Workers are busy on a motor production line at Dezhou Hengli Electrical Machinery Co Ltd in Dezhou, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China's first domestically produced large-scale cruise ship, Adora Magic City, was officially named and delivered earlier this month. Among all the 136 systems and over 20,000 sets of motor equipment used by the cruise ship, more than 4,000 sets of motors are produced by Dezhou Hengli Electrical Machinery Co Ltd, accounting for 20 percent of the total motor supply volume.

Recently, five production lines in the Dezhou, Shandong province-based company's factory have been operating and producing at full capacity to achieve the final delivery. More than 600 sets of vessel motors are produced from the factory every day, covering areas such as air conditioning, fire prevention and air circulation systems.

When it comes to the reason why the company has stood out as a major supplier for Adora Magic City, Liu Baofang, deputy general manager of Dezhou Hengli, said, "This is mainly due to our long-term commitment to technological innovation and our ability to provide high-quality products."

"During the project, we have always prioritized innovation and research and development, with a particular emphasis on lightweight product design," said Hou Zhaoting, executive assistant of the company.

"Cruise ship construction is extremely sensitive to weight. The total design weight of the first domestic cruise ship was 135,500 metric tons, with a hull weight of approximately 65,000 tons. Every increase in ship weight means a decrease in boarding materials and personnel," Hou said, adding that the motors used in the project have reduced their weight and volume by an average of 30 percent, but with better output efficiency than that of its competitors.

The average annual R&D investment of the company accounts for about 13 percent of its sales revenue, while R&D personnel account for 30 percent of the total number of employees. The company has also filled a slew of technological gaps in China, with multiple breakthrough technologies and products that are widely used in high-end sectors such as specialized equipment, ships and wind power plants, said Liu.

In recent years, with the continuous improvement in the localization rate of China's shipbuilding industry chain, the product structure of Dezhou Hengli has also been optimized and adjusted, moving from low-end to high-end motor market.

Taking vessel motors as an example, its market share in China has increased from 20 percent last year to today's 40 percent, accounting for 70 percent of the company's total revenue — a strong driving force for its growth.

The company is now the largest producer of vessel motors in China, with an annual output of 150,000 sets and a domestic market share of over 75 percent.