In Linyi in July, the summer heat is gradually intensifying. The production workshop of Deutz-Fahr’s new agricultural machinery is bustling with activity: robotic arms precisely grasp parts, welding sparks splash on the frame of the “Black King Kong” 7WHD tractor, and workers are debugging the control panel equipped with the latest VDS virtual driving system. “This vehicle can carry a maximum of 14 tons, and 90% of its more than 2,400 components come from local supporting enterprises, with a 100% domestic supporting rate,” says sales manager Zhang Meng, barely concealing his pride. As the first high-end agricultural machinery with all components produced domestically, it received nearly a hundred prospective orders from Europe and America upon its launch.
Who would have thought that just a few years ago, Deutz-Fahr was a different story: as an old Italian enterprise, 90% of its parts relied on imports, and core components could not be produced domestically, making the company resemble an “assembly workshop”. “Continuously variable transmission technology is the ‘ceiling’ of international agricultural machinery; without overcoming it, we will always be at the mercy of others,” says Yao Fang, general manager of the complete machine in the R&D department. The company continuously invested more than 1 billion yuan, assembled a team of Chinese and foreign experts, started with ordinary gearbox technology, and fully improved product performance by comparing European and national standards and combining with the SDF database.
While the enterprise was breaking through technology, the Linyi County government’s “strengthening the supply chain” action was simultaneously underway. The Machinery Industry Development Promotion Association brought a list of demands to attract investment nationwide and planned a high-end equipment manufacturing park. Zhongrun Hydraulic Machinery, located 200 meters from Deutz-Fahr, is one of the supporting enterprises. “In cooperation with Deutz, we grew together,” says production director Yang Junhua, stating that their hydraulic pumps, valves, and motors have reached international advanced levels and have obtained over 130 domestic patents.
“We break down components according to high, medium, and low agricultural machinery demands, and recruit for whatever is missing,” introduces Liu Tingting, an enterprise service specialist at the Economic Development Zone. Currently, the park has gathered more than 60 chain enterprises, and over 20 supporting parts have passed international certification. With the joint efforts of government and enterprises, the “Black King Kong” successfully rolled off the production line, achieving 100% domestic production, marking a leap in China’s agricultural machinery from relying on imported parts to independent production of complete machines. Today, 102 out of 106 Deutz-Fahr products are domestically produced, and more than 80 technologies have broken international monopolies, forming an industrial ecosystem with “leading enterprises driving and small and medium-sized enterprises collaborating”.
Currently, there are over 120 equipment manufacturing enterprises in Linyi. From relying on imported parts to independent production of complete machines, Linyi is now drawing a blueprint for the rise of the high-end equipment industry in Southern Shandong with its improved supply chain.