Midea rides wave of robotics in Wuhan factory

Midea Group, a major home appliance manufacturer in China based in Guangzhou, has seen its human labor force greatly reduced at its Wuhan factory since the introduction of an intelligent production line.


"We have made intelligent production a strategic goal of the group," said Yang Hao, general manager of the company's Wuhan factory.


In 2015, Midea revamped its conventional production line into an intelligent one by installing more than 200 robotic devices. Now it has become one of the most advanced machine assembly lines in the world.


The average number of employees working alongside the production line has dropped from 160 to 51. Meanwhile, the qualification rate of products free of defects has increased from 97 percent to 99 percent.


"The biggest advantage of intelligent manufacturing is its accuracy," Yang said. "Humans make mistakes because they can get tired. But a machine does not doze off."


The article transsshipment from China Daily