Changed Status of 'K-Quarantine'... Samsung Was Behind It

Export Love Calls from Diagnostic Kit Companies
Dispatch Support for Production Facility Expert Mentors
1 Trillion KRW Funded over 5 Years with the Ministry of SMEs
Smart Factory Construction Project for 2,500 SMEs

At Lestec, a mask manufacturing company located in Daejeon, Plant Manager Park Na-won (right) and Mentor Kwon Oh-chang from Samsung Electronics Smart Factory Support Center (left) are inspecting the connection status between the mask body and ear loops.

Samsung Electronics is actively engaging in win-win activities such as supporting smart factories to enhance the productivity of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

According to the industry on the 25th, Samsung Electronics is supporting the smart factory construction project for four companies producing COVID-19 diagnostic kits?Solgent, SD Biosensor, CoGen Biotech, and Seegene?whose export requests are rapidly increasing overseas.

Samsung Electronics is dispatching manufacturing experts to the sites to help diagnostic kit companies quickly improve productivity and rapidly establish production facilities. As the number of COVID-19 patients overseas surged sharply, orders for domestic diagnostic kit companies also increased significantly, with some required to supply order volumes equivalent to their annual production within 1 to 2 months.

Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, emphasized, "Samsung, which has grown with the support of the people, should share and cooperate with our society especially in times like these," and accordingly, Samsung Electronics has spared no support to improve the productivity of domestic companies.

◆ Deployment of Samsung Equipment Experts for Mask Production = During the mask shortage caused by the spread of COVID-19, Samsung Electronics dispatched a mentoring team composed of production equipment experts with an average of 25 years of experience to the field. Samsung Electronics mentors supported companies to increase production volume in a short period without additional investment through production process improvement, efficiency enhancement, and technical guidance. The four companies that received support?E&W, Restec, Evergreen, and Hwajin Industry?saw their combined daily production increase by 51%, from 920,000 to 1,390,000 units.

Samsung Electronics, together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs, is conducting productivity improvement activities not only for mask manufacturers but also for manufacturers of hand sanitizers, medical protective goggles, and diagnostic kits. The company has also developed the smart factory project, which it has been promoting since 2015 to strengthen SME capabilities, into a comprehensive support activity for small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies over the next five years starting from 2018.

To this end, Samsung Electronics plans to jointly raise 100 billion KRW annually with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups over the next five years, totaling 1 trillion KRW, to support the establishment of smart factories for 2,500 SMEs. Samsung Electronics has additionally contributed 10 billion KRW to conduct market development and educational programs. The tissue manufacturer 'Irinox' entered Amazon and eBay through Samsung Electronics' market development program. It also began supplying approximately 20 million KRW worth of products monthly to 'America Grocery,' a supermarket located in Guam. Samsung Electronics completed smart factory construction for 505 companies in 2018 and 570 companies in 2019. From 2015 to 2017, it transferred manufacturing know-how to a total of 1,086 companies.

An employee of 'NJ Company,' a hand sanitizer manufacturer supported by Samsung Electronics' smart factory located in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, is connecting a hand sanitizer container to a spray nozzle.

◆ The Development of Partner Companies is Samsung Electronics’ Development... Comprehensive Support to Strengthen Competitiveness = Samsung Electronics is strengthening its win-win strategy so that the development of partner companies leads to the enhancement of Samsung Electronics’ competitiveness and mutual growth. The core focus is on establishing a sustainable management environment for partner companies. Samsung Electronics helps partner companies manage their funds smoothly by making payments four times a month, introducing a win-win payment system, establishing win-win funds and material payment support funds, and making early payments for purchases during holidays such as Lunar New Year and Chuseok.

Samsung Electronics also operates the 'Win-Win Cooperation Academy Education Center,' which is dedicated to partner company education, supporting systematic talent development. Partner companies utilize the exclusive training facilities of the Win-Win Cooperation Academy to participate in various courses such as entry-level training for new employees, promotion courses for supervisors and executives, tier-based education, specialized professional job training in development, manufacturing, quality, and purchasing, as well as global and leadership training.

Samsung Electronics also supports customized innovation activities in areas where partner companies are weak. Through this, improvement activities are carried out in eight major areas including development, purchasing, manufacturing, logistics, marketing, sales, service, and management support, as well as in the environmental safety field for partner companies using hazardous and dangerous substances. To strengthen technological competitiveness, since 2015, Samsung Electronics has opened up a total of about 27,000 patents. SMEs wishing to utilize these patents can apply for patent sharing and receive patents after consultations with Samsung Electronics’ patent experts regarding contract terms.

◆ Expansion of Win-Win Support Programs to 3rd-Tier Partner Companies = In August 2018, Samsung expanded its partner support program to include 3rd-tier partner companies. To this end, it established a dedicated fund of 700 billion KRW for 3rd-tier partners. Samsung is supporting 3rd-tier partners by allocating 400 billion KRW to the 'Win-Win Fund' for facility investment and R&D funding, and 300 billion KRW to the 'Material Payment Support Fund' for cash payments of material costs. Partner companies can borrow funds at low interest up to 9 billion KRW through the Win-Win Fund for facility investment, research and development (R&D), and operating funds. The Material Payment Support Fund can be borrowed interest-free.

Since 2010, Samsung has been operating a partner support fund worth 2.3 trillion KRW, and with the recent expansion to 3rd-tier partners adding 700 billion KRW, the total partner support fund has grown to 3 trillion KRW. Samsung Electronics announced its corporate social responsibility (CSR) vision, "Together to the Future! Enabling People," and has been engaging in various CSR activities to accompany society. It is conducting diverse win-win activities and youth education social contribution activities such as smart factories, partner company win-win funds, the Samsung Future Technology Nurturing Project, and C-Lab Outside.

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