On December 8, the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Zhejiang Province announced the list of Zhejiang Provincial Enterprise Technology Centers for 2021 (the 28th batch). The Enterprise Technology Center of Qianchao Bearing Co., Ltd. and the Enterprise Technology Center of Zhejiang Wanxiang Systems Co., Ltd. were both included on the list. As of now, Wanxiang Qianchao has a total of two national-level enterprise technology center sub-centers—Wanxiang Qianchao and Qianchao Senwei—and eight provincial- and municipality-level enterprise technology centers—including Wanxiang Jinggong, Transmission Shaft Company, Wanxiang Systems, Qianchao Bearing, Qianchao Shanghai Systems, Hefei Transmission Shaft, Wanxiang Tongda, and the Chongqing Plant of Constant Velocity Drive Shafts. This has established an innovation framework centered on common technology research and product application development—a “2+8” model.

Qianchao Bearing Co., Ltd. is the earliest-established bearing subsidiary within the Wanxiang Group’s industrial system. Today, it has become a specialized manufacturer of tapered roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, and ball bearings, possessing core proprietary technologies. The company’s total bearing production capacity reaches 30.8 million sets per year, making it one of the largest domestic manufacturing bases for tapered roller bearings. In the pickup truck bearing segment, Qianchao ranks first in the industry, and fifth nationwide in the overall automotive bearing market. The company’s Technology Center employs a total of 101 staff members, including 58 researchers and experimental development personnel. These staff members cover positions such as product design and development, CAE analysis, experimental research, process development, benchmarking studies, and project management—forming a technically skilled team with a well-structured composition, strong collaborative spirit, and outstanding innovation and R&D capabilities. Throughout the innovation process, the Technology Center has continuously intensified its R&D efforts and built up robust technological reserves, expanding its market share by delivering competitive products. In terms of technological achievements, the projects “Development of Medium- and Large-Sized Ultra-Quiet Deep Groove Ball Bearings” and “Stepwise Reinforcement Testing Method for Tapered Roller Bearings” have been recognized as outstanding achievements in the “12th Five-Year Plan” technology breakthroughs within China’s bearing industry. In 2020, the products “Low-Friction Torque Tapered Roller Bearings” and “High-Speed Deep Groove Ball Bearings for New Energy Vehicle Transmissions” were certified as being at the leading domestic level among similar products and were also registered as scientific and technological achievements in Zhejiang Province. In 2021, the company filed 18 national patent applications, including 8 invention patents. In terms of innovation benefits, the revenue from new products accounted for 36.12% of the company’s main business revenue, while the profit from new products represented 35.15% of the total product sales profit.

Wanxiang System Co., Ltd. is a national high-tech enterprise, a national green factory, and a provincial innovative cultivation enterprise. The company’s Enterprise Technology Center boasts a team of technical experts specializing in various fields—including chassis structural components, brakes, vacuum boosters, and more—covering roles such as product design engineers, project management engineers, CAE analysis engineers, testing engineers, process engineers, standardization specialists, intellectual property professionals, and systems engineers. The Technology Center’s R&D team demonstrates strong capabilities in technological innovation and possesses independent R&D, design, and testing expertise for automotive chassis components. In terms of technology transfer and commercialization, the company’s number of intellectual property rights has been steadily increasing year by year: in 2018, it was granted 21 patents and 1 software copyright; in 2019, it received 24 patents; and in 2020, it secured 39 patents. Each year, the Enterprise Technology Center undertakes internal scientific and technological research across six key areas: basic research, product development, process optimization, quality enhancement, intelligent manufacturing, and cost reduction through technological innovation. The center initiates more than 40 scientific and technological projects annually, ensuring full participation from all technical personnel. The center focuses particularly on research and development related to aluminum alloy subframes, drum-type electronic parking brakes, and zero-hysteresis technology. Among these, the subframe project won the Second Prize of the 2021 Zhejiang Mechanical Industry Science and Technology Award.

Being recognized as a Zhejiang Provincial Enterprise Technology Center is an acknowledgment of the company’s investment in and output from innovation. In recent years, Wanxiang Qianchao has been aligning itself with the “New Four Modernizations” trend—electrification, intelligence, connectivity, and sharing—in the automotive industry. Focusing primarily on the markets of the company’s key international strategic customers, Wanxiang Qianchao has been investing in R&D annually at a rate no lower than 4% of its main business revenue. The company has also rationally allocated and optimized its internal resources, carrying out technological innovations in automotive components within the fields of new-energy vehicles and intelligent automobiles. By formulating enterprise technology innovation plans, tackling key core products and technologies, creating and leveraging intellectual property rights, establishing product and manufacturing standards systems, introducing and cultivating innovative talent, and building a full-lifecycle innovation system, Wanxiang Qianchao has been enhancing its product competitiveness in multiple dimensions and across all levels—particularly in areas such as intelligent chassis, lightweight design, and platform-based development—thereby accelerating the development and industrial implementation of new products and technologies to meet the needs of market customers.

In the future, technology centers of various enterprises will continue to focus on key international strategic customers, persistently and deeply implement strategies for cultivating innovative science and technology talent, further strengthen the role of enterprise technology centers as innovation leaders, and reinforce the development of a technology innovation system that is enterprise-led, market-oriented, and integrates industry, academia, research, and application. We will guide and support enterprises in enhancing their technological innovation capabilities and fully leverage the supporting and leading roles played by national and provincial enterprise technology centers in boosting enterprise competitiveness.