On September 6, the intelligent production workshop of Trina Solar (Yiwu) Technology Co., Ltd. was busy: modern equipment ran at high speed, sophisticated robots operated in an orderly manner, unmanned IGV smart cars shuttled back and forth. This enclosed and automatic intelligent manufacturing production line relies heavily on machinery and artificial intelligence, operating in an efficient and systematic way. The manufacturing workshop is highly automated and data-based, so the workers are only responsible for machine operation and assisted inspection.

A few days ago, Trina Solar released a performance report for the first half of 2021. The report showed that the company achieved an income of 20.188 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 60.91%; and net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 706 million RMB, a year-on-year increase of 43.17%. In the first half of the year, the revenue and net profit of the company achieved substantial growth. In the first half of the year, the output capacity of the company’s main product, photovoltaic modules, reached 10.5GW, an increase of nearly 80% from the 5.84GW in the same period last year. Such fruitful results are inseparable from the contribution of the Yiwu branch. By the end of this year, the Yiwu branch is expected to achieve an output value of tens of billions of RMB.

Since its establishment in Yiwu, Trina Solar has demonstrated the Yiwu Speed of the “Super Factory”, completing the first phase of the 4GW infrastructure and installing the equipment in just 112 days. On July 29 last year, the first phase of the 4GW modules of the Trina Solar’s Yiwu production base started production and the groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of 4GW modules was held. This is the world’s first large-scale production base for super high-power modules with several innovative technologies on 210 mm silicon wafers, cells, modules, etc. The commissioning of this base is an important milestone in the progress of Trina Solar, and it also represents a new era in the development of the industry.

The completion and commissioning of the second phase of Trina Solar’s 4GW infrastructure took a shorter time of only 99 days. “At the beginning of the entire project, the core team of the project entered the construction site to follow the progress and the details. The equipment department, production department, and process department cooperated with each other during the entire construction process with high quality and efficiency. The development headquarters of the Economic and Technical Development Zone and other government departments also provided convenience for the local companies, handling affairs as quickly as possible to ensure efficient and smooth infrastructure construction. Investment Promotion Bureau and the Service Bureau of Economic and Technical Development Zone were responsible for introducing the companies and providing basic services, such as employee recruitment and accommodation. The Yiwu branch has set a new industry record for factory construction from groundbreaking to the equipment installation,” said Yang Xiaojun, general manager of the Yiwu-based Trina Solar Technology Co., Ltd.

This “super speed” also shows in the production process. In the Yiwu branch, the most advanced high-speed welding machine in the industry has an output of 4000 pieces per hour. Intelligence is also everywhere in the workshop. Product defects can be directly detected through automatic visual inspection equipment based on artificial intelligence technology, effectively improving inspection efficiency. Compared with previous workshops, the fully automated workshop has reduced the number of staff by about 25% per GW.

“In addition, we have also established a complete set of smart factory solutions and a smart manufacturing data center. The center monitors the status of all the equipment and facilities in the production workshop and customer order completion, and all production base data is shared in real time,” said Yang Xiaojun.

Based on a high degree of automation and intelligence, the production efficiency of the Yiwu factory has continued to improve. In the first half of this year, the company’s output value exceeded 4 bn RMB, and its shipments ranked second in the industry. Up to now, both the first and second phases of the Yiwu plant have achieved full production, with a monthly capacity of 700 million watts, valued at about 1 bn RMB.

“Thanks to the forward-looking strategic layout and good customer base, as well as the continuous advancement of new technologies, the company will continue to maintain a good momentum in the second half of the year. At present, the production plan of the Yiwu branch has been scheduled for the third quarter of this year.” Talking about the future, Yang Xiaojun is full of ambition. (Text and photo by Wang Ting, translated by Wei Han, edited by Mariam Ayad)