At a workshop of Shandong Langche Bearing Co in Linqing, a county-level city in Shandong province, rows of assembly lines are operating at high speed.

The intelligent factory, which was put into use in 2021, has significantly reduced manual labor. Previously, a single assembly line demanded 17 workers, whereas now only two are needed. This reduction in manpower has led to a 35 percent increase in production quality, according to Dou Junheng, general manager of the company.

Shandong Langche Bearing Co, located in the Shandong Linqing Bearing Industry Digital Enabling Demonstration Park, primarily manufactures bearings and is actively promoting the digital transformation of its factory to improve efficiency.

As one of the top five bearing industry clusters in the country, Linqing has experienced remarkable development in the sector. By the end of 2023, it boasted over 11,500 market entities in the bearing industry, contributing to an overall output value surpassing 35 billion yuan ($4.83 billion).

Linqing now is home to the largest bearing trading market and parts production base in China and is making efforts to advance high-end, intelligent, and green development of the bearing industry.

The Shandong Linqing Bearing Industry Digital Enabling Demonstration Park in Panzhuang town, which was put into use last year, is part of the local government's efforts to facilitate the digital transformation of local bearing enterprises.

Further endeavors are underway to fully digitize the entire production, sales, and management chain through the utilization of industrial internet and 5G technology. Eight enterprises in the park have already completed digital transformation. 

A bearing factory at Shandong Langche Bearing Co in Linqing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Finished bearings at a factory in Linqing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]