GE's Haiphong Brilliant Factory drives transformation

GE's Haiphong multimodal factory reached more than $1 billion in annual exports

The 130-year-old US industrial giant GE has always been known for innovation and it has been relentless in creating innovations across all of its businesses, aviation, healthcare, power and renewable energy, continuously improving product performance and efficiency.

According to Wouter van Wersch- president and CEO of GE Asia Pacific, GE’s long history of innovation started in the 1800s with the creation of the first electric light bulb.

Over the years, GE continues to innovate in many fields, such as inventing the first US jet engine for commercial aviation in 1946 – developed the axial flow compressor, which is being used in every modern jet engine and gas turbine today.

Then in 1976, GE made a breakthrough in healthcare technology as the invention of a “rotate-only” CT scanner was introduced, making it the world’s first.

In recent times, GE made significant developments in technology, such as Vscan, a pocket-sized ultrasound designed for primary healthcare workers in low-resource regions, Predix, the first-ever operating platform for industrial data and analytics, and the highly-efficient HA Gas turbines, which recently won a Guinness World Record for efficiency.

“Among these notable innovations is the Haiphong Factory, tagged as one of the world’s Brilliant Factories with its advanced manufacturing technology and digital efficiency,” said GE Asia Pacific top leader.

After almost 10 years of operations, GE’s Haiphong multimodal factory has produced and exported more than 6,000 units of generator systems to date and reached more than $1 billion in annual exports.

The Haiphong factory is strategically positioned to export primarily wind-turbine generators and electrical-control-system components around the world.

The site counts about 1,000 employees today and will expand its local well-trained workforce to more than 1,500 employees in response to the growing global demand for renewable energy globally.

“It is a long and challenging journey to transform and develop a Brilliant Factory,” said Trang Vu, general manager of GE’s Haiphong factory. “We have very strong targets in product and service quality, implementing advanced manufacturing technologies, and a sustainable improvement culture.”

By optimising its manufacturing processes, the Haiphong Brilliant Factory helps save up to 50 per cent of product lead time and reduce inventory by about 20 per cent, while boosting productivity by up to 20 per cent.

The site implements GE’s high global standards for quality and performance and is built around the four following pillars:

Lean manufacturing: Constant optimisation of processes and workflows with the use of data analysis with a view of cutting waste and resources used.

Digital maturity: All machines in the factory are connected via Predix and other Industry 4.0 software to deliver the best efficiency and performance.

Advanced manufacturing: Augmented reality and virtual reality are some of the advanced technologies being used to enable manufacturing at unprecedented levels of quality.

Additive manufacturing: This innovative technology allows GE to create complex internal geometries that would be impossible with traditional manufacturing processes, creating parts with improved performance.

“The Haiphong Brilliant Factory is an example of how GE’s innovations can help us unlock goals that previously were impossible.”

“With the world’s most effective machines, advanced technologies, and extensive solutions, GE affirms its position as the global leader in innovation, contributing greatly to the transformational impact of technology on the economy and people’s life not only in Vietnam but across the entire Asia-Pacific and the world,” said Wouter van Wersch.

The following are pictures from the recent media visit to the Haiphong multimodal factory.