Smart shift: Anhui engine maker powers up with industrial internet

A display showing the smart manufacturing platform powered by "5G plus industrial internet" at a factory of Anhui Quanchai Engine Co. Ltd. in Chuzhou, Anhui province, July 3, 2025. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn]

In the competitive landscape of modern industry, staying agile and efficient is paramount. For Anhui Quanchai Engine Co. Ltd., a long-standing developer and manufacturer of engines in central China's Anhui province, the answer lies in a proactive leap into the future: a 5G-enabled industrial internet platform.

Step into a Quanchai workshop, a large digital screen displays real-time production data. Fei Chen, a section chief at the company, monitors the J1 production line, tracking everything from completion rate and cost consumption to product quality.

"We use large screens and digital dashboards to present production data, process parameters, equipment status and warning alarms in a centralized manner," Fei said. "This keeps managers constantly informed of production dynamics at all times, enabling refined management of the entire manufacturing process."

Quanchai's transformation goes deeper than just digital displays. The company has built a smart manufacturing platform powered by "5G plus industrial internet." It has established an intelligent factory that spans the equipment, network, platform and application layers. Supported by digital twin technology, it has achieved three-dimensional, visualized factory operations. The platform also integrates more than 850 upstream and downstream supply chain resources to enable cross-sector collaboration and optimized resource allocation.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Quanchai has prioritized digital transformation, developing a smart workshop model that connects foundational equipment with production execution, data analysis and decision-making.

The industrial internet platform has delivered tangible economic benefits. According to Xu Changyu, director of Quanchai's information center, the platform has markedly improved its R&D and manufacturing efficiency, shortening R&D cycles by 30% and enhancing production efficiency by 35%. Meanwhile, key performance indicators have improved, including a 12.6% drop in unit manufacturing costs and an 18% rise in inventory turnover.

The company's efforts have earned national recognition. In 2024, Quanchai was named an "excellence-level smart factory" by the national Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. 

The journey for Quanchai is far from over. Looking to the future, Xu said that with the rapid advancement of AI technologies such as DeepSeek, Quanchai will continue exploring the deep integration of AI and industrial internet platforms. The goal is to enhance intelligent capabilities and core competitiveness, ultimately evolving from a traditional manufacturer into a service-oriented provider of smart manufacturing solutions.