Mingchi Glass: Intelligent reform and digital transformation give rise to new vitality

Walking into the Mingchi Glass Production Workshop located in Nanhai New Area, an ordinary piece of glass is grabbed by a robot and onto the fully automated production line. It then goes through multiple stages such as pre-treatment, hot bending, lamination, and packaging, all of which are automatically completed by intelligent equipment. In just a few seconds, this piece of glass had completed a series of complex processes and reached the standard for factory delivery. It is through intelligent digital transformation that Mingchi Glass can achieve efficient production.

From an unknown township enterprise to a leading enterprise in the field of automotive safety glass, and recognized as a national-level "specialized and innovative" small giant enterprise, Mingchi Glass has become a leader in the industry with its intelligent transformation and digital transformation. Rated as a provincial smart factory. "We have invested 200 million yuan to upgrade and complete 7 automated production lines, add more than 30 new ABB robots, introduce 6 Canadian Senon online automatic inspection lines and more than 20 kinds of electronic quality inspection and error prevention equipment, and the CNC automation rate of the production line exceeds 85%, which greatly reduces manufacturing costs through intelligence and enhances the competitiveness of the company." Yin Hongtao, director of the internal audit department of Mingchi Glass Co., Ltd. said.

Intelligent transformation and digital transformation have enabled costs to be reduced and increased efficiency, and enterprises have gained new vitality in technological transformation and upgrading. In recent years, the price of finished automotive glass products has fallen, but the cost of raw materials and labor has risen sharply, and the price of some materials has increased by more than 90%. Faced with this industry background, Mingchi Glass did not choose traditional production methods, but was committed to eliminating old energy-consuming equipment and intelligently transforming existing production lines to enhance the company's competitiveness in the market. At the same time, the company continues to enhance its awareness of innovation and development, upgrades and increases in innovation investment, digital transformation, etc., has 4 provincial and municipal innovation platforms, and has obtained 26 authorized patents. This series of "big moves" not only brought about improvement in product quality, but also reduced the cost of poor quality, reduced the number of operators, and improved production efficiency.“

In terms of quality, the one-time pass rate has increased by 3.5%, the deviation between mold area and contour has increased from plus or minus three to plus or minus one, and all quality and performance of the product are superior to traditional manufacturing processes. In terms of cost, the cost of poor quality has been reduced by 0.5 yuan per square meter, 12 operators have been reduced in a single shift, the daily production capacity has been increased from 1000 pieces to 1800 pieces, and production efficiency has been increased by 80%. In terms of energy consumption, the product's power consumption per square meter is reduced by 6 kWh. When operating at full capacity, the production line can save about 4 million kWh of electricity per year." Yin Hongtao said that the company's output value in 2023 will increase by 50% compared with the same period in 2022, and will increase by about 10% in the first half of 2024 compared with the same period last year. Today, Mingchi Glass has become the exclusive supplier of Shandong Automobile and Weichai Panther, providing supporting glass to 17 main engine automobile factories such as Foton Motor and Sinotruk, and has become the largest supplier of commercial vehicle glass in China. In order to continue to promote intelligent manufacturing, reduce consumption and increase efficiency, Mingchi Glass has a new plan. It plans to invest 200 - 400 million yuan in 2-3 years to build a new tempered side window production line, a front wire clamping heating production line, etc., and continue to increase investment in research and development, promote technological innovation, and continuously improve the level of intelligent manufacturing.