Southeast Automobile City Promotes Upstream and Downstream Enterprises to be “Intelligent and Digital”

Accelerated rise of automobile industry cluster

In the workshop of Fuzhou Chengchang Machinery Co., Ltd., the workers stepped up the production of auto parts.

Photographed by reporter Zheng Shuai

In the early spring, in the Southeast Automobile City, an exciting picture came into view: in the workshop, the mechanical arm was running at high speed under the control of the program; On the production line, the workers are busy nervously and orderly; Outside the factory building, batches of goods are packed into boxes and ready to be transported to various places... Through the changing data, we can feel the strong pulse of the development of Southeast Automobile City: in 2024, the industrial output value of Southeast Automobile City reached RMB 71.64 billion, a year-on-year increase of 36.1%.

Where did the eye-catching results come from? In recent years, with the goal of building a 100-billion-level modern automobile town, Southeast Automobile City has given full play to the role of leading enterprises as “chain owners”, actively promoted upstream and downstream supporting enterprises to accelerate the “intelligent and digital transformation”, and continuously extended the chain to make up the strong chain, thus accelerating the rise of automobile industry clusters.

Technical transformation is more emboldened.

In the production workshop of Fujian Fuqiang Mechanical Mould Co., Ltd., the flexible mechanical arm waving up and down, welding work was being carried out, and the “science and technology model” was full. “Compared with traditional manual welding, the welding robot arm not only has high production efficiency and short production cycle, but also has more stable and high quality.” Ju Weilin, deputy general manager of the company, said.

Southeast Auto City, where the automobile industry is concentrated, not only “builds cars” but also “makes parts”, which has led 158 auto parts enterprises to settle in the park, constantly extending the chain to make up the chain, and Fuqiang Machinery is one of them. “We produce key accessories such as back-up door assembly, rear bumper beam, frame chassis assembly for some cars. With the transformation and upgrading of Southeast automobile production line, the orders of our supporting enterprises have also doubled.” Ju Weilin introduced that since 2022, the company has upgraded the production line and introduced more than 40 welding robotic arms, with an automation rate of 100% and a daily production capacity of 1,500 units.

Relying on technical innovation and empowerment, Fuqiang Machinery has more confidence in market expansion. “We also provide supporting services for Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited. The products cover new energy automobile brands, and the market share of enterprises is further enhanced.” Tu Weilin said that at present, the workshop is working overtime to catch orders, and the output value in the first quarter is expected to exceed RMB 100 million.

Upgrade “intelligence” to be new.

“Intelligent and digital transformation” is the key for enterprises to improve quality and efficiency, and it is also the only way to promote the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry and achieve high-quality development. In Southeast Automobile City, the pace of changing enterprises from “manufacturing” to “intelligent creation” and accelerating the cultivation of smart factories and digital workshops has never slowed down.

Pressure testing, seat cover sewing, automatic testing... In the workshop of Fuzhou Levima Transportation Equipment Co., Ltd., car seat production lines came into view. “This is a newly introduced automated production line last year, which mainly meets the demand for seat production of Southeast Automobile, with a monthly output of 12,000 units.” Li Longhai, deputy general manager of Levima Company, said.

Levima Company is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the production and manufacture of automobile seats and other interior parts, supporting the production of automobile seats for Southeast Automobile, Fujian Benz and Fujian Yundu. “The process and product complexity of car seats are increasing, and it is imperative to promote intelligent manufacturing.” Li Longhai introduced that for this reason, the company’s production line introduced automation equipment such as AI visual recognition and AGV robots, and introduced the molar number Wis3D digital twin system to reconstruct the real factory scene in three dimensions and create a smart factory with transparent information.

The change from “manufacturing” to “intelligent creation” is the unremitting pursuit of innovation by enterprises. In recent years, Levima Company has invested an average of more than RMB 20 million each year in technological innovation research and development, and established scientific research and talent cooperation with many domestic universities such as Fuzhou University and Fujian University of Technology, which injected strong momentum into the high-quality development of enterprises.

“Leader” dances and gathers strong chains.

In addition to the strengthening of auto parts enterprises, Southeast Automobile City has also taken frequent actions in helping leading enterprises.

In Dongtai Industrial Park, the second phase project of Southeast Automobile is advancing rapidly, and it is planned to build a frame welding and painting workshop, a workshop living area, a joint power station building, a modification workshop, etc., and introduce advanced technology and equipment such as pretreatment electrophoresis, mechanized transportation and robots; The new energy commercial vehicle platform project of Fujian Benz Automobile Co., Ltd. started in September last year, and a new welding workshop will be built, and the painting and assembly workshop will be upgraded with new process equipment...

“Leading enterprises have a strong driving effect, and the local transformation of upstream and downstream industrial chains is a win-win situation for leading enterprises and supporting enterprises.” According to the relevant person in charge of the Management Committee of Qingkou Automobile Industrial Park, in recent years, Southeast Automobile City has continued to extend the chain and strengthen the chain, and increased its support for the “chain owners” of Fujian Benz, Southeast Automobile and other industries, supporting Liuhe Machinery, Aidex and other supporting enterprises to increase capital and expand production, and promote the local supporting rate to exceed 30%.

“In the next stage, we will continue to speed up the development and construction of industrial platforms such as Dongtai and Lanpu, and promote the driving effect of projects such as Fujian Benz and Southeast Auto. At the same time, adhere to the ‘chain chief+investment specialist’ model, take the initiative to attack and accurately dock, introduce more high-quality projects to support the near-ground, and build an automobile industry chain.” The relevant person in charge of the management Committee of Qingkou Automobile Industrial Park said.