A Shengrui employee assembles an eight-gear automatic transmission for an engine on a production line in Weifang, Shandong province. [Photo/Xinhua]

A privately-owned company in Weifang, East China's Shandong province, spent eight years on developing the world's first front-engine, front-drive eight-gear automatic transmission. It has enabled the company to gear up to achieve high-quality development by replacing old growth drivers with new ones. And now, the company has upgraded the transmission model to its third generation.

Shengrui Transmission Corporation, located at Weifang National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, used to be a diesel engine parts producer. But it has quickly formed into an automatic transmission research and development business, and an innovative brand covering concept design, simulation analysis, hardware design, software development, calibration and industrialization.

"This provides us with sustainable development and sharpens our competitive edge in the automatic transmissions research and development sector," said Chen Peng, deputy general manager of Shengrui.

Besides its engine, a car's automatic transmission plays an important role in its performance and price.

Statistics provided by Shengrui show the company's self-developed eight-gear automatic transmission (8AT) has prompted foreign automakers to reduce the price of automatic transmissions by at least 3,000 yuan ($442.5) per unit at the Chinese market.

An automatic transmission industrial park built by the company, the first of its kind in China, is expected to reach an annual production capacity of 550,000 units next year, according to Shengrui representatives.

Automatic transmissions produced by Shengrui are used on 18 types of autos. The annual sale generated by automatic transmissions is around 1 billion yuan, and such parts have become the company's major revenue resource, said Chen.

The company won first place at the National Science and Technology Progress Awards in 2016 for developing the first 8AT in China, making it the first auto parts supplier to obtain the award since it was created in 1984.

"We have developed a software system based on which we can upgrade automatic transmissions in line with market demands," said Chen.

Shengrui now has 236 technicians working on research and development. It spends at least 5 percent of its annual revenues on innovation.

The company has established research and design centers in Germany, the United States, and China. It has registered 581 patents and more than 116 invention patents.

"China has been the largest automotive production and trade market for 10 consecutive years. That success couldn't be possible without breakthroughs from domestic auto component makers, among which Shengrui is one," Xin Ning, deputy head of China Automotive News said at a summit organized by Shengrui in January to discuss the latest industry trends.

Chen said the company's traditional and new products are complementary. He noted the company's development is also backed by local government's financial support and land-use rights. He said the company is aiming to cooperate with heavyweight automotive producers to become a first-class global automatic transmission producer.