Tech firm ups efforts in unmanned solution

Wingtech Technology Co Ltd is building a next-generation unmanned automated factory that can initially produce over 20 million 5G smartphones and other electronic devices each year in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

The move is also part of Yunnan's broader efforts to make further inroads into smart manufacturing to achieve higher economic development, industry insiders said.

According to Deng Anming, director of Wingtech's planning department, the new plant will start producing 5G smartphones and tablets this month.

"The new production line will produce smartphones, including high-end models, for global mainstream smartphone brands. Total annual production capacity is expected to hit 50 million units with sales revenue of more than 30 billion yuan ($4.59 billion) once finished," Deng said, without giving a specific completion date.

Though he didn't disclose the new brand's name, Deng said Wingtech earlier this month reached an agreement with Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based Ofilm, which serves as a valuable part of Apple Inc's industrial chain in China, on the acquisition of Ofilm's camera business for 2.42 billion yuan.

In addressing its order book, Deng told China Daily the company was fully booked in the first quarter and almost all its clients are placing additional orders. "It is expected that demand will exceed supply throughout the year," he said.

The new plant is part of broader efforts by Yunnan to develop information technology in a bid to transform to the high-end manufacturing.

Huawei Technologies also has a smart industrial park in Kunming, capital of Yunnan, where the tech giant develops its digital economy business on software as well as talent training.

According to Kunming's development plan, the city planned to invest a total of 31.25 billion yuan in electronic information manufacturing during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20) and to achieve 30 billion yuan in sales revenue for its electronic information manufacturing industry this year.

"It is necessary to concentrate on industrial development and do everything possible to develop strategic emerging industries. More efforts will be made to step up cultivating pillar industries that will support Kunming's development in the next 30 years," said Ruan Chengfa, Party secretary of Yunnan province, at a recent conference.

The plan vowed to actively attract both domestic and foreign smart electronic product manufacturing resources to Kunming to form clusters.

For instance, more efforts will be made to drive server assembly operations with the help of the province's cloud computing industries, coordinate the intelligent hardware sector with its healthcare sectors and promote the internet of things with the help of the province's agricultural technologies.

"Yunnan is an important regional center for China's digital Silk Road," Deng said, adding that the company also plans to set up an international industry headquarters in the future to help coordinate and manage the operation and manufacturing business of some of its international customers.