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On a factory floor in E China, wider story of Chinese smart manufacturing unfolds
By Li Junjie, People's Daily
An engineer operates an intelligent welding robot developed by EFORT. (Photos from the WeChat official account of EFORT)
In a workshop in Wuhu, east China's Anhui province, rows of industrial robots stood in neat formation, their mechanical arms poised mid-air, awaiting final inspection before rolling off the production line.
Nearby, workers moved with practiced rhythm - lifting, pairing, assembling - and with each passing hour, another robot was completed and ready for delivery.
This is the manufacturing and delivery center of EFORT Intelligent Robot Co., Ltd., a leading player in China's rapidly expanding robotics industry. In the first half of this year, the country, already the world's largest producer of robots, recorded a 35.6 percent year-on-year increase in industrial robot output.
"We now produce about 2,000 robots each month," said Zhang Fei, head of production management at EFORT. "That was our total annual sales five years ago."
"Last year, we sold 16,000 robots. In the first half of this year alone, sales reached around 10,000 units, with full-year figures expected to surpass 20,000," added Shang Xuran, EFORT's welding product director.
Diversifying applications, capturing new markets
EFORT's sales have increased eightfold in just four years, with growth projected to exceed 25 percent this year. Zhang Wei, EFORT's deputy general manager, attributes this momentum to diversification.
"In the past, most of our products went to photovoltaic companies. In recent years, we've expanded into robots for the automotive and home appliance industries," explained Zhang Wei, EFORT's deputy general manager.
He noted that China's trade-in policies have boosted demand for new energy vehicles, electronics, and household appliances, prompting manufacturers to expand production capacity and improve efficiency. This has created new opportunities for EFORT, while the Chinese government's push for intelligent manufacturing transformation has kept downstream demand high, enlarging the company's market.
Domestic innovation gains ground
Qianchao Intelligent Manufacturing (Wuhu) Co., Ltd., a producer of constant velocity drive shafts for automobiles, is among EFORT's long-term clients. In its workshops, handling robots shuttle back and forth between production lines and storage areas with precise coordination. "Of our 63 handling robots, 58 were supplied by EFORT," said Tang Liansheng, head of equipment at Qianchao.
Qianchao previously relied on imported handling robots, but high costs prompted it to test a Chinese domestically produced alternative from EFORT, whose factory is located just 16 kilometers away.
"Tests showed that the stability and reliability of domestic robots were on par with imported models, while costing more than 40 percent less. And given our proximity, any technical issues can be resolved quickly," Tang said. When building a new workshop, the company decisively placed a full order with EFORT.
"Improving performance and developing homegrown alternatives were only possible through joint innovation across the supply chain," said Zhang Lin, EFORT's platform product director.
One longstanding technical bottleneck in China's high-performance industrial robot production was the design of gear train-driven joints. Working with an upstream supplier, EFORT spent 14 months overcoming this challenge. The resulting technology is now widely used on the production lines of Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers such as BYD and Seres.
From domestic success to global reach
China 's industrial robot exports reached second place globally last year, with first-half 2025 shipments surging 61.5% year-on-year. EFORT has been a key contributor, adapting advanced technologies into competitive products for overseas markets.
On one EFORT production line, six painting robots worked in concert with two door-opening robots to simulate painting the interiors and exteriors of car bodies.
"This paint application test line, commissioned last year, integrates over 30 years of Italian robotics expertise," explained Zhang Wei." After acquiring CMA Robotics, we spent two years fully absorbing their technology before developing our next-generation painting robots."
The new models have been deployed in China's rail transit, passenger vehicle, and auto parts industries, and are also used by international clients, including Italian automakers Maserati and Alfa Romeo.
"In June alone, we delivered more than 100 painting robots to clients," Zhang Wei said. Just 30 kilometers away, construction is underway on a "robot superfactory" with an annual production capacity of 100,000 units. Once operational, the facility will deploy intelligent robots to assemble other robots, bringing the concept of "robots building robots" closer to reality.
Nearby, workers moved with practiced rhythm - lifting, pairing, assembling - and with each passing hour, another robot was completed and ready for delivery.
This is the manufacturing and delivery center of EFORT Intelligent Robot Co., Ltd., a leading player in China's rapidly expanding robotics industry. In the first half of this year, the country, already the world's largest producer of robots, recorded a 35.6 percent year-on-year increase in industrial robot output.
"We now produce about 2,000 robots each month," said Zhang Fei, head of production management at EFORT. "That was our total annual sales five years ago."
"Last year, we sold 16,000 robots. In the first half of this year alone, sales reached around 10,000 units, with full-year figures expected to surpass 20,000," added Shang Xuran, EFORT's welding product director.
Diversifying applications, capturing new markets
EFORT's sales have increased eightfold in just four years, with growth projected to exceed 25 percent this year. Zhang Wei, EFORT's deputy general manager, attributes this momentum to diversification.
"In the past, most of our products went to photovoltaic companies. In recent years, we've expanded into robots for the automotive and home appliance industries," explained Zhang Wei, EFORT's deputy general manager.
He noted that China's trade-in policies have boosted demand for new energy vehicles, electronics, and household appliances, prompting manufacturers to expand production capacity and improve efficiency. This has created new opportunities for EFORT, while the Chinese government's push for intelligent manufacturing transformation has kept downstream demand high, enlarging the company's market.
Domestic innovation gains ground
Qianchao Intelligent Manufacturing (Wuhu) Co., Ltd., a producer of constant velocity drive shafts for automobiles, is among EFORT's long-term clients. In its workshops, handling robots shuttle back and forth between production lines and storage areas with precise coordination. "Of our 63 handling robots, 58 were supplied by EFORT," said Tang Liansheng, head of equipment at Qianchao.
Qianchao previously relied on imported handling robots, but high costs prompted it to test a Chinese domestically produced alternative from EFORT, whose factory is located just 16 kilometers away.
"Tests showed that the stability and reliability of domestic robots were on par with imported models, while costing more than 40 percent less. And given our proximity, any technical issues can be resolved quickly," Tang said. When building a new workshop, the company decisively placed a full order with EFORT.
"Improving performance and developing homegrown alternatives were only possible through joint innovation across the supply chain," said Zhang Lin, EFORT's platform product director.
One longstanding technical bottleneck in China's high-performance industrial robot production was the design of gear train-driven joints. Working with an upstream supplier, EFORT spent 14 months overcoming this challenge. The resulting technology is now widely used on the production lines of Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers such as BYD and Seres.
From domestic success to global reach
China 's industrial robot exports reached second place globally last year, with first-half 2025 shipments surging 61.5% year-on-year. EFORT has been a key contributor, adapting advanced technologies into competitive products for overseas markets.
On one EFORT production line, six painting robots worked in concert with two door-opening robots to simulate painting the interiors and exteriors of car bodies.
"This paint application test line, commissioned last year, integrates over 30 years of Italian robotics expertise," explained Zhang Wei." After acquiring CMA Robotics, we spent two years fully absorbing their technology before developing our next-generation painting robots."
The new models have been deployed in China's rail transit, passenger vehicle, and auto parts industries, and are also used by international clients, including Italian automakers Maserati and Alfa Romeo.
"In June alone, we delivered more than 100 painting robots to clients," Zhang Wei said. Just 30 kilometers away, construction is underway on a "robot superfactory" with an annual production capacity of 100,000 units. Once operational, the facility will deploy intelligent robots to assemble other robots, bringing the concept of "robots building robots" closer to reality.
