Shandong Adds More "Navigator-Level" Factories

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently announced the 2026 Navigator-Level Smart Factory Project Cultivation List. A total of 34 factories were selected nationwide, three of which are located in Shandong. The three factories respectively belong to Hisense Visual Technology Co., Ltd., CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd., and Goertek Inc.

Shandong also had two factories selected for inclusion in the first Navigator-Level Smart Factory Project Cultivation List, released in November 2025.

For two consecutive years, more than one factory in Shandong has been selected. This reflects Shandong's sustained efforts in recent years to promote the digital transformation of its manufacturing sector and to transition from a large industrial province into a strong manufacturing province.

Hisense Visual Technology factory production line (Image source: Hisense Visual Technology)

Shandong is a major industrial province, with a high proportion of traditional industries, many chain-leading enterprises, and dense application scenarios. Enabling different manufacturing enterprises to improve within their respective capabilities, could further promotethe digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of manufacturing across the whole province, cultivates and develops new quality productive forces, and creates more benchmarks that embody future manufacturing models.

Image source: Goertek Inc.

Today, Shandong has cultivated 5657 Morning Star factories and 130 industry brains, and has 49 national Excellence-Level Smart Factories. In the future, the intelligentization of Shandong enterprises is expected to expand from individual leading companies to a broader range of industrial chains and clusters.