Nail Making History in China

China is right now the largest producer of iron nails in the world. However, its modern nail-making history is not so long.

Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, there has been a void in the industry. Chinese industry can not produce iron nails until the 70s of the 20th century. And the production machinery and quality are very basic.

State-Owned Nail Factory

Many state-owned factories in China started to manufacture iron nails in the 1980s. The major production hub is Tianjin City and Longyao City at that time. And the major output is common iron nails, aka ordinary nails.

These stated owned manufacturers were later reformed into private companies or closed down due to fierce competition.

Nail Industry Boom

Weifang became one of the largest production hubs of iron nails in the 1990s. State-owned and privately owned nail-making mills were widely spread in Weifang city. These factories not only produce ordinary nails but also produce umbrella head roofing nails, felt nails, galvanized concrete nails, coil nails, and so on.

galvanized roofing nail company
Umbrella head roofing nail factory in China

In the 21st century, the Chinese economy started to boom. Some nail businessmen started to move their production around China to minimize production costs. But overall, Weifang, Tianjin, and Longyao are the main sources of exported nails.

China is still the largest wire nail producer in the world even its growth has slowed down.

Nail Making Machine

nail making machine china

China now also has a big industry for nail-making machines. Hebei province is the main source for nail-making machinery and it has a lot of active companies doing this business right now.