The term “lighthouse factory” appeared for the first time in the newly released government work report. The new term shows Shenzhen’s determination to consolidate manufacturing as its pillar industry and promote the transformation of manufacturing industry through digitization, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported yesterday.
Lighthouse factory is known as “the most advanced factory in the world.” As early as 2019, Foxconn, based in Shenzhen, was recognized as a lighthouse factory by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company because of its high degree of automation. Lighthouses are leading the way in the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.
This year’s government work report released a set of data: the total output value of industries above designated size in Shenzhen has ranked first in the country for three consecutive years. The city’s industrial added value exceeded 1 trillion yuan (US$157 billion) in 2021, up by 5% year on year, and its industrial investment reached 137.2 billion yuan, up by 27.1%. The added value of its strategic emerging industries was 1.21 trillion yuan, accounting for 39.6% of the GDP. A total of 1,769 enterprises above designated size were added last year.
Shenzhen has made the manufacturing industry as its pillar, which includes enterprises like Huawei, Foxconn Industrial Internet Co. Ltd., CIMC, Huaxing Optoelectronic Technology, Mindray, DJI and many others.
Since last year, the headquarters of China Electronics Group has settled in Shenzhen, the first phase of Huaxing Photoelectric project has begun production and the construction of BYD automobile industrial Park has started.
The work report proposes to promote the integration of advanced manufacturing industry with industrial internet and build several lighthouse factories.
Huang Tianhua, a member of the Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference who comes from CIMC Group, told the Daily: “Since we launched the ‘digital CIMC’ action in 2017, the production efficiency had increased by 125% in 2021, and the time required to produce a 40-foot container has been shortened from 120 seconds to 78 seconds.”
He mentioned that as a typical traditional manufacturer, CIMC could not make today’s achievements if it was not for its timely digital transformation.
In the process of digital transformation, technologies represented by 5G, industrial robots, sensors, big data and artificial intelligence have not only helped manufacturers upgrade themselves, but also brought new changes to all walks of life, the Daily said.
For example, Huaxing’s factory used 5G technology to shorten the quality inspection time. Huawei cloud’s FusionPlant AI platform has been applied to the production line of Oppein, a top furniture maker in China, improving their board cutting algorithm.