Gree Electric Appliances Inc's Wuhan assembly factory in WHDZ [Photo/official WeChat account of WHDZ]
Appliance manufacturer Gree Electric Appliances Inc's Wuhan assembly factory – located in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WHDZ), in Wuhan in Central China's Hubei province – has introduced intelligent equipment to increase production levels by 15 percent year-on-year, according to local media reports.
The factory has become the most extensive air-conditioning production base in Central China with a complete industrial chain. It has produced more than 40 million air-conditioners since its establishment a decade ago.
The factory resumed work and production on March 14. From April 5, its machinery and equipment ran 24 hours a day, with more than 5,000 employees on duty and a resumption of double-shift production.
By the end of April, the company's capacity utilization rate had increased to 100 percent, with 17,000 sets of air conditioners being produced per day.
After the resumption of work, the factory invested more than 20 million yuan in transforming the control center's intelligent workshop. It has also gradually automated, digitalized, and intelligently converted the air conditioner plant's production process to optimize output.
After the transformation, the intelligent production line had reduced the number of workers by 50 and improved efficiency by more than 15 percent. It also reduced the housing time of stocks of semi-finished raw materials from 72 hours to 48 hours.
This year, the factory will invest another 25 million yuan and fully convert to intelligent production. The company said it would bring direct economic benefits of more than 12 million yuan to the factory every year.
