Source: Shaoxing Daily

▲ The front page of the Shaoxing Daily on 30 July 2023 featured the article ‘A Thousand Strands’ Twisted into ‘One Rope’’, reporting on the progress of the OSWELL Zhuji Headquarters Base project.

Tower cranes stand tall, excavators swing their ‘long arms’ as they work, and 36 loaders shuttle back and forth, creating a cacophony of rumbling engines and shouts… At the site of the New Energy Vehicle Electric Drive System Headquarters Base project in the Zhuji Economic Development Zone, the scene of intensive and rapid construction is truly spectacular.

Steel structure hoisting was underway at Main Plant Building No. 1, with 85 per cent of the work already completed. “Ready! From west to east, push!” Two beam-laying workers, secured by safety ropes, stood sideways on the steel framework, more than 10 metres above the ground, whilst Construction Manager Zhao Weilin looked up and shouted out his instructions. He told the reporter, “The beam-laying stage is crucial; it requires precise positioning, with an error margin not exceeding 1 centimetre.”

“Once the concrete pouring for Building 5 of the main plant is complete, we will have fully achieved the ‘zero level’ stage of construction,” said project manager Jiang Shengyi. He added that continuous rainfall over recent days had led to severe waterlogging: “We have pumped out the water and cleared the site, and the concrete mixers are ready; we will be working through the night.”

The New Energy Vehicle Electric Drive System Headquarters Base project is being invested in and constructed by Zhejiang Oswell Electric Technology Co., Ltd. With a total investment of 5.5 billion yuan, the project will be developed in two phases and covers a total site area of 352 mu. Phase One, covering 115 mu, will establish a ‘Factory of the Future’ to create an industrial cluster centred on the new energy vehicle sector, encompassing autonomous driving, automotive-grade semiconductors and upstream support for electric drive systems. Once the project is fully operational, it is expected to generate an annual output value of 4.2 billion yuan.

Construction of the project commenced at the end of March this year. Phase One primarily involves the construction of 10 buildings, including production workshops, a laboratory building, staff accommodation and an office block. “Construction of the Phase One production workshops and the national-level laboratory has begun first, with the aim of bringing them into use by the end of this year, so that the project can commence production and deliver results as soon as possible,” explained Jiang Shengyi.

The height of summer, compounded by the impact of typhoons, has posed considerable challenges to the construction work. What has enabled steady progress? “We have brought ‘a thousand threads’ together into ‘a single rope’, with everyone sharing a common vision and pulling in the same direction,” said Jiang Shengyi.

To overcome these challenges, the project team planned ahead, organising expert reviews with the client, supervisors and other stakeholders prior to construction to repeatedly validate and optimise the construction plan; strictly implementing a ‘one-to-one’ working mechanism to clarify the division of responsibilities among team members across all stages, including material transport, on-site pouring and concrete curing; and drawing up three-tiered plans by year, month and week, whilst strengthening end-to-end control and ensuring logistical support during construction to guarantee efficient and orderly progress.

To accelerate the project’s progress, the local government established a dedicated task force to provide services throughout the project’s entire lifecycle, promptly resolving difficulties and addressing challenges for the enterprise. “The service is very considerate and thorough; we feel very welcome here,” said Jiang Shengyi, expressing full confidence in the project’s prospects.