All Shengrui Transmission Corp's 8AT automatic transmissions production lines worked at full capacity on Feb 12 during the Spring Festival holiday.

The company said it had a goal of producing 30,000 transmissions for Landwind's SUV X7 in the first quarter of this year.

Shengrui began developing vehicle transmissions from 2007 and successfully made a breakthrough in auto technology with the government's support. The company is the transmission supplier of many domestic carmakers including Landwind, Chery and Beiqi Foton Motor.

Shengrui's industrial output in January increased by 127 per-cent from last year. The company said orders for goods has already reached 50,000 automatic transmission units in the first half of this year.

"The total industrial output will be between 350 million yuan ($53.4 million) and 400 million yuan in the first quarter of 2016, more than double that of last year. The total transmission production volume in 2016 will be 100,000 units," said Wei Yanchao, a team leader of Shengrui.

The Weifang High-tech Industrial Development Zone has long been committed to promoting an innovation-driven development strategy. Shengrui is one of the most successful companies in the zone.

Weifang has implemented a series of plans to develop a leading development zone over the past years and local authorities have also promoted the development principles of innovation, coordination, greenness, openness and sharing.

Decision-makers in the development zone believe that innovation is the driving power that upgrades industries. Companies are also keen to invest in innovation to maintain growth and competitiveness.

Huisheng Group, a manufacturer of paper products in the development zone, has expanded into overseas markets with its independently developed products. The company's 2015 annual sales revenue increased 30 percent year-on-year.

Shengrui also reported strong performance in innovation in 2015. At the end of last year, Shengrui developed what it claims to be the world's first front-engine, front-drive eight-speed automatic transmission with hybrid power technology. The company said it is a significant breakthrough in China's automatic transmissions.

Shengrui also revealed that 30,000 units of the Landwind X7 SUV equipped with the 8AT have been produced by the end of 2015.

A technician at Shengrui Transmission Corp assembles an 8AT automatic transmission at the company's factory in Weifang. Photo provided to China Daily

In recent years, companies have expanded abroad to maintain growth. Weifang Lantian Textile Co, a denim fabric producer in the zone, received two orders from the United States valued at $5 million in the past two months. The company said the two orders filled the revenue gap caused by a shortage of orders in 2015.

Lantian's denim fabric export business contributes 70 percent of the group's revenue and the company has trading partners in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia.

The development zone encourages research and development institutions to partner with companies to develop products. The zone has established partnership with many leading research institutions, such as Peking University, Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Han Min, deputy director of the economic development bureau at the zone, said the zone will continue to promote innovation and deepen reforms. This year, the zone will pay more attention to five industries: vehicle equipment manufacturing, acoustics and optoelectronics, bio-technology, software information and new materials.

Song Yihang contributed to this story.