Explore intelligent, green auto plant in NE China's Jilin

At Chinese automaker FAW Hongqi's Fanrong plant in northeast China's Jilin Province, a new Hongqi car rolls off the production lines every 54 seconds.

A robot assembles a car in the general assembly workshop of Chinese automaker FAW Hongqi's Fanrong plant in northeast China's Jilin Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)

"Currently, five vehicle types, including gasoline-fueled automobiles, hybrid electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles can be manufactured on the same production lines," said Guo Chengming, general assembly supervisor of the general assembly division of FAW Hongqi's engineering and technology department.

Guo added that the Fanrong plant has deployed numerous cutting-edge technologies and manufacturing techniques, accomplishing many “firsts" both in China and globally.

The Fanrong plant contains five workshops for stamping, welding, painting, general assembly, and battery/electric drivetrain production. The automation rate of the stamping production line is 71.4 percent, while the 739 robots on the welding production line are 100 percent automated. At the painting workshop, seven-axis robots improve robot reachability by 15 percent, while the general assembly workshop with 28 robots and 95 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) enables flexible production.

Workers check assembled vehicles at a workshop of Chinese automaker FAW Hongqi's Fanrong plant in northeast China's Jilin Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)

In addition, it is a "green" plant, achieving lifecycle energy conservation and carbon reduction through the use of renewable energy, environmentally-friendly processes, and end treatment.

Photovoltaic panels on the roof of the plant generate electricity, Guo said, noting that heat recovered from the plant's compressors is used for hot water supply for workers in the whole plant to take showers, and its rainwater collection system saves more than 10,000 tonnes of water annually.