Chungnam, Support for Smart Factory Distribution and Expansion

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is set to expand the distribution of smart factories within the region.

The province announced on the 6th that it will conduct a demand sample survey for the smart factory distribution and expansion project targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with 10 or more employees in the area until the 14th of this month.

The survey targets 2,236 small manufacturing companies in the province. The province will send digital questionnaires via mobile text messages and emails, allowing the target companies to respond individually to the survey.

The smart factory distribution and expansion project, promoted in connection with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, aims to enhance global industrial competitiveness by improving productivity and quality, reducing costs, and shortening delivery times for small and medium-sized enterprises in the province.

According to an analysis of the smart factory support project by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, productivity improves by 20% upon the introduction of smart factories, while costs are reduced by 15.9%.

In particular, the rate of industrial accidents decreases by 18.3%, and employment increases by an average of three people, indicating management improvement effects.

The total project cost required for newly establishing a smart factory is 200 million KRW. Of this, the government supports up to 100 million KRW, which is 50%, and the province along with the jurisdictional city or county of the business matches 5 to 10% of the total project cost as local funds, thereby reducing the individual company's smart factory construction costs, the province explained.

Previously, in Chungnam, from 2014 to 2019, through government support and private cooperation, 726 out of 5,961 small manufacturing companies in the province (12.1%) established smart factories.

The province plans to conduct a sample survey of demand companies for smart factories in cooperation with Chungnam Technopark and local cities and counties to smoothly promote the smart factory construction project and expand the distribution of smart factories within the province.

Jung Byung-rak, Director of the Future Industry Bureau of the province, said, “We will accurately identify the demand companies for smart factories in the region through the demand sample survey and provide sufficient matching local funds according to the demand. Along with this, we will reduce the burden on companies and encourage more companies to participate in the smart factory construction project, aiming to increase the number of smart factories to around 1,300 by 2022.”