents' consumption and the increase in their requirements for living comfort, consumers have increasingly higher requirements for the quality of door and window products. Coupled with the continuous efforts of industry encouragement policies, it creates favorable conditions for the sustained development of the industry. 

V. Industry Barriers

1. Brand Barrier

At present, the quality of metal door and window products in China varies greatly, and brand reputation and influence have become an important basis for consumers to make quick choices. Moreover, metal doors and windows are high-priced and low-frequency consumption products with a long service life. The brand provides consumers with a high-quality guarantee, which is an important factor in industry competition. The establishment of brand reputation and prestige requires long-term brand operation and historical accumulation. Leading brands in the industry have occupied the mid-to-high-end market of metal door and window products in China, cultivated a certain sticky customer base, and have a relatively solid market foundation, thus forming a high brand barrier.

2. Design and Research and Development Barrier

With the continuous improvement of people's living standards and the upgrading of consumption quality, end consumers have become increasingly demanding for personalized and differentiated products. Unique creativity and excellent research and development design capabilities directly determine the market competitiveness and acceptance of metal door and window products. The accumulation of design and research and development capabilities and the establishment of a research and development design system require the long-term cultivation of the R&D team, the continuous accumulation and refinement of the R&D innovation culture, and the insight and continuous tracking of the preferences of end consumers by the R&D team. New entrants find it difficult to possess such capabilities in a short period of time.

3. Sales Channel Barrier

In the domestic metal door and window market, the sales service network undertakes many functions such as brand promotion, business undertaking, customized design, logistics transportation, installation and maintenance. Its scale and quality directly affect the business performance and market reputation of the enterprise. To establish a wide, efficient and professional sales service network, enterprises not only need to invest a large amount of funds during the long construction period, but also need to gradually accumulate and improve management systems and regulations over a long-term operation process, forming a rapid response, profound understanding and forward-looking grasp of the market, thus forming a high sales channel barrier.

4. Production and Delivery Capacity Barrier

Metal door and window products have the characteristics of customized and personalized production and clear delivery deadlines. Enterprises need to achieve dynamic linkage management in the design development, procurement, production, sales, warehousing and logistics, etc., to improve equipment utilization, material utilization and employee production efficiency, enhance flexibility and adaptability, quickly respond to customer order demands, shorten the product production cycle, and achieve large-scale production and timely delivery. Cultivating lean and flexible production management capabilities requires rich practical experience accumulation and strict and effective implementation based on a sound and refined management system. Therefore, large-scale and efficient production and delivery capacity is also one of the barriers to entering the metal door and window industry.

V. Industry Chain

1. Industry Chain Analysis

The upstream of the metal door and window industry mainly consists of raw materials such as steel, aluminum profiles, glass, and hardware. The development of the upstream industry and the changes in prices directly affect production costs. Currently, under the background of industrial supply-side structural reform, backward production capacity of metal materials and glass has been eliminated one after another, and some small and illegal production enterprises have been shut down one after another. High-quality production capacity continues to be released, and the total output of products still maintains a stable growth trend, with sufficient market supply.

The downstream of the industry mainly includes real estate, decoration and renovation, and other industries. In recent years, the state has encouraged localities to combine with old residential area renovations and supported residents to carry out old house renovations and partial upgrading. At the same time, with the younger consumption group and upgraded consumption capacity, people's requirements for the comfort and individuality of the living environment are getting higher and higher, and the demand for improvement-style renovations will also further increase. With the improvement of urbanization rate and the increase in new house construction, as well as the renovation and decoration of old houses, the demand for metal door and window products will grow synchronously.