Developing new productive forces hinges on innovation, with enterprises forming the core foundation. Since the start of this year, the Chongzuo High-Tech Industrial Development Zone has championed technological advancement, steadily expanding the scale of its intelligent economy while accelerating the shift from traditional, extensive growth models to high-end, smart, and green industrial practices, injecting fresh momentum into high-quality industrial development.

Stepping into the production facility of Shuxiang Mende (Guangxi) Home Materials Co., Ltd. within the zone, rows of automated assembly lines operate at full throttle, with intelligent equipment precisely executing wood floor cutting, grooving, shaping, and packaging processes. The workflow is standardized, efficient, and tightly controlled. In recent years, the firm has ramped up R&D investment to bolster its technological capabilities, now holding 24 patents that underpin product innovation and quality enhancement.

"Early this year, we completed the integration of new machinery and the intelligent retrofitting of legacy equipment, comprehensively refining our production processes and boosting product quality. Through these technical upgrades, we're better positioned to fulfill market orders and meet the demand for personalized, diversified offerings. Order volumes have risen markedly in the second half of the year, and the company is now running at full capacity, working overtime to accelerate production and ensure timely deliveries," said Wang Guangzheng, General Manager of Shuxiang Mende (Guangxi) Home Materials Co., Ltd.

Other enterprises in the Chongzuo High-Tech Industrial Development Zone are equally quickening their innovation pace. At Guangxi Nanmeng International New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.'s workshop, products such as lithium manganate and battery-grade trimanganese tetroxide are rolling off lines continuously. Leveraging the substantial capital, technical, and resource strengths of its parent, South Manganese Group, the company focuses on the R&D, production, and sale of high-value-added manganese-based deep-processed goods. It operates production lines with annual capacities including 20,000 tonnes of lithium manganate, 20,000 tonnes of battery-grade trimanganese tetroxide, 200,000 sheets of highly conductive multi-component composites, 20,000 tonnes of high-value-added manganese metal powder, and a demonstration line for 2,000 tonnes of lithium manganese iron phosphate precursor. In the first half of this year, capacity utilization expanded further, with cumulative operating revenue reaching 260 million yuan, a 74% year-on-year increase.

"In our production processes, we've also adopted AI-driven smart application scenarios—from raw material intake and workshop operations to product warehousing and financial statement generation, the entire system runs on AI frameworks, dramatically boosting our efficiency. At the same time, we're increasing investment in advanced equipment, replacing old machinery to elevate production throughput," noted Wu Jixiang, Deputy General Manager of Guangxi Nanmeng International New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.

The innovation and transformation initiatives at Shuxiang Mende and Nanmeng International New Energy serve as vivid snapshots of the Chongzuo High-Tech Industrial Development Zone's efforts to cultivate new productive forces and advance smart manufacturing. This year, the zone has strictly implemented the region's "AI + Manufacturing" action plan, establishing a tiered cultivation mechanism for smart factories that emphasizes demonstration leadership, comprehensive enhancement, and fundamental upgrades. By fully leveraging the driving role of leading enterprises, the zone is promoting digital and intelligent transformation across its entire industrial landscape. To date, the Chongzuo High-Tech Industrial Development Zone has nurtured two autonomous region-level smart manufacturing benchmark enterprises, seven advanced-level smart factories, and two basic-level smart factories. It has also guided companies like Chongzuo Dongya Sugar Co., Ltd. to develop national-level excellent smart manufacturing scenarios, creating a batch of replicable, scalable models. With 39 AI application scenarios now in place, the zone's smart factory enterprises generated an annual output value of 10.416 billion yuan in 2025, accounting for 56.67% of the zone's total industrial output—making smart manufacturing the core engine driving the zone's high-quality industrial growth.