Skip to content 
Amid the surging wave of intelligent manufacturing, “intelligent transformation and digital transition” is becoming an inevitable question for fostering new quality productivity and following a new path of industrialization. Entering the enterprises in Lishui’s CNC machine tool industry chain, digital dashboards are flashing in real time, mechanical arms are waving precisely, and intelligent systems are scheduling independently… Lishui’s machine tool industry is embarking on an intelligent leap path through transformation and upgrading as well as technological innovation.
In the production workshop of Zhongshan Foundry Co., LTD., the machines are roaring, and the scene of dust filling the air and the noise of people in the past is no longer there. Instead, key data such as raw material ratios and temperature control were constantly flashing in real time on the large screen. This veteran enterprise with a history of nearly four decades was once trapped in the predicament of the traditional production mode.
In the past, the workshop relied entirely on human labor, which was inefficient and faced great environmental pressure. General Manager Tang Xiong of the company recalled. The turning point originated from a thorough green upgrade – the enterprise resolutely phased out the highly polluting clay sand and resin sand processes, built a new factory area in Yongyang Industrial Park, and comprehensively introduced the international advanced lost foam casting technology. The new production line does not require the addition of chemicals such as resins and curing agents, achieving green and environmentally friendly production. Today, Zhongshan Foundry has established digital and intelligent assembly lines, with an annual production capacity of 34,000 tons and an annual output value exceeding 400 million yuan. The machine tool castings, motor bases and other products it produces are sold well both at home and abroad, demonstrating the vigorous vitality of “old trees sprouting new branches”. Sanzhong Intelligent Precision Machinery (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. is also transforming in the digital wave. In the production workshop, Luo Kefeng, the Chief financial officer, is checking the production progress and material delivery information through the screen. At the beginning of this year, we invested nearly one million yuan to build an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, which connected the entire process from demand planning to financial settlement. Luo Kefeng said with emotion, “The system is like the ‘smart brain’ of the enterprise. The response speed of procurement has increased by 40%, and the material distribution has also been upgraded from manual entry to intelligent scheduling.”
The proactive transformation of enterprises cannot be achieved without the support of the government. Since the beginning of this year, Lishui District has actively implemented the “Pilot Implementation Plan for Digital Transformation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Nanjing City”, and through “one-on-one” visits and expert on-site diagnosis, has tailored transformation paths for enterprises. At present, the first batch of enterprises, such as Sanzhong Precision, have been included in the pilot list. After passing the acceptance inspection, they will receive a 50% investment subsidy. Liu Haifeng, an employee of the Yongyang Sub-district Enterprise Service Center, introduced that they are currently actively assisting enterprises in need to apply for the second batch.
The significance of transformation lies not only in the improvement of efficiency, but also in the forging of core competitiveness and breakthroughs in the industrial chain. The core product of Weimas (Nanjing) Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd. is a variable-speed spindle unit composed of national standard grade 4 gears. Under the condition that energy consumption and labor remain unchanged, it increases processing efficiency by 4 to 10 times. Zhang Mingyuan, the general manager of the company, stated that they will collaborate with Nanjing University of Science and Technology and a national key laboratory to develop a new type of spindle unit, which is expected to completely replace European products and break through the technical barriers in the aerospace field.
Entering the intelligent factory of Siemens Numerical Control (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. is like stepping into a “future workshop” – modular flexible production lines are synchronously and mixed-flow manufacturing dozens of products, AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) carts are silently shuttling along the pre-determined routes, and the AI dispatching system dynamically adjusts the production rhythm based on real-time data. The enterprise was just awarded the title of provincial advanced intelligent factory in June this year. The motion control R&D center it established has become the largest overseas R&D base of Siemens in this business field globally.
The innovative breakthroughs of enterprises require appropriate ecological nourishment. At present, Lishui District has innovatively implemented a three-in-one promotion mechanism of “foundation building – cultivation – service”, and established a hierarchical gradient cultivation system for intelligent factories. At the same time, it actively promotes cooperation among industry, academia and research institutions, facilitating the pairing of over 20 research institutes with enterprises within the zone such as Tengyang Machinery and Sanzhong Precision to tackle key problems, and strives to solve the problem of “fragmentation” in technology transfer. At present, there are nearly 20 high-tech enterprises in the cluster, accounting for about half of the total number of large-scale enterprises. It has 3 municipal-level technology research and development platforms and is gradually building an industrial ecosystem of integrated innovation.
From the “green transformation” of Zhongshan Foundry to the “system empowerment” of Sanzhong Precision; From WIMas’ “technological breakthrough” to Siemens’ “benchmarking leadership” – in Lishui, every enterprise is writing its own transformation story, which is converging into a strong driving force for the cluster to move towards “newness”, continuously promoting this manufacturing hotspot to accelerate its progress towards a high-end, intelligent and green future.
