"Supporting SME Manufacturing Innovation"... Samsung Launches Win-Win Type 'Smartgongjang'

'2022 Win-Win Smart Factory Kick-Off Event' Held... Over 300 Attendees
Directly Observing Manufacturing Innovation Sites and Sharing Smart Factory Success Stories
Samsung Has Transferred Manufacturing Innovation Know-How to Over 3,000 SMEs Since 2015

Ace Life achieved a 2.1-fold increase in bidet production by establishing a smart factory amid the surge in domestic and international bidet demand during the toilet paper shortage caused by COVID-19.
[Photo by Samsung Electronics]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Yeju] #. Two years ago, as the demand for bidets suddenly surged due to the spread of COVID-19, the bidet company 'Ace Life' located in Asan, Chungnam, was unable to handle the overwhelming volume of orders. When production shortages threatened to cause the loss of overseas clients, they urgently applied for Samsung Electronics' 'Smart Factory Construction Support Project.' Samsung Electronics proposed an automated solution from wiring processes to testing to increase productivity. After establishing the automated process, the time required to produce one bidet was drastically reduced from 60 seconds to 38 seconds, and production volume more than doubled from 20,000 units per month to 42,000 units per month. This change occurred in just 10 weeks. With support for market development, Ace Life also entered Amazon in June. Ace Life's sales last year amounted to 24.6 billion KRW.

Samsung Electronics is practicing win-win growth by expanding its business of transforming small and medium-sized enterprises' manufacturing plants into smart factories.

Samsung Electronics announced on the 2nd that it held the '2022 Win-Win Smart Factory Kickoff Event' at Samsung Electronics Gwangju Campus in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs.

The event was attended by about 300 people, including Cho Joo-hyun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; Min Hyung-bae, Member of the National Assembly for Gwangsan-gu Eul, Gwangju; Jung Yoon-mo, Executive Vice President of the Korea Federation of SMEs; Lim Kyung-jun, Chairman of the Gwangju-Jeonnam SME Association; Kim Young-hwan, Secretary General of the Foundation for Cooperation between Large, Small, and Agricultural Enterprises; Lee In-yong, President of Samsung Electronics; and representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises selected for this year’s smart factory support project.

The event, resumed after two years, provided small and medium-sized enterprises with an opportunity to experience and benchmark Samsung Electronics' manufacturing sites and share cases of excellent smart factories to strengthen their innovation commitment. In particular, attendees had the chance to directly observe and ask questions about innovative cases such as ▲production system operation using artificial intelligence (AI) ▲automation equipment ▲logistics improvements including automated guided vehicles ▲and simplified automation by process.

Since 2015, Samsung Electronics has been operating the 'Smart Factory Construction Support Project' based on the philosophy of 'sharing together and growing together is the path to becoming the world’s best,' providing Samsung’s manufacturing innovation technology and successful know-how to enhance the competitiveness of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises and create jobs. Since 2018, the project has been expanded to support all small and medium-sized enterprises in need, regardless of whether they have transactions with Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Electronics selects about 200 in-house experts in areas such as ▲manufacturing site innovation ▲factory operation system construction ▲manufacturing automation, and transfers know-how tailored to each company’s situation. In addition to supporting productivity improvement and on-site innovation, Samsung helps companies secure self-sustainability through ▲domestic and overseas market development ▲professional workforce training ▲technical support for difficulties. Even after support is completed, continuous growth is supported through post-management by operating the 'Smart365 Center.'

From 2015 to last year, Samsung Electronics supported the construction of smart factories for about 2,811 companies, and including approximately 270 companies scheduled to receive support this year, Samsung has helped a total of 3,000 companies.

The smart factory support project is evaluated as contributing to regional economic revitalization and job creation. According to the performance analysis of the 'Samsung Electronics Smart Factory Construction Support Project' announced by the Korea Federation of SMEs in March, companies that introduced smart factories showed 37.6 percentage points higher operating profit, 11.4 percentage points higher sales, and 3.2 percentage points more employees compared to companies that did not introduce smart factories.

President Lee In-yong said, "Samsung will continue to strive to create a robust industrial ecosystem where large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises can grow together through comprehensive and systematic support."

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