Another Lighthouse Factory: IROOTECH Empowers China Merchants Heavy Industry, Forging a New Benchmark in Smart Manufacturing

Recently, IROOTECH empowered China Merchants Heavy Industry (Haimen) to be recognized as a "Lighthouse" factory, setting a new benchmark for the digital and intelligent transformation of the global shipbuilding industry.

The World Economic Forum announced the 16th batch of members of the Global Lighthouse Network. The China Merchants Heavy Industry (Haimen), a subsidiary of China Merchants Group, was selected for the Distinction in Productivity award and named a WEF Lighthouse for its digital and intelligent transformation practices in high-end green ship construction. It has become one of the first enterprise bases in the shipbuilding industry to be inducted into the Global Lighthouse Network.

The Global Lighthouse Network, initiated by the World Economic Forum, aims to recognize advanced production sites and value chains worldwide that have achieved outstanding results in productivity, supply chain resilience, customer-centricity, sustainability, and talent. Selected sites are evaluated by an independent panel of experts and represent leading practices in the digital and intelligent transformation of manufacturing and supply chains.

In recent years, facing challenges such as rapidly growing demand for green vessels, increasing construction complexity, and compressed delivery cycles, China Merchants Heavy Industry (Haimen) leveraged its newly introduced laser center, independently upgraded intelligent production lines, and systematically advanced deep smart manufacturing upgrades. It has deployed over 25 digital and intelligent solutions covering key scenarios including AI-driven production planning and scheduling, digital twin block assembly and construction, and just-in-time logistics, enabling end-to-end integration of production planning and on-site execution.

Quantified Breakthroughs in Smart Transformation

Verified by practice, the site has achieved:

2.6x increase in production capacity

52% reduction in dock cycle time

25% improvement in first-pass assembly yield rate

These results have established advanced manufacturing capabilities for the batch production of high-end green vessels.

The World Economic Forum noted that this new cohort of Lighthouse enterprises is embedding intelligent capabilities throughout their entire operations, enabling faster responses and more sustainable performance breakthroughs. The inclusion of China Merchants Heavy Industry (Haimen) in the Global Lighthouse Network marks international recognition of the phased achievements made by China Merchants Group's sci-tech innovation sector in pursuing high-end, intelligent, and green development.