Interest in Incheon Smart Factory Expansion Rises Among Companies... First Application Target Exceeded

A tour group visiting Yeonwoo Co., Ltd., a pilot smart factory in Incheon, is receiving an explanation about the inventory management system from a company representative.
[Photo by Incheon TP]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Incheon area are showing strong interest in building smart factories.

According to Incheon Technopark (Incheon TP) on the 24th, the first application and reception results for the 'Smart Factory Distribution and Expansion Project' showed that 182 companies applied, far exceeding the support target of 128 companies.

Accordingly, Incheon TP plans to select the final supported companies through a four-stage evaluation process including document screening, on-site evaluation, selection review, and business plan review.

Selected companies will receive support of up to 400 million KRW for funds to build smart factory solutions applying advanced technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things), 5G, big data, VR·AR (virtual and augmented reality), AI (artificial intelligence), and cloud computing for product design and production process improvement, as well as for solution-linked equipment such as automation devices, controllers, and sensors.

A smart factory is a customized factory that integrates all manufacturing processes from product planning and design to distribution and sales using information and communication technology (ICT) to optimize production systems by enhancing productivity and energy efficiency and reducing product defect rates, aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of manufacturing.

Previously, from 2019 to 2020, Incheon TP supported the introduction of various types of smart factories suitable for domestic conditions to over 400 small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies in the Incheon area.

In the case of Company D in the Incheon Namdong Industrial Complex, the introduction of a smart factory shifted the production site operation method from relying on the know-how of highly skilled workers to establishing an optimized standardized production system through data collection and analysis.

Additionally, real-time monitoring of the production process and analysis of collected data to identify causes of defects led to a reduction in defect rates, and the introduction of robots in the casting process significantly reduced the physical labor intensity of workers.

An official from Incheon TP stated, "Interest in the distribution and expansion of smart factories among small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies in the Incheon area is increasing," adding, "We will spare no support to help companies establish new growth foundations in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

Meanwhile, starting next month, Incheon TP plans to conduct a survey and check the utilization status of the smart factory construction system for supported companies to analyze the performance of the smart factory distribution and expansion project and establish a post-support system by collecting on-site opinions.

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