By Bao Zhi Cheng

With the rapid and steady development of China economy during the past 30 years, the plastics industry has made great progress with remarkable achievements. Now Chinese annual outputs of the plastics machineries, the plastics products and the synthetic resins have gotten the lead position in the world. China has already become second largest country in the plastics field following the United States.
As one part of the plastics industry, China rotational molding launched in the late 1950s. Chinese rotomolders manufactured squeezable toys by highly plasticize liquid polyvinyl chloride in Shanghai. In 1968, Shanghai No.3 Plastics Plant produced 90L polyethylene containers. Its size was larger than any blow molded products in China. Two years later, 1500L polyethylene containers were made in Shanghai. In the middle of 1970s, Beijing FRP Institute developed nylon containers by rotomolding.
Beginning in 1980s, Chinese rotational molding entered a new period. Some advanced rotomolding machines were imported to China from the United States, Japan, Italy and Germany. The rotomolders produced some new products with the machines. Up to now, most of the imported rotomolding machines still have been using. From 1990s, with the private enterprises rose up as a new force, rotomolding industry has been growing very fast in China. Along the eastern and southern coast area, Chinese set up more than 200 new rotomolding firms.
Currently, There are about 300 companies involved rotomolding in China, including rotational molders, materials, machines and molds suppliers.