Hengli Hydraulic vs Zhaowei: Actuation compared

November 2026 edition · assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence

Zhaowei ranks 75 on the Humanoids 100 with a score of 56; Hengli Hydraulic ranks 86 with 53. Hengli Hydraulic is ahead on deployment, commercials, progress and firepower. Zhaowei is ahead on production, technology, positioning and leverage. Hengli Hydraulic is based in Changzhou, China, Zhaowei in Shenzhen, China. Hengli Hydraulic: Established. Zhaowei: Established. Hengli Hydraulic is named in 1 signals and Zhaowei in 1.

Hengli Hydraulic →

Changzhou, Jiangsu, China · Humanoids · Components / Actuation · Established · hengli.com

The company supplies planetary roller screws and linear-actuation products that have entered the humanoid supply chain, including initial mass production.

Robotics · watchlist · score 64Humanoids 100 · rank 86 · score 53

Scores, Humanoids (of 10)

Deployment6
Production4
Commercials10
Progress7
Technology4
Positioning4
Firepower8
Leverage2

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Hengli Hydraulic is a publicly listed Chinese transmission-components manufacturer whose established hydraulic-cylinder and hydraulic-system base is expanding into precision linear actuation for industrial robotics and humanoids. Its 2025 annual report states that the linear-drive project entered production, had capacity for 360,000 meters of precision linear guides and 70,000 precision-ground ball screws annually, served more than 300 customers, and had completed sampling and initial mass production of planetary roller screws; the 2026 interim report says new transmission products reached batch production and new customers exceeded 1,000. The autonomy-economy opportunity remains unproven because no named humanoid customer, humanoid-unit deployment, or separately reported robotics/humanoid revenue was verified.

Latest signals

  • Morgan Stanley identified Inovance, Leaderdrive, Hesai, and Hengli Hydraulic as component suppliers positioned to benefit from China’s humanoid capacity build-out.Humanoids Daily

1 signals name Hengli Hydraulic.

Facts, with sources

  • 2026 H1 revenuemoney.finance.sina.com.cn
  • More than 1,000 new linear-drive customersmoney.finance.sina.com.cn
  • Multiple new transmission products reached batch productionmoney.finance.sina.com.cn

25 facts on file.

Zhaowei →

Shenzhen, Guangdong, China · Humanoids · Components / Actuation · Established · zhaoweiec.com

Zhaowei has commercialized ZWHAND dexterous-hand motor/actuator modules, directly supplying actuation components for humanoid manipulation systems.

Humanoids 100 · rank 75 · score 56Robotics · prospect · score 31

Scores, Humanoids (of 10)

Deployment4
Production6
Commercials4
Progress6
Technology6
Positioning6
Firepower6
Leverage6

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Zhaowei is a Chinese maker of precision gearboxes and micro-drives (SZSE:003021) named in supply-chain trackers as supplying Optimus joints, on an established micro-drive business in consumer electronics and auto. Its Optimus link is verified-light (company confirmation absent, the same skepticism as other tracker-derived names). The current revenue marker is dated (100-500m class).

Latest signals

  • Zhaowei Chen Yidong discusses dexterous hand design for humanoid robotsGasgoo autonews

1 signals name Zhaowei.

Facts, with sources

  • Zhaowei's dexterous hand subsidiary (ZWHAND brand) showed new-generation hands B06, C06 and B21 at the 2026 World Robot Conference.cs.com.cn
  • Zhaowei H1 2026 revenue was RMB816m (+3.8%) and net profit RMB74.6m (-34.1%); it said it is applying its micro drives in dexterous hands and robot joints.finance.eastmoney.com
  • Zhaowei Q1 2026 revenue fell 2.7% to RMB357m and net profit fell 25.2% to about RMB41m; its HK shares traded about 15% below the offer price within a month.thebambooworks.com

16 facts on file.

More comparisons

Questions this page answers

Hengli Hydraulic or Zhaowei: which is ahead in humanoids?

Zhaowei ranks 75 on the Humanoids 100 with a score of 56; Hengli Hydraulic ranks 86 with 53. Hengli Hydraulic is ahead on deployment, commercials, progress and firepower. Zhaowei is ahead on production, technology, positioning and leverage. Hengli Hydraulic is based in Changzhou, China, Zhaowei in Shenzhen, China. Hengli Hydraulic: Established. Zhaowei: Established. Hengli Hydraulic is named in 1 signals and Zhaowei in 1.

How do Hengli Hydraulic and Zhaowei compare?

Zhaowei ranks 75 on the Humanoids 100 with a score of 56; Hengli Hydraulic ranks 86 with 53. Hengli Hydraulic is ahead on deployment, commercials, progress and firepower. Zhaowei is ahead on production, technology, positioning and leverage. Hengli Hydraulic is based in Changzhou, China, Zhaowei in Shenzhen, China. Hengli Hydraulic: Established. Zhaowei: Established. Hengli Hydraulic is named in 1 signals and Zhaowei in 1. Both company files carry the scores on eight measures, the facts with sources and the latest signals.

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