KAI Invests 98.5 Billion KRW to Build Smart Manufacturing System

A350 Smart Factory Panorama Photo

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) announced on the 22nd that it will invest 98.5 billion KRW over the next five years to build a smart platform and ecosystem in the domestic aerospace manufacturing sector.

Amid the global restructuring of aerospace companies' supply chains due to the impact of COVID-19, KAI aims to secure digital-based manufacturing competitiveness in response to market changes.

KAI plans to advance its existing smart factory in the A350 building by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), while also implementing automation-centered smart equipment across all its sites, including the fixed-wing building, rotary-wing building, parts building, and the Sancheong plant.

The smart platform KAI is building aims to realize an intelligent production system that autonomously links production planning and execution by integrating digital-based technologies and data, as well as plans and actual performance.

Through this, it is expected to enhance the digital transformation of analytical tasks performed in five areas?production, process management, technology, procurement, and quality?maximizing work efficiency based on data utilization.

Establishing an Aerospace Industry Specialized Cluster

KAI will also promote co-growth in the high value-added aerospace industry by establishing an aerospace industry specialized cluster.

In the first phase (2021?2022), KAI aims to develop an aerospace industry standard platform through its own investment and transfer the verified system to partner companies after demonstration.

In the second phase (2022?2023), KAI plans to expand the smart platform by presenting customized success models for each partner company, thereby creating an integrated network and a digital-based manufacturing ecosystem. From 2023 onwards, it will expand the ecosystem maintenance system for sustainable smart platform operation.

Meanwhile, KAI, along with 30 partner companies, was selected for the ‘Leading Digital Cluster Support Project’ conducted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The selected consortium will receive 12.8 billion KRW in project funds by 2023, and KAI plans to invest an additional 9.4 billion KRW separately.

KAI intends to digitalize physical production systems to establish intelligent production processes among collaborating companies and lead supply chain management (SCM) and quality advancement using big data.

A KAI official stated, “It is urgent to secure export competitiveness through a joint response system and strengthened win-win cooperation with partner companies,” adding, “We will proactively respond to strengthening competitiveness before the global aerospace companies’ supply chains are reorganized due to COVID-19.”

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