Recently, the theme salon for talents in the machinery and equipment industry, “Meet Talents·Wisdom and Beauty·Equipment Future”, was held in Nan’an. This salon focused on the five major themes of “technological innovation and breakthroughs, industrial chain collaboration and upgrading, talent introduction and retention, policy and financial support, and “four chains” integration practice”
The core direction focuses on the actual needs of the transformation of the local machinery and equipment industry in Xiamei Town. Representatives from scientific research institutions, key manufacturing enterprises, industry associations and financial institutions are invited to gather together to collide with industrial development ideas, face existing pain points and problems, and jointly plan solutions for regional manufacturing upgrading.
Intelligent manufacturing breakthroughs must first make up for talent shortcomings
“If you can’t retain people, you can’t retain the future.” “I bought CNC machine tools, but no one knows how to use them.” The speeches of many business representatives at the salon pointed to the most pressing pain point in the current industry – the gap in high-end technical talents.
According to the relevant person in charge of Qunfeng Machinery, the company invests more than 10 million yuan in R&D every year and has long-term cooperation with universities to promote intelligent transformation. The goal is to achieve remote control of the entire production process. However, the biggest obstacle at present is not equipment investment, but the professional talents to support the operation of the intelligent system.
In order to solve this problem, the company attaches great importance to internal talent training and skill improvement, and transforms technician capabilities into the core competitiveness of the company through methods such as mentoring new employees by old masters and building skill master studios.
Research data from the local equipment manufacturing industry association shows that there is a serious shortage of front-line technicians and craftsmen in local machinery and equipment enterprises, and high-level R&D talents are even more difficult to find. The lack of support for the industry from the local university system is one of the core shortcomings.
Many people in the industry suggest that the industry can jointly establish an “Engineering Machinery College”, with companies participating in curriculum design, to cultivate application-oriented talents that are “useful and retainable”; some business representatives have also called on the government to introduce talent incentive policies in housing, education, skills certification and other aspects that are more in line with industry needs, focusing on attracting “industrial” talents who are willing to delve into the manufacturing field.
The core of industrial collaboration is to rebuild the trust system between enterprises
It is difficult to defeat the situation alone. How to build an efficient and collaborative industrial ecosystem locally is another hot topic of this salon.
The person in charge of some enterprises said that the company’s own casting and machining processes have been automated, but core parts still have to rely on out-of-town procurement. If the local industrial chain can achieve supporting interoperability, all parts can be obtained without leaving the industrial cluster, which will significantly reduce the company’s production costs.
However, although many companies are currently close to each other and have many contacts, they are limited by issues such as different product standards and high communication costs, and their willingness to cooperate is low. Neighboring companies have previously tried to jointly develop smart warehousing projects, but they were ultimately shelved because they could not reach a consensus on interface standards.
Attendees offered suggestions and suggestions for industrial collaboration: some suggested that relevant departments should optimize the supply of land quotas and attract dispersed industrial chain supporting manufacturers to return and take root, forming a real cluster advantage; some suggested that the government or industry associations should take the lead in building a joint research and construction platform to build a
Establish a regional technology center and build industry alliances in subdivided areas such as valve intelligent manufacturing and auto parts intelligent manufacturing with leading enterprises as the axis, forming an industrial structure with clear division of labor and data exchange; some company representatives said that as long as the entire industry unifies production process standards, there will be a basis for industrial collaboration.
Policy empowerment needs to clear the “last mile” of implementation
In the policy and financial support section, many business representatives pointed out that there are currently many policies to support industries, but there are problems such as slow implementation, long processes, and insufficient adaptability.
According to the relevant person in charge of the local financial department, the local Nan’an Innovation Fund has been established. In addition to direct capital investment, it will also empower enterprises in aspects such as policy research, talent aggregation, and collaborative management. It will share risks with enterprises through equity investment and adapt to the development needs of the industrial transformation period.
Representatives of securities institutions also introduced in detail the listing thresholds and financing paths of different sectors based on the listing cases of local companies, and encouraged companies to choose appropriate capital market channels according to their own development stages and break out of the limitations of internal development.
Many companies have also called on relevant departments to further clarify the implementation scope of policies such as technology subsidies, talent introduction, and loan interest discounts, establish an “enterprise demand pool”, and match policy resources as needed to avoid the disconnect between policies and actual needs.
“Industrial upgrading is not an individual advance, but a systematic war.” Industry insiders at the meeting said that the local machinery and equipment industry must shift from “industrial thinking” to “ecological thinking” and promote the integration of the four forces of technological innovation, industrial collaboration, talent flow, and capital empowerment, in order to truly realize the leap from “manufacturing” to “intelligent manufacturing.”
As competition in the global market intensifies, companies in the Nan’an machinery and equipment industry chain are constantly building consensus to build stronger capabilities to “go overseas as a team” and open up the global market with products that meet international standards.
This salon is not the end of the discussion, but a new starting point for the local machinery and equipment industry to move towards a modern industrial system.
