A recent quality test, held by Administration of Quality and Technology Supervision of Guangdong Province, shows that 6.1 percent of the wood coating products tested are unqualified.

According to the monitoring report published on May 17, 14 of total 229 tested batches produced by 179 companies from nine cities are on the list of substandard wood coatings.

This is not the first time that coating manufacturers involved in scandals.

Guangdong Huarun, once the largest manufacturer of wood coatings in China, embroils itself in an illegal layoffs scandal, which hurts its reputation as a national paints brand.

More than 200 staff members of the company are reported to be dismissed since May 6 with neither previous notice nor compensation. The scandal is confirmed by Huarun Paints as a “market conduct”.

Rapid growth of coatings industry and disorderly competition among ever-increasing manufacturers are to blame for the frequent disorder, says responsible person of a coatings company in Foshan, Guangdong Province.

Scarce leading companies, imperfect supervision and low market access are three main obstructions that hinder the growth pattern transformation of the industry, he says.

“Domestic companies are less competitive compared with international brands as they put emphasis on lowering price instead of improving quality or renewing technical skills,” he added. “This brings about unhealthy competition.”

One thing we can learn for sure from companies like Huarun Paints is that extensive growth mode no longer fits the development of society and time, and a reform of development pattern is very likely to take place in the near future.