Another Lighthouse Factory from Sany Group - Sany Heavy Inudstry in Changsha - was approved by the World Economic Forum, marking a milestone for China's heavy industry.

On Tuesday, the WEF released the latest Lighthouse Factory list in the manufacturing sector. The list was jointly issued by the WEF and global market research firm McKinsey & Co. It was intended to spotlight factories leading the way in the adoption and integration of frontier technologies around the world.

So far, there are only two recognized Lighthouse Factories in heavy industry. Apart from Sany Heavy Industry in Changsha, the other one is also from Sany Group. It is the pile machine factory in Beijing, namely Sany Beijing.

The official website of WEF said the reason for approval for Sany Heavy Inudstry in Changsha as a Lighthouse Factory was "to address the challenges from industry specific market cycle fluctuations and product complexity, Sany Changsha leveraged flexible automation, artificial intelligence and industrial internet of things at scale to build a digital and flexible heavy equipment manufacturing system."

"As a result, the site expanded capacity by 123 percent, improved labor productivity by 98 percent, and reduced unit manufacturing cost by 29 percent," WEF's official website said.

Industry experts said the approval of the Lighthouse Factory demonstrated Sany's remarkable achievements in advanced manufacturing and digital transformation, and helped the company gain an advantage in competition amid the latest industrial revolution.

Xiang Wenbo, chairman of Sany Heavy Industry Co Ltd, said: "Currently, our 46 digital factories are applying intelligent manufacturing in the upstream and downstream links along the industrial chain. With the approval of the Lighthouse Factory, we are able to further share our experience in intelligent manufacturing with the world."