Three enterprises in Ningbo were recently listed as national models for the application of big data by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. 

Wanhua Chemical Group Co Ltd was among them.

As a domestic leader in the green petrochemical industry, Wanhua has invested around 600 million yuan ($86.9 million) into the construction of an intelligent factory that can save around 200 million yuan in operational costs every year. 

From the processing of orders to logistics, the majority of the plant is managed by an intelligent system that has not only improved the company's production efficiency but also enhanced the quality of its products.

For example, in the company's gasification facility, the concentration of coal-water slurry has increased from 61.7 percent to over 62.1 percent, while the hydrogen recovery rate has risen from 99.1 percent to 99.7 percent. Meanwhile, its steam consumption has decreased by 10 percent. 

Zhejiang Brain Matrix Tech Co was another company to make the list.

The company developed Brain Matrix – an industrial platform dedicated to helping industrial enterprises improve production efficiency via data collection using AI technology.

Through the use of the industrial brain, IKD Co Ltd, a manufacturer of high-precision aluminum products, saw its product qualification rate increase by three percent and its equipment efficiency soar by 19 percent. 

A platform capable of tracing the origins of food products developed by Ningbo SRIT Co Ltd also made the list. 

The platform has already been applied in 11 cities in China, according to Ni Yongpin, deputy general manager of the company.