As major programmes in industrial foundations, intelligent manufacturing and green manufacturing are implemented, Henan Mine Crane has once again taken up the banner of intelligent manufacturing in the lifting equipment industry, building two unmanned grab cranes for the 250,000-tonne rotary hearth furnace project at Baowu Group's Shaoguan Iron & Steel plant. Developed to Shaosteel's intelligent manufacturing strategy and the rotary hearth furnace process, they provide strong support for genuine plant-wide "one-button steelmaking".

Intelligent manufacturing, real strength

Accurate positioning within 5 mm
The crane offers 3D scanning, automatic positioning, automatic recognition, automatic obstacle avoidance and automatic grabbing; positioning accuracy, including repeat positioning, is within 5 mm.

Unmanned operation, greener production
Operators work comfortably from an office 1,000 m away, avoiding the dusty environment. Since commissioning, workers' physical workload has dropped sharply and the machines run smoothly; feedback from crane operators to management has been positive, and metallurgical companies keep visiting to see the equipment.

A high standard of intelligence
The equipment's level of automation is among the highest in China. It drew close attention from the Beijing Materials Handling Research Institute, and the two sides jointly drafted inspection and testing standards, setting a benchmark for the industry.

Shared development, win-win cooperation

In 2018 Henan Mine Crane was named a premium supplier to Baosteel Zhanjiang and has long been an annual contract supplier of crane spare parts to Shaosteel. It developed Shaosteel's first unmanned crane, now used in the slag bay of No. 6 blast furnace at the ironmaking plant.

Partnership of leaders

Since 2015 Henan Mine Crane has ranked among the leaders of the domestic industry in output, sales and market share. It operates more than 600 welding and machining robots, including over 100 automated welding and machining lines, is a national-level green factory and has been named "Henan Intelligent Factory" and "Henan Intelligent Workshop". Shaosteel, a premium subsidiary of Baowu Group, leads the metallurgical industry in green and intelligent steelmaking and is building a demonstration base for intelligent steel manufacturing. This partnership between Henan Mine Crane and Baowu Shaosteel will contribute more to the transformation and upgrading of the steel industry through intelligent, green and digital cranes.