China has led the development of the world's first standard for smart manufacturing in the steel industry. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has recently released a standard document titled Guidelines for smart manufacturing in the iron and steel industry, and CITIC Pacific Special Steel, as one of the major contributors to the standard, played a key role in its development.

The standard covers three dimensions related to the steel production process: smart production process design, smart equipment, and smart production. It offers a unified reference for the digital transformation of steel plants worldwide, distinguishing between essential functions and future-oriented intelligent capabilities. 

Drawing on its experience in digitalized special steel production, CITIC Pacific Special Steel incorporated its process-specific expertise, quality control practices and smart manufacturing philosophy into the standard's core modules, providing realworld, practical support that helped shape the standard’s framework. 

The release of the standard marks a leap for China in smart manufacturing of the steel industry. For CITIC Special Steel, this is a milestone on three fronts.

Benchmarking against global standards. The standard provides a clear international reference framework for the company's future smart factory development and digital system upgrades — helping avoid unnecessary investment, facilitate cross‑process data flow, and define clear boundaries for intelligent control.

Consolidating industry leadership. The achievement cements the company's leading position in smart manufacturing within the special steel sector, builds on its "Lighthouse Factory" digital brand, and boosts its international brand presence.

Connecting to the global ecosystem. By participating in the development of an international standard, CITIC Pacific Special Steel has laid a solid foundation for deeper participation in the global steel smart manufacturing ecosystem, expanded its international cooperation channels, and reinforced its global influence.

Building on this milestone, the company will continue to deepen its work in smart manufacturing standardization, seize the opportunities of "AI + special steel" integration, and contribute more universally applicable special steel solutions and Chinese insights to the global steel industry.