Craftsmanship the focus of intl talks on future of manufacturing

Engineering professionals from around the world gathered at the Guangzhou International Innovation Festival this week to add further momentum to the city's culture of craftsmanship.

A number of established engineers from China, the United States, Germany, Israel and Ukraine sat together to discuss the future of the city's manufacturing sector, at an international engineering forum on Tuesday during the innovation festival held in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

A city that has long been known as an international trade hub and manufacturing center of China, Guangzhou is working to upgrade its industrial structure by bringing innovation to its core.

Ulrich Sendler, a German expert in the country's Industry 4.0 strategy, shared his nation's experience. He said that a crucial reason for Germany's success is the sufficient technical education in and out of school.

He spoke highly of the achievements that China's manufacturing sector has made thus far and commented that the future lies in high-quality production, rather than high quantities.

Fan Jiachun, deputy-director of GAC Automotive Engineering Institute, noted the emphasis on Guangzhou's manufacturing sector.

"The spirit of technological craftsmanship does not only mean pursuing high quality," Fan said. "It contains three elements: to be technologically independent, to be openminded and innovative, and to aim higher and bigger."

Many domestic entrepreneurs are also working on improving the local industry. Gao Chao, founder and CEO of Laisj, an industrial design platform, said that such designs in the Chinese manufacturing sector lack real innovation.

"Many Chinese companies cannot afford the huge fee for creative designing, so I pioneered the model in which the design company becomes the shareholder to reduce costs," Gao said. "In this way, manufacturers can have better products and design companies will also work harder."

Apart from the engineering forum, representatives and delegates of nearly 1,000 companies from more than 30 countries were invited to Guangzhou to flood the city with their cutting-edge ideas and innovations during the festival.

Yossi Vardi, co-chairman of Israel's Digital-Life-Design conference who is also behind the Guangzhou International Innovation Festival, said the event helps different creative voices to be heard and breaks up the technological monopoly.

"I personally have organized about 20 conferences around the world and I think it is a real good place which is really creative - everybody has the right to speak," he said. "Here you can hear fresh voices."

"This is, I think, one of the most important factors in creating a community of innovators and the entrepreneurs."

(China Daily 12/09/2016 page10)