Powering Smart
Manufacturing with AI
By Xu Shenglan & Xue Hua
Sanlian Hope develops technology and equipment
for the production of synthetic fibre and its raw
materials for other manufacturers in China. Alongside
a digital data-driven platform designed to converge
its finances, technologies, and data, the artificial
intelligence (AI) technology, powered by Huawei
Cloud, brings production flexibility and accelerates
the company’s shift to smart manufacturing.
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s a branch of the textile industry, synthetic
fibres are perhaps more prevalent than we
think, as the natural fibre content in most
silk and cotton products is actually very low.
“That's because natural fibre has been impacted
by the increase in the area of cultivated land,”
explains Sanlian Hope’s Director and Investment
General Manager Zhang Minzhe. “Output is low
and the production methods are highly polluting.
Synthetic fibre offers advantages in these two
regards, which is why demand has increased.”
The US company DuPont invented synthetic
fibre in the 1930s. From its origins, the burgeoning
industry soon made its way to Europe for production,
before setting sail for Japan and then Taiwan. With
its complete supply chain, Taiwan soon emerged
as the global heavyweight in the industry. To ship
materials to South Korea, for example, Zhang
recalls that Taiwan’s turnaround was just two days,
compared with two weeks from either Japan or the
US. Taiwan’s mature and optimised supply chain
ensured very high response efficiency coupled with
excellent product quality.
Today, China perhaps unsurprisingly accounts
for 50% of the world’s synthetic fibre production.
According to Zhang, ”Because demand in China is
vast, its production soon evolved to be the largest,
most efficient, and most advanced in the world.”
China’s late-stage advantages in production
capacity have historically compensated for the
lack of supply chain co-ordination. Technology
is changing that. China shaped the two major
directions of future development in the industry.
”The first is industry chain synergy. After synergy is
achieved, international competitors can easily be
outpaced,” says Zhang. “Second, healthy growth
and world-class competitiveness in supply and
demand will encourage integrated solutions.”
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