Six Robot-Utilizing Companies Expanding Overseas Return to Domestic Support Programs

Six U-turn Companies Finally Selected as Robot Utilization Manufacturing Innovation Support Targets

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 21st that it has selected six domestic returnee companies as the final support targets for the 'Robot Utilization Manufacturing Innovation Support Project.' Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Six companies utilizing robots that have expanded overseas have been selected as recipients of support for robot-utilized manufacturing innovation to assist their return to Korea.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 21st that it has finalized the selection of six returning companies as recipients of the 'Robot-Utilized Manufacturing Innovation Support Project.'

This Robot-Utilized Manufacturing Innovation Support Project provides up to 50% support for robot introduction costs to companies designated as returning to Korea. Considering the high investment costs such as new or expanded factories when relocating overseas production facilities back to Korea, the support amount was significantly increased from 300 million KRW for general companies to 500 million KRW for returning companies.

The selection of companies comprehensively considered the excellence of robot application technology, usability, market ripple effects, and urgency.

A representative of Remote Solution, selected for this project, said, “Due to rising overseas labor costs, we considered returning to Korea, and through this opportunity, we were able to solve labor cost issues while establishing an efficient production line using robots to secure uniform product quality.” They added, “With the introduction of advanced manufacturing robots, we expect next year’s sales to increase through effects such as a 260% increase in assembly pre-process production volume, a 500% reduction in process defect rates, and a 210% cost reduction.”

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to deploy 33 advanced manufacturing robots to the six selected returning companies, automating various processes such as assembly, processing, inspection, transportation, and packaging, and expects improvements in work environments such as reduced industrial accidents through robot introduction in three high-risk industries. Furthermore, the budget for robot distribution in manufacturing sites will be significantly increased from 10.5 billion KRW this year to 19 billion KRW next year to expand the distribution of manufacturing robots.

Kim Ilho, Head of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Planning Group at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “We will make further efforts to support the revitalization of returning overseas companies and strengthen manufacturing competitiveness through smart factory and process quality R&D projects.”

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