Part of an intelligent production line at a Xiongbang Foundry factory. Intelligent manufacturing has helped the company improve the quality of its products and enhance production efficiency by 50 percent. [Photo/ntjoy.com]

The Nantong High and New Technology Industrial Development Zone has become the first national foundry industry demonstration center in Jiangsu province, paving the way for other industrial parks in the province.

The news was announced by the China Foundry Association earlier this year. The move is meant to accelerate the development of the foundry industry in the zone.

The Xiongbang Foundry is the first foundry company to set up operations in the zone. The company mainly produces automobile parts that are widely used in Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Tesla vehicles.

Since 2010, the success of Xiongbang has inspired a number of leading foundry companies to set up factories in the zone, resulting in the formation of a comprehensive industrial chain that includes raw materials, mold design, production, and the manufacturing of precision machinery parts.

High quality and environmentally friendly, the industry engages in intelligent manufacturing and is continually becoming more competitive.

Over the past three years, the average growth rate in taxable earnings for major foundry companies surpassed 40 percent. The foundry cluster is soon expected to surpass 10 billion yuan ($1.49 billion) in revenue.