Jeonbuk Province Promotes Special Vehicle Industry Revitalization and Industrial Ecosystem Model Construction Project

Jeonbuk Provincial Government Office, Photo by Jeonbuk Province Provided

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Tae-in] Jeonbuk Province announced on the 29th that it will promote the "Special Vehicle Industry Revitalization and Industrial Ecosystem Model Construction Project" to strengthen the technology and product competitiveness of local special vehicle manufacturers, parts companies, and related upstream and downstream enterprises struggling due to the impact of COVID-19.

This project has been supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Jeonbuk Province since 2018, investing 1 billion KRW annually for a total of 3 billion KRW until this year. The Korea Automotive Technology Institute has been providing comprehensive support to improve the technology and industrial advancement of special vehicle (parts) companies.

The main project contents include ▲support for securing technology and product competitiveness such as prototype production, process improvement, and organizational improvement for special vehicle (parts) companies (7 cases) ▲support for demand-tailored special vehicle (equipment) development (5 projects) ▲industry-academia-research network activities (5 cases) ▲joint marketing support for special vehicles (3 cases) ▲support for training specialized personnel in new technologies in special vehicle specialized fields (15 people), among others.

In the 2018 project, 22 companies received 49 cases of comprehensive support, resulting in a 3.4% increase in sales (670 million KRW increase) and a 19.3% increase in employment (80 people increase) compared to the previous year, as well as cost reduction competitiveness of 56 million KRW through productivity and defect improvement.

Last year's best case was the contribution of Kukdo Special Vehicle Co., Ltd. to the development of domestically produced vibration-free air suspension for 1-ton trucks by purchasing and analyzing advanced special vehicle component parts, which led to the promotion of the air suspension installation business and market entry, resulting in an annual new sales increase of approximately 150 million KRW.

This year, comprehensive support for securing 35 future technologies in the special vehicle industry will be promoted. Detailed information can be found on the Korea Automotive Technology Institute's integrated management system website for corporate support projects, where online applications are also available.

Additionally, support projects will accept applications and conduct evaluations monthly until the project budget is exhausted.

Jeon Byung-soon, Director of the Innovation Growth Industry Bureau of Jeonbuk Province, said, "Through this support project, by developing and commercializing special vehicle technologies suitable for market demand, we expect to help improve companies' sales and strengthen the competitiveness of our region's special vehicle industry." He added, "Jeonbuk Province will do its best to establish itself as a leading region in the special vehicle industry."

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