From smart factories to AI brains: General Corporation wins China's authoritative industrial AI award

Currently, “AI + Manufacturing” is no longer a multiple-choice question but a necessary answer that determines whether enterprises can succeed in the future. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and eight other departments jointly issued the “Special Action Implementation Opinions on ‘Artificial Intelligence + Manufacturing’,” clearly proposing to promote the deep application of 3 to 5 general large models in manufacturing by 2027, accelerating the intelligent upgrade of the entire automotive supply chain. This clear roadmap is setting the tone for the intelligent transformation of Chinese tire manufacturing companies.

Recently, the 15th China Intelligent Manufacturing Summit Forum and the 23rd China End-of-Year Review and Awards Ceremony concluded. In the authoritative selection known as the “Oscar of China’s Intelligent Manufacturing,” General Co., Ltd. stood out among many participating companies for its deep integration and solid implementation in the field of “Artificial Intelligence + Tire Manufacturing,” winning the “2025 China Industrial AI Outstanding Application Award.” This honor not only affirms General Co.’s commitment to innovation-driven and digital transformation but also marks a new stage for China’s tire industry in the application of industrial AI.

Building the Foundation of Intelligent Manufacturing: From “Blackout Workshops” to “Digital Foundations”

Amid the global wave of accelerating toward intelligent and green manufacturing, General Co. has always played the role of an industry pioneer. As early as the initial phase of industry transformation, the company proactively deployed intelligent manufacturing with a forward-looking vision, pioneering the operation of semi-steel tire “blackout workshops” within the industry, and successfully creating a “5G Carbon Cloud Intelligent Factory” for all-steel tires.

Relying on full-element connectivity via 5G private networks and deep integration of core systems such as APS and MES, General Co. has established a complete data artery covering product design, process planning, quality traceability, and logistics distribution. This solid “digital foundation” has enabled a qualitative leap in manufacturing—reducing labor costs by 50%, operational costs by 20%, and increasing production efficiency by 40%, laying a robust industrial data foundation for the deep integration of artificial intelligence technologies.

AI Breakthrough: Reshaping the “Lifeline” of Tire Quality

If digitalization is the “vein” of General Co., then AI technology is its “brain” empowering industrial upgrading. Facing a new wave of artificial intelligence, General Co. keenly captures the opportunities of technological change, actively implements the national “Artificial Intelligence + Manufacturing” strategic deployment, and deeply integrates AI large models, committed to empowering five core application scenarios—smart tire manufacturing, industrial internet platform services, intelligent safety production warnings, smart supply chains and green manufacturing, and product R&D and material innovation—driving quality improvement and efficiency across the entire value chain.

Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration to Overcome Appearance Inspection Challenges. By 2025, General Co. will collaborate with Tsinghua University’s Vehicle and Transport Institute’s Intelligent Suspension and Tire Group and Bellary Technology to jointly release the “Huiyan AI Large Model,” launching the industry’s first “Ling Vision AI Tire Appearance Inspection Terminal.” Equipped with “large sample self-iteration algorithms,” this device reduces single-tire inspection time to 25 seconds, improving overall inspection efficiency by 194% compared to traditional methods, with a functional defect miss rate of less than 1%, setting a new benchmark for tire appearance quality inspection.

Strong Partnerships to Break Internal Flaw Detection Bottlenecks. In early 2026, General Co. again partnered with Lenovo Group, a global technology leader, to launch the “All-Steel X-ray Tire Defect Detection” project. Relying on Lenovo’s edge computing “large model + small sample” core technology, over 20 models were built and optimized in just three weeks. Real-world data shows that this AI system reduces manual quality inspection costs by over 60%, decreases missed detections by over 80%, achieving comprehensive AI quality control coverage from internal structures to external shapes.

Model Going Global: China’s Intelligent Manufacturing Leading the World

Leveraging deep technological roots and AI innovation achievements accumulated domestically, General Co. is exporting the advanced paradigm of “Chinese intelligent manufacturing” overseas. At its Cambodia base, the company has deeply replicated the domestic “5G + AI” intelligent manufacturing experience, establishing an agile and efficient overseas manufacturing system. Thanks to excellent high-quality output and delivery capabilities, products from this facility are in high demand in European and American markets, and it has been awarded the “Smart Manufacturing Leading Factory” honor by the Sihanoukville Industrial Authority in Cambodia—an inaugural certification from Cambodia’s industrial sector.

From “scale output” to “standard output” and “model output,” General Co. demonstrates through concrete actions that Chinese tire companies not only possess leading manufacturing scale globally but also have the wisdom and capability to define future manufacturing methods.

Looking Ahead: Embarking on a New Journey of Intelligent Manufacturing

Winning the “2025 China Industrial AI Outstanding Application Award” is a summary of General Co.’s past explorations and the starting point for the next journey.

General Co. states that at the new starting point of the “14th Five-Year Plan,” the company will thoroughly implement the national manufacturing power strategy, anchor its development on “Billion-Scale General Co.,” and promote open and collaborative innovation among industry, academia, research, and application. It will continue to develop replicable and quantifiable industrial AI solutions, demonstrating corporate responsibility and contributing to the new journey of building a modern socialist country.