Today, at the 2019 International Textile Printing and Dyeing Industry Application Exhibition, Mr. Kuang Yu Chun, chief editor of "Dyeing and Finishing Technology" and "Dyeing Auxiliaries," had the honor of interviewing Changzhou Hongda (Technology) Group Co., Ltd. Gu Ren Chairman.

Changzhou Hongda (Technology) Group Co., Ltd. has focused on the research and development of intelligent textile printing and dyeing for nearly 30 years. Through unremitting independent innovation, the company has established a strong presence in the field of intelligent control for textile printing and dyeing.

In the current environment where all industries are comprehensively promoting "Made in China 2025," does Changzhou Hongda have its own unique insights? In the face of a harsh survival environment, can Changzhou Hongda guide dyeing and finishing enterprises? Let Gu Ren the Chairman answer these questions for us.

Q: "Made in China 2025" has set off a wave of intelligent manufacturing reform in the industry. How does Changzhou Hongda Group, a leader in intelligent manufacturing, understand this strategy? What impact does this have on Hongda's development and growth?

A: I believe that "Made in China 2025" is an inevitable trend in our country's current stage of development, and it is also an inevitable trend for our country's transition from high-speed to high-quality development. From Hongda's perspective, for nearly 30 years, we have been working on automation and intelligence, and we have established a very solid foundation. In the early stages, we also made a lot of layouts, such as modernization and intelligent manufacturing. Modernization will eventually develop into artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence has two core elements: the first is intelligent online detection. This has always been a shortcoming in the dyeing and finishing industry. To achieve intelligent manufacturing in the dyeing and finishing industry, online intelligent detection is essential. This is like a person's eyes, nose, and ears. If this aspect is not comprehensive, then it will be very difficult to implement intelligent manufacturing. In this regard, Hongda made a unified layout in 2000, taking this as Hongda's strategic core. After nearly 20 years of development, we now have a comprehensive product line. Currently, the two main entry points for artificial intelligence are machine vision and speech recognition. Hongda mainly uses machine vision, and Hongda has done very in-depth research in this area. The second is deep learning of data. Artificial intelligence will eventually develop in two directions: one is data collection, and the other is deep learning of data. The two directions are combined to ultimately achieve intelligent manufacturing.

Turning to the dyeing and finishing industry, we are also working in two directions: one is the application of artificial intelligence in the process execution system of the finishing machine, and the other is the realization of artificial intelligence in the dyeing process system. These are our two major series of products, and they are also the direction of industry development in the next three to five years, or even five to ten years. Hongda has already made systematic strategic layouts many years ago, and we can say that we are at the forefront of the industry. Long-term historical accumulation has shown its value at this point in time.

Q: Is the competition in the intelligent manufacturing industry fierce? Under such circumstances, how has Changzhou Hongda Group achieved stable development?

A: The industry is currently facing two problems: one is how enterprises can achieve high-quality development, and the other is environmental protection. In the process of high-quality development, the labor issue is also a very important point: difficulty in recruitment and high labor costs. The traditional dyeing and finishing industry mainly relies on the experience of workers. What Hongda is currently doing is systematically integrating the experience of traditional workers in a data-driven way, allowing machines to perfectly achieve production, greatly reducing the dependence on on-site operators and process designers. Then, through artificial intelligence technology, allowing the machine to continuously learn, the machine will become smarter and smarter. Like the AI-based finishing process execution system we launched this time, traditional finishing processes are largely determined by the experience of workers. There is currently no accurate execution standard for finishing time, but these parameters can certainly be quantified. We convert all this experience into data, and the consistency and reproducibility of this process are unmatched by traditional processes, and the company's requirements for workers are also significantly reduced. Today you use this set of data to process a batch of products, and after a period of time you need the same process, artificial intelligence can perfectly replicate it after processing, while traditional processes cannot do this, because it cannot quantify variables such as humidity, temperature, and dosage.

Q: To improve quality and efficiency in the textile printing and dyeing industry, independent innovation is the most important. What pioneering technologies does Changzhou Hongda Group have? Have the research results been transformed into new products? What is the status of these Hongda products in the world?

A: Of course, we are definitely advanced, and we are in an advanced position worldwide. Our Hongda's scientific research and development is essentially different from that of ordinary enterprises. The scientific research of ordinary enterprises can be regarded as technological breakthroughs, by establishing a project team to overcome a certain problem, while Hongda is systematic, large-scale, and systematic in carrying out research and development, which is currently unattainable for most domestic enterprises.

The significance of new products and new technologies is to solve customer problems and meet customers' new needs. These needs are both explicit and implicit. The research and development of ordinary enterprises can solve customers' explicit needs, while those implicit needs that even customers themselves may not be aware of can only be discovered and addressed by companies like us systematic, large-scale, and systematic through research and development, fully penetrating the industry to discover and address them, thereby providing greater assistance to customers in improving themselves. In this regard, Hongda is more advanced.

We can confidently say —We want to be the "Huawei" of the dyeing and finishing industry.

Q: In June, Changzhou Hongda Group participated in the Barcelona Textile Machinery Exhibition in Spain with its own intellectual property products, showcasing China's advanced intelligent manufacturing equipment. How was the response to the products? Is there a plan to participate in the 2023 Milan Exhibition in Italy? Can you talk about the achievements of this exhibition?

Q: What are the future development plans of Changzhou Hongda Group? As an intelligent expert in the textile printing and dyeing industry, what is the path for Hongda to achieve high-quality development?

A: Over 20 years ago, Hongda established the corporate value of "revitalizing national industry and giving back to the motherland." We are happy to use our accumulated knowledge and technology to help enterprises with vision develop technology, overcome challenges, and achieve success, regardless of their size.

As a leading expert in intelligent equipment for China's dyeing industry, Hongda will use the Changzhou Hongda Intelligent Equipment Industry Development Research Institute as its base to further conduct systematic and large-scale scientific research. We will develop more, newer, and better products for the industry, supporting its sustainable development and promoting "Made in China" to the best of our ability. 2025!

During the interview, Hongda's booth was bustling with visitors, many of whom showed great interest in the new products on display. We wish Changzhou Hongda (Technology) Group another successful exhibition.

Reprinted from "Dyeing and Finishing Technology"