Heenoor, a stainless steel vacuum cup producer based in Yudong town, Haimen district, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, generated 550 million yuan ($84.86 million) in taxable sales revenue from January to July, up 88.5 percent year-on-year, local media outlets reported.

The stainless steel vacuum cup industry has encountered enormous pressure due to the surging price of raw materials this year. While discussing the company's ability to overcome this trend to significantly grow, a senior executive attributed it to smart manufacturing, which has enhanced the company's competitiveness.

Since its smart plant was put into operation in late 2020, the company's production capacity has increased by 30 percent on average, while its product rejection rate dropped by 2 percent and its energy consumption dropped by more than 10 percent.

Ranking 24th among China's top 100 districts in terms of industrial development, Haimen has built nine demonstration smart plants at the municipal level and two at the provincial level.

Since the beginning of this year, the district government has carried out new measures to encourage local companies to promote smart technical upgrading.

A total of 20 companies have applied to be designated as Nantong municipal-level demonstration smart plants this year, setting a record high, according to Yu Jun, director of the district's development and reform commission.

Officials said that smart manufacturing has become a major force behind the district's high-quality development.

From January to July, industrial companies above designated size, which refers to those companies with an annual revenue of 200 million yuan or more, generated 51.7 billion yuan in combined taxable sales revenue, up 27.2 percent year-on-year.