A workshop in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

Four companies from Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province were recently included in the provincial "future plant" pilot program.

Huzhou has the second highest number of companies included in this program, only less than provincial capital city of Hangzhou.

The four companies are Zhejiang Dongtong Optical Network IoT Technology Co Ltd, Zhejiang Tianneng Power Energy Co Ltd, Geely Changxing New Energy Automobile Co Ltd and Zhejiang Jiuli Hi-Tech Metals Co Ltd.

In August last year, Zhejiang rolled out the pilot program to build "plants of the future", which refers to plants that excel in the integration of new-generation information technologies in the advanced manufacturing sector.

The program reflects the growing efforts from the province to promote the smart transformation of the manufacturing sector following its campaign to replace workers with machines in 2012.

The future plants are evaluated based on digital application, intelligent production and management, collaborative manufacturing, green manufacturing, safety control, and social and economic benefits.