Chinese large-scale PLCs surpass foreign products; the pace of localization is accelerating
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In the field of industrial automation, large-scale PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) serve as the \"intelligent hub\" of production lines, playing a decisive role in the operation of key industries such as steel, power, and chemicals. For a long time, China’s large-scale PLC market has been dominated by foreign brands; in 2024, the three major manufacturers – Siemens, Rockwell, and Schneider – together held a 60.8% share of the market, with Siemens accounting for nearly 40% of that share. The market structure is characterized by one dominant player and several strong competitors. Large and medium-sized PLCs have high technical barriers and a stable application ecosystem, resulting in a consistently low level of domestic production. As the strategy of \"independence, control, safety, and reliability\" is further implemented, domestic companies have achieved breakthroughs in key industries thanks to their technical expertise and investment in innovation. Working together with Baowu Group, Baosix Software has applied PLCs to the 1550 acid rolling complex at Guangxi Hongwang and the cold rolling project at Zhanjiang Iron and Steel. These devices can withstand high-temperature and high-dust environments, and the time required to diagnose faults has been reduced from 2 hours to 15 minutes. In the steel industry, the market size for large-scale PLCs in 2024 was 412 million yuan, with renovation projects accounting for 55% of this amount. As the steel production capacity built after 2000 enters an update cycle, and given that some foreign-made PLCs face shortages of spare parts, domestic equipment has an opportunity to take their place. The adoption rate of PLCs in the power industry also reaches 90%, accelerating the progress toward autonomy and control.
There are both breakthroughs and challenges in the localization process. At the hardware level, domestic large-scale PLCs are now using domestic chips such as the Feiteng E2000 and Loongson 2K1000, but key components like network modules and FPGA chips still rely on imports. At the software level, most manufacturers relied on the CODESYS platform for secondary development, lacking their own IDEs and Runtime systems. The Tianxing IDE platform, independently developed by Baosix Software, supports mixed programming using ladder diagrams and structured text. It enables one-click migration of foreign PLC programs, thereby significantly reducing the costs associated with replacement. Currently, there are only a few domestic manufacturers that possess full-stack autonomy in both hardware and software, with companies such as Aotuo Technology, Baosight Software, HollySys, and CECC SmartTech being the main ones. Key technical aspects such as core components and underlying algorithms still rely on external sources, and full autonomy over the entire technology stack has not yet been achieved. Policy incentives are accelerating the process of localization. In September 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the \"Guidelines for Equipment Upgrades and Technical Transformations in Key Industrial Sectors,\" aiming to ensure that by 2027, approximately 800,000 sets of industrial operating systems are upgraded across 27 key industries. Policy benefits are being transformed into market opportunities. Industries such as steel, power, and petrochemicals have the most urgent need to replace imported PLCs with domestic ones. In the field of new energy, although the photovoltaic and lithium battery industries experience short-term demand fluctuations due to capacity adjustments, equipment upgrades and digital transformations will continue to drive the use of domestic large-scale PLCs. Future Outlook: As the 15th Five-Year Plan progresses, it is expected that from 2025 to 2028, **policy support will spur an increase in investment, leading to new demand for equipment in the market. Domestic PLCs are moving from a phase of difficult breakthroughs to one of large-scale adoption; they no longer rely on price competition, but instead win market share by gaining a deep understanding of industry processes and offering open and flexible solutions. In the future, large-scale PLCs will no longer be standalone hardware, but rather nodes of open automation platforms, enabling software-hardware decoupling, supporting integrated IT/OT programming, and facilitating the deep integration of artificial intelligence and industrial internet technologies. As the “industrial brain” and “limbs” of “Made in China” work together, a complete picture of China’s high-end manufacturing is taking shape. In the field of industrial control, known as the \"most solid fortress,\" Chinese brands are gradually breaking the monopoly held by foreign companies, providing solid support for the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. Driven by both technological advancements and policy support, the localization of large-scale PLCs in China will continue to accelerate, playing a key role in ensuring industrial safety and achieving autonomy and control over supply chains.
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