Small and Medium Enterprises' 'Smart Manufacturing Innovation'... Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Invest 500 Billion Won This Year (Comprehensive)

Ministry of SMEs and Startups Allocates Largest Ever Budget
5600 Smart Factories to be Distributed This Year
Support for Robot-Driven Manufacturing Innovation and More

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] This year, 500 billion KRW will be invested in the 'Smart Manufacturing Innovation' support project aimed at advancing smart factories for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies. The government plans to enhance economic power and manufacturing innovation through key projects that realize a smart Korea.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 31st, the budget for the Smart Manufacturing Innovation support project this year is set at a record high of 492.5 billion KRW, an increase of 149.7 billion KRW from last year's 342.8 billion KRW. A notable feature is the shift in support direction from expanding the base of smart factories to advancing them.

The support is divided into ▲Smart Factory Construction and Advancement (415 billion KRW) ▲Smart Factory Level Verification (1.4 billion KRW) ▲Manufacturing Innovation Using Robots (8.5 billion KRW) ▲Strengthening SME Smart Capabilities (3 billion KRW) ▲Smart Meister Operation (7 billion KRW) ▲Smart Testbed Construction (4.8 billion KRW) ▲Data Infrastructure Construction (6.7 billion KRW) ▲Process and Quality Technology Development (29.7 billion KRW) ▲Field Demand-Oriented Smart Factory Technology Development (11.7 billion KRW) ▲Smart Sensor Leading Project Technology Development (4.7 billion KRW).

First, through the Smart Factory Construction and Advancement project, 5,600 smart factories are planned to be distributed this year. The goal is to distribute 30,000 smart factories by 2022. Starting this year, SMEs and mid-sized companies that build and advance smart factories with their own technical personnel will also be eligible for support. This improves upon the previous system where only consortium applications between smart factory demand and supply companies were supported.

Additionally, the 'Win-Win Smart Factory Project,' where large companies support SMEs in smart factory implementation, will add an advancement support track. SMEs and mid-sized companies using the win-win project to advance their smart factories can receive up to 180 million KRW (90 million KRW from the government and 90 million KRW from large companies, etc.) in support.

Image source=Ministry of SMEs and Startups blog

From the end of this year, SMEs and mid-sized companies are expected to utilize advanced smart factory services similar to large companies, such as diagnosing manufacturing process failures in advance through data accumulation and analysis. To this end, one manufacturing data platform and two data centers (selected through public competition, 1.5 billion KRW per center) will be established by the end of the year.

In particular, starting this year, 'Smart Sensor Technology Development,' one of the core components for smart factory advancement, will be newly supported. The ministry will also actively promote manufacturing innovation for SMEs and mid-sized companies aiming to improve processes using robots. Companies wishing to adopt this can apply by forming a consortium with robot suppliers.

As of the end of last year, the total number of smart factories distributed through the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Smart Manufacturing Innovation support reached 12,660.

Park Jonghak, Director of the Manufacturing Innovation Support Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Companies that have introduced smart factories have seen an average productivity increase of 30%, quality improvement of 43.5%, cost reduction of 15.9%, and on-time delivery rate improvement of 15.5%, enhancing their competitiveness. Additionally, employment per company has increased by three people, and industrial accidents have decreased by 17.9%, indicating the creation of many good jobs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.