GFRP Fiber/Resin Materials Patent Landscape 2026
Activity peaked in 2020 and has eased since, leaving a moderately concentrated field where Johns Manville, Owens Corning, and Kingfa collectively anchor the top tier. China is the dominant filing jurisdiction, and thermoplastic compounding routes account for the bulk of the technology mix.
Moderately concentrated, with American and Chinese firms sharing the top tier
Johns Manville leads with 82 patent families, followed closely by Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp at 79 and Kingfa Sci & Tech at 78, forming a tight first tier where fewer than four families separate the top three ranked applicants.
The top five filers together hold 21% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate concentration — meaningful incumbency advantages exist, but the field is not locked up by a single dominant player.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johns Manville Corp | 82 | |
| 2 | Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp | 79 | |
| 3 | KINGFA SCI & TECH CO LTD | 78 | |
| 4 | Owens Corning Intellectual Capital LLC | 72 | |
| 5 | Shanghai Pret Composites Co., Ltd. | 63 | |
| 6 | Zhejiang Pret New Materials Co., Ltd. | 59 | |
| 7 | Chongqing Pret New Material Co., Ltd. | 56 | |
| 8 | SHANGHAI KINGFA SCI & TECH | 45 | |
| 9 | JIANGSU KINGFA SCI & TECH ADVANCED MATERIALS CO LTD | 43 | |
| 10 | PPG Industries Ohio Inc | 39 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Shanghai Pret Chem New Materials Co., Ltd. | 39 | |
| 12 | Georgia-Pacific Chemicals LLC | 38 | |
| 13 | PPG Industries Inc | 31 | |
| 14 | Nitto Boseki Co., Ltd. | 30 | |
| 15 | CGN Juner New Materials Co., Ltd. | 26 | |
| 16 | Jushi Group Co., Ltd. | 24 | |
| 17 | CHINA PETROLEUM & CHEMICAL CORP | 24 | |
| 18 | Owens Corning Fiberglas Technology Inc | 24 | |
| 19 | CGN Juner (Zhejiang) New Materials Co., Ltd. | 23 | |
| 20 | IBM Corporation | 23 |
The near-parity between the leading American glass-fiber specialists and Chinese compounders signals that competitive pressure is coming from two distinct technology orientations: fiber sizing and glass composition on one side, and polymer formulation on the other.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and will likely increase as pending applications publish; treat late-period figures as a floor rather than a ceiling. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing volume peaked in 2020; shaping and compounding dominate the technology mix
The annual trend reveals a sharp build-up from 2017 to 2020 followed by easing volumes, while the IPC branch distribution shows that plastics-shaping processes and polymer-formulation classes account for the large majority of classified records.
Annual filing trend
Filings rose from 172 in 2017 to a peak of 484 in 2020, then stepped down to a range of 328–367 through 2022–2023 before easing further in 2024. The 2025 and 2026 bars are substantially under-counted due to publication lag and should not be read as continued decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B29C (shaping of plastics) is the leading class, followed by C08J (polymer processing and solutions), C08L (polymer compositions), and C08K (use of additives in polymers). Glass-composition work (C03C) sits in fifth position, reflecting the dual fiber/resin nature of the field. Downstream application classes such as F03D (wind turbines), B64C (aerospace), and H05K (printed circuits) appear with materially lower counts, flagging them as adjacent but currently sparse areas.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
玻璃纤维组及其制造方法、玻纤增强树脂基复合材料及其制造方法
本发明公开了玻璃纤维组及其制造方法、玻纤增强树脂基复合材料及其制造方法。玻璃纤维组的制造方法，其特征在于，使用离心法生产玻璃纤维，再将玻璃纤维采用湿法成型或干法成型工艺生产得到预定形状的玻璃纤维组。本发明中，由于玻璃纤维采用离心法制造，经过湿法成型工艺可以明显减少玻璃渣及粉末状玻璃，减小复合材料中的未纤维化现象，使添加的玻璃材料均能达到增强树脂性能的作用。玻纤增强树脂基复合材料中的玻璃纤维的保留长度更长，玻璃纤维的含量稳定可控并且分散均匀。本发明的玻纤增强树脂基复合材料的机械强度和性能都得到了提高且更加稳定。 (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacuum resin impregnation process | 568 |
| 2 | Curable aqueous composition and use as water repel… | 152 |
| 3 | Glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic article | 144 |
| 4 | Formaldehyde free insulation binder | 137 |
| 5 | Polyester-type formaldehyde free insulation binder | 137 |
| 6 | Use of polyacrylic acid and other polymers as addi… | 137 |
| 7 | Glossy finish fiber reinforced molded product and … | 137 |
| 8 | Filament wound railway hopper car | 127 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the filing structure means for R&D investment decisions
Three structural features — a post-peak lifecycle, moderate concentration, tightly networked Chinese co-filers, and. China-dominated geography — together define the competitive risk and opportunity profile for new entrants and incumbents alike.
Post-peak, still active at scale
The lifecycle evidence places this field in decline relative to its 2020 peak, with annual volume easing back. The corpus of 2,887 patent families, however, represents a substantial accumulated knowledge base. For R&D teams, this signals that foundational positions are well-established and incremental differentiation — particularly in formulation or end-application — is the more realistic entry vector than broad platform claims.
Lifecycle: post-peakTight top tier, open mid-field
The top five filers account for 21% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output, and the gap between first and fifth is only 19 patent families. This close packing at the top means no single incumbent has a dominant blocking position, but the top-ten applicants collectively cover both major glass-fiber and thermoplastic-compounding routes. Mid-tier applicants (ranks 10–20) each hold 23–39 patent families, leaving meaningful space for targeted portfolio building in specific end-use segments.
Moderate concentrationPret and Kingfa networks dominate co-filing activity
The most active co-filing pairs are all within two corporate groups. Shanghai Pret Composites, Zhejiang Pret New Materials, Chongqing Pret New Material, and Shanghai Pret Chem New Materials co-file extensively with each other — the top pair shares 51 joint families. Shanghai Kingfa Sci & Tech and Jiangsu Kingfa Sci & Tech Advanced Materials form the second dense cluster with 31 joint families. Cross-group or cross-border collaborations are not prominent in the evidence, suggesting that innovation networks in this field are largely intra-group rather than open-ecosystem.
Intra-group co-filingChina-centric filing with selective Western coverage
China is the leading filing office by a wide margin. The United States and Japan follow as the next significant jurisdictions, with Europe (EPO), South Korea, and Canada rounding out the principal markets. The breadth of country coverage — over 40 jurisdictions in total — reflects that leading applicants do pursue international protection, but the center of gravity is firmly in China. Entrants targeting North American or European markets should assess whether existing Chinese-origin filings have corresponding Western counterparts before committing R&D resources.
China-dominant, global reachGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Pret Composites Co., Ltd. | Zhejiang Pret New Materials Co., Ltd. | 51 |
| Shanghai Pret Composites Co., Ltd. | Chongqing Pret New Material Co., Ltd. | 50 |
| Zhejiang Pret New Materials Co., Ltd. | Chongqing Pret New Material Co., Ltd. | 50 |
| Shanghai Pret Composites Co., Ltd. | Shanghai Pret Chem New Materials Co., Ltd. | 39 |
| Zhejiang Pret New Materials Co., Ltd. | Shanghai Pret Chem New Materials Co., Ltd. | 38 |
| Chongqing Pret New Material Co., Ltd. | Shanghai Pret Chem New Materials Co., Ltd. | 38 |
| Shanghai Kingfa Sci & Tech Development Co., Ltd. | Jiangsu Kingfa Sci & Tech Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. | 31 |
| Kingfa Sci & Tech Co., Ltd. | Shanghai Kingfa Sci & Tech Development Co., Ltd. | 19 |
| Shanghai Pret Composites Co., Ltd. | Shanghai Pret Materials Technology Co., Ltd. | 19 |
| Zhejiang Pret New Materials Co., Ltd. | Shanghai Pret Materials Technology Co., Ltd. | 19 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Top players differ sharply by route: glass chemistry versus polymer compounding
Johns Manville
Johns Manville leads the ranking with 82 patent families and concentrates its portfolio on glass and enamel compositions (C03C 25) and nonwovens and felts (D04H 1), alongside polymer compositions (C08L 5). The applicant momentum data shows it as a new entrant in the most recent period — suggesting the historical portfolio was built under earlier entity names and recent filing activity is nascent under this specific record.
families: 82Kingfa Sci & Tech
Kingfa Sci & Tech holds 78 patent families and focuses on additive use in polymers (C08K 7), polymer processing and solutions (C08J 5), and polymer compositions (C08L 23) — a thermoplastic-compounding orientation entirely distinct from the glass-fiber chemistry of the top two Western incumbents. Momentum is positive at +19% recent-versus-prior, making Kingfa the most clearly ascending major player in the ranking.
families: 78| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Johns Manville Corp | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Kingfa Sci & Tech Co., Ltd. | 32 | ▲ +19% |
| Owens Corning Intellectual Capital LLC | 13 | ▼ -13% |
| Shanghai Pret Composites Co., Ltd. | 15 | ▼ -6% |
| Zhejiang Pret New Materials Co., Ltd. | 15 | ▼ -17% |
| Chongqing Pret New Material Co., Ltd. | 15 | ▬ 0% |
| Shanghai Kingfa Sci & Tech Development Co., Ltd. | 13 | ▼ -24% |
| Jiangsu Kingfa Sci & Tech Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. | 10 | ▼ -44% |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring
Several IPC classes appear in the corpus at notably lower share levels relative to the dominant shaping and compounding classes; the two below are adjacent to core GFRP technology and have plausible technical relevance for next-generation applications.
F03D · Wind motors (wind turbines)
Wind-turbine blade manufacture is one of the largest volume end-uses for GFRP laminates, yet F03D accounts for only 38 classified records — a 3% share relative to the leading B29C class. This relative sparsity may reflect that turbine-blade IP is filed under broader laminate or processing classes rather than the end-product class, but it also suggests that applicants targeting turbine-specific fiber/resin formulations and recycling routes could find comparatively less prior-art density in this branch. A realistic entry path would combine C08J or B32B process claims with F03D application claims.
Search this in Eureka →H05K · Printed circuits and assemblies
Printed-circuit-board substrates rely heavily on glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy laminates, yet H05K appears at only 109 classified records — a low share given the commercial scale of PCB GFRP demand. The electronic-grade glass-fiber and low-dielectric-loss resin systems that serve this application are technically differentiated from structural GFRP, and the sparse patent density here suggests that PCB-oriented formulation work may be filed under chemistry classes rather than the assembly class. Teams working on halogen-free or high-frequency substrates may find this an accessible adjacent territory.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route across glass chemistry and polymer compounding
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | B29C 70 · Shaping of plastics | C08J 5 · Polymer processing & solutions | C08K 7 · Use of additives in polymers | C03C 25 · Glass & enamel compositions | C08K 5 · Use of additives in polymers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingfa Sci & Tech Co., Ltd. | Absent | Strong · 76 | Strong · 77 | Absent | Moderate · 28 |
| Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp | Absent | Strong · 61 | Absent | Strong · 92 | Absent |
| Shanghai Pret Composites Co., Ltd. | Absent | Strong · 62 | Strong · 59 | Absent | Moderate · 22 |
| Johns Manville Corp | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 37 | Strong · 75 | Moderate · 25 |
| Zhejiang Pret New Materials Co., Ltd. | Absent | Strong · 52 | Strong · 51 | Absent | Moderate · 17 |
| Chongqing Pret New Material Co., Ltd. | Absent | Strong · 49 | Strong · 48 | Absent | Moderate · 16 |
| Shanghai Kingfa Sci & Tech Development Co., Ltd. | Absent | Strong · 44 | Strong · 45 | Absent | Strong · 23 |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 2,887 patent families. Filing activity built strongly from 2017 to a peak of 484 families in 2020, then eased to a range of 328–367 annually through 2023–2024. The most recent one to two years are under-counted due to publication lag.
Johns Manville leads with 82 patent families, followed by Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp at 79 and Kingfa Sci & Tech at 78. The top five also include Owens Corning Intellectual Capital LLC (72 families) and Shanghai Pret Composites (63 families). The top five account for 21% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers.
China is the leading filing office by a wide margin. The United States, Japan, Europe (EPO), and South Korea follow as the next most significant jurisdictions. Canada and WIPO (PCT) also see meaningful filing activity. In total, filings appear across more than 40 jurisdictions.
Based on the filing trend evidence, the field is assessed as post-peak. Annual volume peaked in 2020 and has eased back since then. The multi-year corpus remains substantial at 2,887 patent families, reflecting a mature field with established foundational positions rather than an early-growth opportunity.
A clear bifurcation exists. Western incumbents Johns Manville and Owens Corning entities concentrate on glass and enamel compositions (C03C) and nonwovens (D04H) — reflecting fiber sizing and glass chemistry expertise. Chinese leaders Kingfa and the Pret group concentrate on polymer additives (C08K), polymer processing (C08J), and polymer compositions (C08L) — reflecting thermoplastic-compounding expertise. Route overlap between the two clusters is limited.
Among the lower-share IPC classes, F03D (wind turbines) at 38 records and H05K (printed circuits and assemblies) at 109 records stand out as having meaningful commercial relevance to GFRP materials but comparatively sparse dedicated patent coverage. B64C (aeroplanes and helicopters) and H01M (batteries and fuel cells) are further examples worth monitoring, though all require claim-level validation before drawing investment conclusions.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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