Small Manufacturers Also Adopt 'Smart Factories'... Increasing Productivity Using IoT

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 3rd that it has selected 20 companies to participate in the pilot project 'Smart Workshop,' which supports the adoption of smart technologies by small-scale manufacturers in collaboration with the Small Enterprise and Market Service.

This small-scale manufacturer-type smart factory project targets small-scale manufacturing businesses with fewer than 10 employees. It supports manufacturing process improvements by integrating Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) systems into small-scale manufacturing sites that operate equipment manually, enabling partial automation and the introduction of production management systems.

The project is conducted by renaming the process improvement category of the existing Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 'Product and Technology Value Enhancement Support Project' to Smart Workshop. The pilot project budget for Smart Workshop this year is 3.9 billion KRW. Forty small manufacturers applied this year. The Ministry selected 20 companies after procedures including pre-consultation by smart factory experts and document and on-site evaluations.

Small manufacturers from various industries such as metal processing, food, textiles, and printing were selected. The selected small manufacturers for the pilot project will receive support for smart technology adoption costs up to 50 million KRW over six months.

For example, Company A, selected this time, manufactures soybean milk used in products like soy milk and kongguksu (cold soybean noodle soup). The manual processes of washing soybeans, soaking, grinding, and packaging will be built into a system capable of automatic production and production data management according to customer orders.

The Ministry plans to expand Smart Workshop to about 140 companies next year.

No Gisu, Director of the Regional Commercial District Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Starting this year, the Ministry will actively promote the digitalization and online transition of small business owners in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era. Through the Small Manufacturer Smart Workshop pilot project, we will establish a customized smart support plan for small manufacturers and will fully support the adoption of smart technologies by small-scale manufacturers from next year."