On January 15, the World Economic Forum (WEF) announced its latest list of Lighthouse Factories, recognizing Huafon Chongqing Spandex Plant as the first Lighthouse Factory in the global chemical fiber industry. This milestone places Huafon among the world’s leading manufacturers pioneering Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.
Advancing from Automation to Full-Scale Intelligent Manufacturing
As one of the world’s largest single-site spandex production bases, Huafon Chongqing Spandex has accelerated its transformation from high-level automation to comprehensive intelligent manufacturing, addressing challenges such as industry overcapacity and fluctuating market demand.
On the technology front, the plant has simultaneously advanced energy-efficient green manufacturing processes for large-capacity spandex production and developed core technologies for multi-head, multi-hole, high-speed, and high-density spinning. It has also achieved breakthroughs in large-capacity, high-stability polyurethane polymerization, laying a strong foundation for smart manufacturing across the entire production chain.
Digital Technologies Reshaping Production and Management
Huafon Chongqing Spandex has deployed 62 advanced digital technologies, including AI-driven process control, machine vision, and digital twin systems, fundamentally reshaping traditional production models and enabling new productivity growth.
From a management perspective, the company has built a unified data platform that integrates previously isolated systems, achieving “single-source data, full-domain visibility.” Leveraging big data analytics, the plant enhances market demand forecasting and optimizes production planning, significantly improving operational agility and decision-making accuracy.
Measurable Performance Gains Through Digital Intelligence
Since implementing its end-to-end digital intelligence system, Huafon Chongqing Spandex has delivered remarkable results compared with 2022:
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Production capacity increased by 62%, with only a 1% rise in workforce size
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Employee turnover rate reduced from 17.6% to 4.5%
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Net profit margin increased by 113%
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Labor productivity improved by 60%
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Product defect rate decreased by 35%
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Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) reached 98.4%
These results underscore the tangible value of smart manufacturing and digital transformation in large-scale chemical fiber production.
Green Manufacturing and Low-Carbon Leadership
In parallel with efficiency gains, Huafon Chongqing Spandex has strengthened its green manufacturing capabilities. Through algorithm-based energy optimization and proprietary recycling technologies, the plant has achieved a solvent recovery rate exceeding 99%, while wastewater emissions remain far below national regulatory standards.
This integrated approach enables Huafon to deliver high efficiency, high flexibility, and low carbon emissions, positioning the company as one of the few global chemical fiber manufacturers to achieve all three simultaneously and establishing a replicable “Huafon model” for sustainable industrial development.
About the Lighthouse Factory Program
The Lighthouse Factory concept originated from Germany’s Industry 4.0 initiative. Launched in 2018, the program identifies the world’s most advanced manufacturing facilities that lead in applying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.
Selected by the World Economic Forum, Lighthouse Factories demonstrate pioneering use of artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and digital twins, achieving breakthroughs in both production efficiency and sustainability. Importantly, these factories showcase scalable and replicable transformation models that can be adopted across global industries.
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