The Land of Smiles

After sound analysis, SPECK Pumpen classified China as one of the prioritised growth markets and in 2017 decided to expand its sales activities there. Swimming pool technology still leads a niche existence in China – but political decisions are expected to lead to enormous growth. We have already seen the first signs of this. In the aquaculture sector, the Land of Smiles will also continue to develop significantly in the coming years.

China – the fourth largest country in the world with around 1.4 billion inhabitants – has become the focus of our sales strategy in recent years. Initial contacts were difficult to establish. With Yuan He, who is rooted in both nations, as our sales representative we then managed to gain a foothold surprisingly quickly. A first trade fair appearance last May confirmed our hopes. Interest in our products was very high and “Made in Germany” is very popular in the People’s Republic.

We are currently working with wholesalers and experienced swimming pool builders and offer our partners regular product training sessions. Even if developments have not been as good as we had hoped, due to corona, we are still recording a steady, stable turnover. With reference projects such as swimming pools, hotel pools and pool villas, we have been able to record our first successes.

Swimming pool technology in China is still in its infancy. However, the condition of the outdated public swimming pools in need of renovation and the demand for water sports facilities among the population are causing this market to grow rapidly. Since the introduction of compulsory swimming lessons, the Chinese Ministry of Education plans to build 300 new swimming pools each year until 2025, a political decision that is expected to increase the market volume to 600 billion euros within five years. By then, 700 km² of water sports areas will have been newly built. This would mean a total of 2 m² of water surface for every inhabitant.

With a north-south extension of 4,500 km, China has very different climatic conditions. From the tropical climate on the south coast to the wintery cold coniferous forest climate on the border to Russia. The living habits and thus the demand for private pools are correspondingly different. In general, however, one can speak of increasing demand.

Last but not least, the aquaculture sector has great potential: overfished seas and rising food demand are giving aqua farms an enormous boost. It is no wonder then that the People’s Republic, by far the largest fishing nation, is at the forefront of fish farming.