Make the mould

SSDT is an affiliate of SAIC Motor Corporation, which employs more than 2,300 people, and has so far installed 46 sets of Konecranes lifting equipment as part of plant expansions in Shanghai, Nanjing, Yantai and Wuhan.

The company produces hundreds of thousands of sets of doors, hoods, decklids, and front and rear floors each year, as well as thousands of tons of large auto-body covering dies for domestic and overseas automotive manufacturers.

SSDT has embarked on a research and development drive since its establishment in 2003 which has produced new technologies, including ultra-high-strength metal hot stamping dies and aluminium dies, a technology not previously produced in China, says the company. The company is currently optimising the efficiency of its processes and focusing on future markets such as the use of high-strength metals and new energy vehicles (NEVs).

The Konecranes cranes are used in a range of areas, including the press shop, where steel plates are overlaid on moulds for pressing to produce components such as doors, and where the cranes are used to lift and change the heavy moulds. The cranes are also used in the production process of the die moulds, to lift, manoeuvre, load and unload the steel coils.

The sets of lifting equipment primarily include Konecranes’s CXT models, with the most recent repeat order for a set of double 60/30t cranes. The cranes and hoists are integral to the process of manufacturing dies and automotive parts, says Konecranes, with SSDT building towards its China 2025 industry development plan which focuses on various high-tech areas, including meeting global standards of Industry 4.0 smart production strategies. Konecranes offers advanced automation features through its Smarton range.