YongXiang Agricultural Machinery is sold in 30 countries and regions.

Agricultural machinery—often perceived as clunky, oversized, and crude—can actually be highly sophisticated.

Hubei Yongxiang Agricultural Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yongxiang Machinery"), based in Anlu City, manufactures seeders equipped with high-tech features such as sensors and speed-measuring radar. These machines not only sow seeds with clockwork precision but also upload operational data to the cloud, allowing farmers to manage their planting via mobile phones.

As the saying goes, "A good crop is half-assured once the seedlings take root," highlighting the critical importance of sowing in agriculture. Originating in a small county, this company spent 12 years on arduous R&D, leveraging digital and AI technologies to create world-leading seeders that simplify the farming process.

The inspiration for their R&D direction came from the practical experience of veteran farmers:

On July 8, a large screen at Yongxiang Machinery displayed a satellite image of a rice field spanning over 3,000 *mu* (approximately 500 acres) in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. Dense green dots across the field marked individual sowing points, each spaced exactly five meters apart. Green dots indicated successful sowing, while red dots signaled missed spots. Data showed that the smart seeder could cover more than 200 *mu* a day—far outpacing manual labor. "This is the result of 12 years of persistence; it didn't come easily," said Ye Yuanwen, General Manager of Yongxiang Machinery. Ye, who majored in mechanical manufacturing, had previously built a thriving business in Anlu within the automotive sales and service sector. In 2014, several local machinery business owners partnered to establish Yongxiang Machinery and invited him to serve as Executive Deputy General Manager, overseeing product R&D. The shareholders initially planned to manufacture seeders by emulating foreign products. However, after obtaining a foreign model and studying it for months with a team of engineers, Ye realized it was ill-suited to China's specific agricultural conditions. This realization revealed both the gap in technology and a significant business opportunity. Farming is deeply rooted in the realities of the land; innovation in this field cannot be conceived merely by sitting in an office. What kind of seeder did Chinese farmers actually need? Ye Yuanwen embarked on a long-distance research trip, driving from Hubei along national highways and stopping to chat with farmers whenever he spotted a well-cultivated rice field. From Hubei to Henan, Hebei, Jiangsu, and Anhui, veteran farmers skilled in rice transplanting shared their wisdom with him: successful transplanting requires optimal temperature, humidity, and soil aeration; therefore, future smart agricultural machinery must possess both power and precision. How could this be achieved technically? With no domestic precedents to follow, he had to look abroad to learn. In late 2015, Ye Yuanwen visited the Agritechnica trade fair in Hanover, Germany, to explore the latest international technologies. During the two-week visit, he absorbed new knowledge like a sponge and ultimately decided to develop a high-end, electric-drive smart seeder for the Chinese market. Upon returning home, he continued to lead his team through a process of relentless prototyping and testing. By the end of 2016, the company had lost over 3 million yuan without achieving success. Other shareholders, seeing no hope, considered withdrawing. Ye Yuanwen bought out their shares with his own money and pressed on. At the company's lowest point—when paying employee wages became a struggle—Ye Yuanwen once again dug into his own pockets, even putting his house up as collateral. "I’ve invested everything I own; I believe success is just around the corner."

Sales Surpass 100 Million Yuan: A Small-Town Factory Becomes a Niche Market Leader:
Ye Yuanwen’s confidence was not blind; it was forged through years of experience in the automotive industry. He remained convinced that China’s industrial supply chain was robust enough to manufacture any mechanical product it set its mind to. Precision smart control systems and synchronized speed-sensing radar were the keys to creating a high-quality smart seeder. The rapid advancement of smart technology in domestic new-energy vehicles provided the R&D team with the opportunity to apply automotive-grade precision technology to agricultural machinery. After countless tests and setbacks, a new generation of smart seeders was finally born. The machine features a complex assembly of springs, wheel sets, and seeding mechanisms underneath, with radar-based speed control managing forward movement. A seed hopper sits atop the unit, delivering seeds to the ground via air ducts; a precision control system regulates airflow within these ducts to deliver both seeds and fertilizer simultaneously. The machine performs multiple operations—rotary tilling, seeding, fertilizing, furrowing, ridging, soil covering, and compacting—in a single pass. This precision, uniform application of seeds and fertilizer reduces labor costs and significantly boosts seeding efficiency. This versatile machine handles multiple crops—such as rice, rapeseed, wheat, soybeans, and sorghum—simply by swapping out the seed-metering mechanism. Operators select the crop type and seeding rate via an app, and the machine executes the task efficiently with a seeding precision of up to 95%. After each operation, the system automatically generates a quality report, allowing missed spots to be identified immediately in the field rather than requiring rework after the crops have sprouted. Yongxiang iterates its products rapidly; through deep collaboration with Huazhong Agricultural University, the company has established experimental demonstration bases in major agricultural regions like Hubei, Hunan, and Anhui, continuously refining its designs to meet local agronomic needs. Yongxiang’s machinery has liberated farmers from back-breaking manual labor, introduced modern farming methods, and opened up new markets. After six consecutive years of losses, the company turned a profit in 2020. Sales surged to 12 million yuan in 2021, climbed to 45 million yuan in 2022, and exceeded 100 million yuan last year. On the international stage, Yongxiang has showcased its machinery at the Agritechnica trade fair in Hanover, Germany, since 2023, demonstrating performance through live operational displays. Thanks to their excellent cost-performance ratio and consistent seeding precision, the products are exported to 30 countries and regions—including Australia, Germany, and Italy—establishing the company as a prominent Chinese brand for high-end seeders. To date, Yongxiang has sold over 10,000 units. With the rise of AI, the company has begun integrating artificial intelligence into its machinery, using AI to analyze vast amounts of operational data to drive further product evolution. Additionally, Yongxiang is developing advanced agricultural robots to enable low-labor or even fully autonomous operations across the entire farming cycle, from seeding and fertilization to field management.