The main reason why the tungsten industry is embedded in the photovoltaic industry chain is the optimistic outlook of the photovoltaic industry, and the higher cost-efficiency ratio of tungsten wire than that of carbon steel wire diamond wire, which can significantly save the production cost of silicon wafer cutting enterprises. Since 2021, the price of silicon material has been rising. According to the data of the Silicon Industry Association, the long-term single price range of silicon materials in August 2022 is concentrated at 300,000-305,000 yuan/ton, mainly due to the continued popularity of the photovoltaic circuit, which has led to a substantial increase in the market demand for silicon materials.
In this context, in order to reduce the loss of silicon material and improve the yield of silicon wafers, silicon wafer manufacturers have put forward higher requirements for the cutting performance of diamond wire tools, which also promotes the transformation of diamond wire busbars from high carbon steel wire to Tungsten wire conversion. Due to its excellent physical, chemical, and thermal properties, tungsten diamond wire is highly sought after by diamond wire companies such as Dyler New Materials, Sanchao New Materials, and Meichang.
The investor relations platform shows that currently, Dyler New Materials has mastered the manufacturing technology of tungsten wire diamond wire and has batch sales every month; Sanchao New Material has tungsten wire diamond wire sold in small batches, and it sells diamonds with the smallest wire diameter. The wire is 32 microns; Meichang has carried out strategic cooperation research with leading companies in the tungsten wire industry; Gaoce has made technical reserves of tungsten wire raw materials since 2019, and now has mastered the application of tungsten wire electroplating production technology; Stellar Technology is also paying attention to tungsten diamond wire and has conducted a small amount of experimental research. In the later stage, the company will continue to pay attention to the market trend of tungsten diamond wire and make corresponding arrangements.
It is worth mentioning that under the continuous high prosperity of the photovoltaic industry, many diamond wire companies have sufficient orders, and customers are urging orders fiercely. Specifically, in order to meet the demand for diamond wire in the downstream market, Dyler's 8-wire, 15- and 20-wire machines are all working non-stop, so the production capacity is increasing every month, and the production and sales volume may reach 1.6 million kilometers, reaching more than 1.8 million kilometers in September; in addition, the new expansion equipment is expected to be fully put into place in November.
The Financial Associated Press said that in the second quarter of this year, Sanchao New Materials' diamond wire fine wire capacity utilization rate was 109%, and the equipment for the 7 million km/year ultra-fine diamond wire project was commissioned at the end of July and has now been officially put into production. The annual output is 41 million kilometers, and it will also be put into production in the follow-up. From January to June 2022, Meichang Co., Ltd. completed the 12-line technical transformation work for a single machine ahead of schedule, and the monthly production capacity of a single machine is about 13,000 kilometers.
Under the support of the continuous improvement of the diamond wire market for photovoltaics, the recent diamond wire concept stocks can be said to be bullish. Since the market bottomed out and rebounded on April 27, as of the close of trading on August 18, 2022, the accumulative gains of Dyler New Materials and Gaoce shares were as high as 138.21% and 132.73%, respectively. What's more, the share price of Sanchao New Materials has more than tripled in less than a month. The closing price on August 18 was 35.5 yuan per share, and the closing price on July 20 was 16.15 yuan per share.
