Nanjing Electric (Group) Co., Ltd. (formerly the Nanjing Electrical Porcelain Factory) traces its origins to the “Central Electrical Porcelain Manufacturing Plant,” established in 1936 in Changsha, Hunan, by the National Government’s Resources Commission. As the first factory built under the Commission’s “Economic War of Resistance” plan, it also marked China’s inaugural high‑voltage electrical porcelain plant. Full-scale construction began in 1936, and the facility was completed and commissioned in 1937. In April 1937, with approval from the Trademark Bureau of the National Government’s Ministry of Industry, the “Leidian” brand was registered as the official trademark, heralding the debut of Leidian‑branded electrical porcelain products. Over the past eight decades, driven by evolving times and societal needs, generations of employees have relied on self‑reliance and relentless effort, embracing entrepreneurship and innovation, pursuing continuous improvement, and upholding rigorous quality standards through meticulous craftsmanship. As a result, Nanjing Electric’s Leidian‑brand products have steadily grown and matured, making outstanding contributions to power infrastructure development, the automotive industry, national defense and military‑industrial sectors, economic growth, and the advancement of the industry.

It once simultaneously produced over a thousand products across eleven major categories.

Over the past eight decades, Leidian‑brand products have evolved from low voltage to high, ultra‑high, and extra‑high voltage; their design has progressed from imitation to independent development and innovation; and their product range has expanded from the single‑type manufacture of high‑voltage porcelain insulators to a diverse portfolio of high‑voltage electrical equipment, while also introducing glass insulators, composite insulators, and other offerings. Driven by continuous advances in science and technology, the ongoing development of new products, and the modernization of production processes, product quality has steadily improved, and production capacity has grown step by step.

Before liberation, Leidian-brand products were relatively limited, primarily manufacturing low‑voltage and high‑voltage electrical porcelain. Following the founding of New China, the variety and scale of production expanded rapidly. By the 1980s, the company was capable of producing eleven major product categories—covering high‑voltage line insulators, power‑station electrical insulators, tempered glass insulators, capacitive bushings, high‑voltage transformers, high‑voltage disconnect switches, high‑voltage fuses, spark plugs, glow plugs, high‑energy igniters, and low‑temperature ignition systems—comprising more than 1,000 distinct models and specifications. These products supported power‑grid construction as well as the automotive and internal‑combustion‑engine industries, and were exported to over fifty countries and regions worldwide.

In 2000, the Leidian brand recorded export delivery value of RMB 103.59 million, accounting for 30.4% of total sales revenue; the company’s headquarters achieved export delivery value of RMB 31.95 million, representing 17.3% of its own sales revenue.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, with industrial planning and financial support from Baiyun Electric Group, the company focused on developing transmission and transformation products, establishing three core business lines—tempered glass insulators, high-voltage bushings, and composite insulators—and planning to revive and expand its operations in electrical porcelain and instrument transformers. By the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan in 2015, the number of countries and regions to which its products were exported had grown to more than seventy.

In the early years following the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the annual output of Leidian-brand high-voltage porcelain insulators—including porcelain insulators, tempered glass insulators, and capacitor bushings—stood at just a few hundred tons. By the period of the 12th Five-Year Plan, this figure had risen to over 30,000 tons. According to estimates, cumulative production and sales over the past eight decades have exceeded 700,000 tons, with exports accounting for 130,000 tons.

Three major advantageous and distinctive products are nationally leading.

Historically, Leidian-brand products have included three flagship offerings that were the company’s first domestically developed specialties and its principal export items. All of these products were successfully developed in the 1950s, pioneering their respective sectors in China and maintaining a leading position in the domestic industry for many years.

First is the spark plug, which was successfully developed in 1951 and entered mass production in 1953. Subsequently, the company introduced British and American technologies to upgrade its manufacturing processes. For many years, it dominated half of the domestic market. In 1996, it established a joint venture with Germany’s Bosch. By the end of 2009, in line with its strategic focus on developing the power transmission and transformation industry, Baiyun Group divested and exited the spark plug business. It is estimated that from 1953 to 2009, a cumulative total of one billion spark plugs were produced and sold.

Second, tempered‑glass insulators were successfully developed in 1958 and entered mass production in 1961. They have undergone three stages of development: manual manufacturing, domestically produced mechanized production, and technology‑imported production. According to statistics compiled by senior expert Gu Honglian, as of April 2017, cumulative sales of tempered‑glass insulators had exceeded 90 million units—of which 25 million were exported—and they have been adopted in 17 ultra‑high‑voltage projects.

Third, high‑voltage capacitor bushings were successfully developed in 1958 and entered mass production in 1960. Subsequently, technologies from Germany, the United States, Switzerland, and other countries were introduced to facilitate technological upgrades. Beginning in 2013, the new plant added a business line for resin‑impregnated fiber (fiberglass) dry‑type bushings. According to preliminary statistics, as of 2016, cumulative production of high‑voltage capacitor bushings had reached 150,000 units, and the company had also completed the development and supply of ultra‑high‑voltage wall bushings and transformer bushings. Since this year, the resin‑impregnated paper dry‑type bushing project has officially commenced production.

Some products are little known and are no longer in production.

The company is a key backbone enterprise of the national machinery industry, possessing distinct advantages in technology, equipment, and human resources, and bearing the significant responsibility of providing supporting products for both economic development and national defense. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, in accordance with state‑mandated plans and in response to the needs of economic development, it has designed, manufactured, and supplied a range of products. However, as subsequent adjustments to the industrial structure and corporate restructuring took place, these products were discontinued and production was phased out.

These products are used in power‑generation infrastructure, the transportation sector, and the defense‑industrial complex, and include high‑frequency porcelain insulators, spark plugs, high‑voltage fuses, surge arresters, aviation spark plugs, glow plugs, specialized ignition devices, high‑voltage disconnect switches, high‑energy igniters, coupling capacitors, and more. Among them, aviation spark plugs and specialized ignition devices are employed as critical components in military aircraft, tanks, armored vehicles, rockets, and other defense‑related applications.

In addition, in response to market demand, the company manufactures low-voltage electrical porcelain, low-voltage fuses and fuse links, spark plug terminal caps, low-temperature ignition systems, and specialty ceramics, among other products.

During the Great Leap Forward period from 1958 to 1960, the facility produced steel, refractory bricks, ceramic sandblasting nozzles, and other products.

During the difficult period from 1960 to 1962, porcelain bowls, porcelain spittoons, and other items were produced.

During the Cultural Revolution, the plant produced rotor-type generators and other products. (Zhao Xinsheng)