AEH launched Brand Strategy 2.0 at its Xi'an headquarters on 24 March, alongside its global distributor conference. Distributors from across the country joined academics from Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwestern Polytechnical University and the Shaanxi Institute of Metrology to mark the company's move from precision measurement specialist to full-lifecycle technology partner.
From catching up to running alongside
Chairman Song Jianzhong opened directly: AEH has stopped chasing and now runs alongside the field. Hardware, he argued, is not the real barrier to entry — software and algorithms are the moat. On the opportunity in front of the company, his position was equally clear: not a cheap substitute, but a genuine benchmark for quality. Nearly thirty years of work stands behind that, including 15,000 customers and three to five years of systematic side-by-side comparison against Zeiss and Hexagon. That is what separates AEH from everyone else in this market.
On quality, Song was blunt: the first priority for 2025 was making existing products as good as they can be. He described a systematic review and rebuild of the production quality system, and committed to increasing that investment rather than trimming it.
Three product milestones stood out. AC-DMIS software, hardened across 15,000 customers. The AH75 automatic probe, developed in-house and now in volume production, benchmarked against the Renishaw PH10 series. And a breakthrough in aero engine blade measurement — a first for a Chinese company. "This is not a laboratory demonstration," Song said. "It was done on customer sites, under real production conditions."
Brand Strategy 2.0: technology built around people
Song Nina, assistant to the general manager, presented Brand Strategy 2.0. Her framing was straightforward: AEH's aim is to lead rather than follow, and to be a genuine equal rather than a cheaper option.
The new positioning puts the people who use the technology at the centre. "Expertise is our foundation; enabling customers is how we grow. We are not just selling equipment, we are helping customers solve problems and create value." The company culture reduces to two ideas: put people first, and succeed together.
A new brand mark was unveiled alongside. Built on three-dimensional coordinate axes, it incorporates the Chinese character for person to form the letter A, expressing a simple idea: coordinates define intelligence, people carry precision. The new line, accuracy defines your altitude, covers accuracy in measurement, in quality, in service and in what the company promises.
Channel policy: succeeding together
The conference set out AEH's 2026 channel policy, built on the same logic as the strategy: start from succeeding together, and build a partnership worth having.
More investment goes to core distributors, so partners can move first in their regions. Support has been upgraded so pre-sales and after-sales work as one chain. Training becomes a standing programme, building both technical understanding and commercial capability. And regional coordination has been tidied up to create fair, transparent and sustainable room to grow.
This is not a revision of terms. It is a long-term commitment to our partners. Real mutual success starts with trust and is proved by working together.
Product substance: a complete loop
Explaining the engineering philosophy, Song compared it to a closed ecosystem: AEH designs its own measurement software so hardware and software are genuinely integrated. Years of in-house probe development produced the AH75 automatic probe, which entered full volume production last year. "Our products are mature enough to compete head-on with the benchmark brands, because we understand what manufacturers actually need. The software runs on a wide range of operating systems, and our probe pricing puts the technology within reach of far more customers."
The technology on show delivered specifics. Embodied intelligence lets parts be placed in any orientation and cuts measurement time by 70 to 90%. Multi-sensor measurement integrates several probing methods for consistency above 99.5% and a 51.5% efficiency gain. Blade measurement, in service at Xi'an Aero-Engine and AECC South Industry, improves throughput by 50%. And the EMRP platform, with its engine for heterogeneous data, cuts unplanned line downtime by 38%.
Roundtable: building together
The roundtable, on opportunities and challenges in precision measurement in 2026, was chaired by vice-president Fu. Cai Xiaoping and Yao Lixin of the Northwest National Metrology and Testing Centre, Zhu Mingzhou of Shaanxi Heli Metrology, Professor Ding Jianjun of Xi'an Jiaotong University and Dr Tian Weijun of Northwestern Polytechnical University joined Song Jianzhong on stage.
Discussion covered ten themes, including digital transformation in metrology, embodied intelligence, independent development of core components, and participation in international standards. The panel agreed that measurement equipment has moved from following the field to running alongside it, and that control of core components and underlying algorithms is the decisive step. AEH's work offers the industry a route others can follow.
Precision experienced, and achievement recognised
In the afternoon, guests visited AEH's newly completed Precision Experience Centre. The immersive space divides into a company section and a product section: the first uses a timeline and strategy map to show 29 years of technical work and the reasoning behind Brand Strategy 2.0; the second lets distributors operate the machines and verify multi-sensor measurement, embodied intelligence and blade inspection for themselves. From understanding to experiencing to verifying, the centre turns a strategic position into something you can touch and check.
Guests then walked through the refurbished production hall. The upgraded line layout, 28 quality control points, 48 hours of continuous testing and a 20±1°C temperature-controlled environment all say the same thing about what precision costs. From raw material to finished machine, from assembly to inspection, demanding process standards and an orderly floor are what product quality actually rests on.
The conference closed with an awards ceremony recognising the outstanding distributors of 2025. Song Jianzhong presented the awards, and distributors spoke about what working alongside AEH has meant for their businesses.
Succeeding together, from here
Song Jianzhong closed with the line itself: "Accuracy defines your altitude. That is our slogan, and it is also what we ask of ourselves." As Song Nina put it during the brand launch: "AEH 2.0 is not an ending. It is a beginning."
In 2026, AEH and its distributors worldwide will measure the future together.