Faurecia's China base eyes lighthouse factory status

Faurecia (Yancheng) Automotive System Co, a subsidiary of French auto parts firm Faurecia Group founded in 2011 in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, has been advancing technological upgrades and intelligent transformation towards being a lighthouse factory.

Since December 2024, with a 13.8-million-yuan ($1.94 million) investment, the company has been applying for lighthouse factory status, inviting Schneider Electric China, which has eight lighthouse factories in China, to serve as the project's chief consultant and technology supporter.

Eight application practices were submitted, five of which passed review, all based on Industry 4.0 and artificial intelligence (AI) concepts. For instance, using neural networks and genetic algorithms with over 20 real-time parameters, the changeover time of production lines was cut from 33 minutes to 15 min.

The company is set for a final review in November. If successful, it will be the first lighthouse factory in northern Jiangsu.

For general manager Liu Ligang, building a lighthouse factory is crucial to tackle traditional manufacturing challenges.

"Most importantly, through the deep integration of AI and the industrial internet, master technicians' experiences have been converted into replicable models. This has freed young people from repetitive work to engage in technological maintenance and innovation, building a talent pool for long-term development," said Liu.

In the long run, Faurecia (Yancheng) aims to build a comprehensive intelligent manufacturing factory. By 2026, it plans to construct an automated warehouse, introduce more AGVs, and build an integrated system with smart logistics and intelligent security for efficient, intelligent, and safe logistics operations.

This year, the company is expected to achieve an annual output of 28 million automotive seat sliders for over 7 million vehicles globally, consolidating its role as Faurecia's core global supply hub for automotive seat sliders, he added.