The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) has teamed up with Samsung Electronics to spread smart factory as part of the Park Geun-hye government’s Manufacturing Industry Innovation 3.0 Strategy.
The MOTIE signed an MOU with Samsung Electronics at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Aug. 31 calling for each side to contribute 15 billion won over the next two years to help 600 cooperative SMEs construct smart factories.
Among those on hand at the signing ceremony were MOTIE First Vice Minister Lee Kwan-sup, Samsung Electronics President Kim Jong-ho and Park Jin-woo, chief of the Smart Factory Promotion Corps.
The agreement is designed for the government and the private sector to strengthen collaboration in the spreading of smart factories by jointly contributing to the project, said Lee Kyu-bong, head of the Smart Factory Team of the MOTIE.
The provision of support for more than 600 beneficiary companies will accelerate the smart factory project, which is expected to set an exemplary practice of shared growth in which world-class large-sized companies extend a helping hand in raising SMEs’ capability, Lee said.
In addition, Samsung Electronics will contribute to the actual execution of smart factory projects by sending experts and disseminating technology on smart factory operation/process, simulation, and automation consulting.
Money will be distributed to SMEs by 18 Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation (CCEIs) across the nation. CCEIs will serve as hubs to spread smart factories.
Earlier, nine conglomerates, including Hyundai Motor, LG, Doosan, Hyosung and POSCO, decided to shoulder 10 billion won annually to spread smart factories between 2014 and 2017 as part of efforts to promote shared growth between large- and small-sized companies.
Samsung Electronics submitted a in mid-August, and its participation in the smart factory program will likely allow its world-class technology capability to upgrade the smart factory process, MOTIE officials said. Samsung Electronics decided to dispatch manufacturing experts to the Smart Factory Promotion Corps and establish a “Smart Factory Academy,” an educational program, at each of the CCEIs.
MOTIE plans to increase the number of smart factories across the nation to 10,000 by 2020. It seeks other large-sized companies to join forces in the smart factory initiative.
MOTIE said companies outfitted with smart factories will see their productivity and added values rise an average of 10 percent.
SMEs and mid-size superstars in the top six “root” businesses, casting, molding, plastic working, welding, surface treatment and heat treatment will be provided with a maximum of 100 million won or 50 percent of total costs for building model smart factories with ICT convergence.
Smart Factories, Proven Boon for SME plants
A Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do-based plant producing and supplying electric systems to LSIS has seen its defect rate dramatically drop to 0.01 percent. The company has a spacious site covering 98,917 sq. meters but not many real people. Robots perform packing and conveyance and manless cars carry raw materials and finished products. The plant, which produced 7,500 electric products daily in 2010, has now changed into one churning out up to 20,000 finished products. The transformation is owed to the plant’s shift to a smart factory system five years ago.
The smart factory paradigm has transformed the manufacturing industry. Smart factories are outfitted with IoT technologies, including Big Data and sensors, to automate all processes ranging from procurement of raw materials and equipment to production and shipping. The transformation contributes to a dramatic reduction in defect rates.
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