Korea Institute for Advancement Technology (KIAT) struck an MOU on the development of industry manpower with Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training (KRIVET) at Seoul InterContinental Hotel in Seoul on May 21. (Photos: KIAT)

The materials, parts and equipment industries are keys to Korea’s national manufacturing competitiveness.

But the ecosystem of the industries needs capabilities, as more than 90 percent of related companies are SMEs with fewer than 50 employees.

To fix the situation, the government inaugurated the “Materials, Parts and Equipment Convergence Innovation Support Team” in accordance with the Article 28 of the Special Act on Supporting Materials, Parts and Equipment.

The team is a consultative committee of public research entities, designed to provide integrated support ranging from technology development to domestic materials, parts and equipment companies to research equipment and manpower support and commercialization.

Thirty-two state-invested public research institutes and specialized production technology research institutes with much demand in the materials, parts and equipment sectors have joined forces.

The team is headed by President Seok Yeong-cheol of Korea Institute for Advancement Technology (KIAT).

The team is committed to solving difficulties and grievances companies experience by utilizing equipment and manpower, owned by each research institute.

The related research institutes own about 26,000 pieces of equipment and some 11,000 research staffers.

The team is divided into five sub-teams: basic materials, applied materials, electronic parts, modules/parts, and system/equipment.

If an application is made, several research institutes are engaged in convergence technology support.

The team is tasked with supporting prototype production based on test-bed and reliability evaluation, assisting by dispatching researchers, and supporting the advancing of mass production and stabilizing supply chain of core materials, parts and equipment whose localization is urgently needed.

It has turned out that the team has contributed to effectively solving difficulties domestic companies experience.

The team has offered a combined 23,359 technology support cases to 5,634 companies for the past one year.

Korea Institute for Advancement Technology published a booklet on exemplary practices, achieved by the Materials, Parts and Equipment Convergence Innovation Support Team for the past one year, on May 9.

Support varies from the utilization of equipment for evaluation to technology consultation, production of prototype products, consulting services and dispatching manpower.

The support had an impact of earning 818.1 billion won in direct and indirect sales, and saving 27.7 billion won in costs on top of fixing 3,100 technology problems and 468 technology transfers worth 20.8 billion won.

One of the beneficiaries is Optowell, a maker of VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, element changing electric signals to optical signals.

VCSEL is a micro semiconductor laser that makes laser beams come out on wafer surface using compound semiconductors.

Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) came to the aid of Optowell, which badly wanted to develop a high-performance VCSEL.

Thanks to KETI, Optowell managed to secure how to predict an exact longevity, which had led to landing new buyers orders and saw sales surge from 6.7 billion won last year to up to 15 billion won this year.

Five more research institutes have joined in the team this year. The team has set up a cooperative network with five materials, parts and equipment specialized zones across the nation.

KIAT President Seok said, “With the inauguration of the Materials, Parts and Equipment Convergence Innovation Support Team, demand from materials, parts and equipment companies has been accepted via one channel, and an ecosystem has been established so that research institutes can join forces in providing support.”

Entering this year, he said the team will expand communications with materials, parts and equipment companies to produce achievements in a full-fledged fashion.