Since July, the construction ceramics industry has entered a season of traditionally lower sales. Combined with the impact of the epidemic, sales in major ceramic production areas have dropped significantly.

However, in Zibo, many ceramic enterprises are still in high demand, and orders are being pushed back 15-20 days.

On the Tongyi Ceramics Science and Technology's No 2 production line, which has just finished technical transformation, employees keep busy working on machines.

"We are putting in extra hours to produce additional orders for marbles," said Chen Shiwei, the company's manager.

After resuming work at the beginning of the year, the company had to cut several production lines due to a sharp drop in orders.

Chen said that thanks to COSMOPlat, an industrial internet platform developed by Haier Group, the company was able to receive orders.

Since May, Chen's company has received orders worth 20 million yuan ($2.87 million) via the platform.

The platform allows the industrial internet to engage in every step of manufacturing, from design to sales. It has gathered 330 million users and 3.9 million enterprises covering electronics, textiles, equipment, construction, transportation and chemical engineering.

"Whether it is upstream raw materials or downstream customers, the platform offers exactly what is needed for us," said Chen.