China Economy: Smart manufacturing spurring fast growth in construction machinery
Updated 17:00, 25-May-2019
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03:26
In China, economists often look to the construction machinery industry when analyzing the country's macro-economy. With recent figures indicating an increase in demand in this sector, our reporter Yang Jinghao visited a leading manufacturer in central China's Hunan Province to see what was driving the growth.
Chen Kang's work has changed a lot in recent months ever since he was joined by a new team member. Although still in the testing phase, the smart-machine is used for loading and unloading at SANY Heavy Industry, one of China's largest producers of construction machinery.
CHEN KANG SANY HEAVY INDUSTRY "We used to finish the whole process manually. Now much of this work can be done by the robot. This significantly improves production efficiency while reducing the risks of workers getting injured."
It's all part of SANY's "intelligent manufacturing" strategy. The industry giant is adopting cutting-edge technologies -- such as automation and the Internet of Things, or IoT -- to strengthen its all-round capabilities from top to toe.
PAN RUIGANG CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, SANY HEAVY INDUSTRY "Smart manufacturing is in line with the country's development strategy. For a large manufacturing enterprise like SANY, it has to rely on advanced technologies instead of the mid- and low-end labor-intensive mode to improve its efficiency."
YANG JINGHAO CHANGSHA "Fueled by technological innovations, SANY Heavy Industry has maintained a fast growth momentum in recent years, a trend which can be seen in China's construction machinery industry as a whole."
In the first quarter of this year, key enterprises in this industry saw near 30-percent year-on-year growth in their revenue from their main businesses, while total profits increased by some 82 percent. Meanwhile, a series of high-end products also hit the market, such as SANY's unmanned equipment and a 700-metric-ton hydraulic excavator developed by the Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group.
ZHOU XIANBIAO DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL, CHINA CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY SOCIETY "In the global construction machinery landscape, China has become a competitor from a chaser, and is even a leader in some divisions. But we still face challenges. For example, we still rely on imports for some key components. This calls for further innovations."
Construction machinery is considered to be a barometer of China's macro economy. Over the past few years, the industry has gone through periods of ups and downs. Pan says they are confident about the industry's development, but also need to be fully prepared for another possible low tide.
PAN RUIGANG CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, SANY HEAVY INDUSTRY "Our efforts on smart manufacturing are far from enough, as the information, IoT and automation technologies keep evolving fast. So we will further increase investment in product research and development."
Pan adds that SANY will also try to strengthen its global presence and influence in virtue of the Belt and Road Initiative. This, it says, is also the goal of its peer enterprises in the country. YJH, CGTN, Changsha, Hunan Province.