Production Share to Increase from 38.7% to 41.1% by 2030, Specialized Companies Expand from 60 to 160
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced the ‘Gwangju-type Materials and Components Industry Promotion Plan’ on the 7th to strengthen manufacturing competitiveness and localization by establishing a supply base for materials and components tailored to regional characteristics in line with the government’s policy to foster the materials, parts, and equipment industry.
This plan was established with Gwangju Technopark taking overall charge of the practical work, along with participation from local universities such as Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology and Chonnam National University, regional research and industrial promotion institutions including the Korea Photonics Technology Institute and Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (Southwest Headquarters), and local corporate experts.
Currently, the production share of the materials and components industry in Gwangju’s manufacturing sector is 38.7% compared to finished products, which is lower than the non-capital region average of 45.3%. Gwangju has about 60 specialized materials and components companies, accounting for approximately 0.9% of the nationwide total of 6,467 companies.
Through this ‘Gwangju-type Materials and Components Industry Promotion Plan,’ Gwangju City plans to actively discover and support specialized materials and components companies within the region and further strengthen the industry structure centered on materials and components, aiming to expand the local production share of materials and components to 41.1% by 2030.
In particular, this plan identifies 30 promising materials and components items across 10 major fields, focusing on strengthening the supply chain of materials and components for finished products produced locally. It also includes ‘promising technologies,’ ‘recommended fusion research technologies,’ and newly attempted ‘recommended R&D technologies’ through technical analysis of each promising item.
Additionally, to ensure the plan’s execution, it will be rapidly implemented focusing on ▲ promotion of three leading (large-scale) projects ▲ establishment of a materials and components industry-academia-research cooperation ecosystem ▲ support for materials and components companies.
Specifically, through leading (large-scale) projects, the plan links the creation of a ‘materials and components equipment specialized complex’ and the establishment of the ‘Honam Advanced Medical Complex,’ and strengthens the regional materials and components industry ecosystem by attracting facilities such as the Materials and Components Knowledge Industry Center.
Furthermore, to expand specialized materials and components companies, from the first half of the year, support will be provided for ‘industry-academia-research cooperation R&D project planning expenses’ targeting about 600 local materials and components production companies, and support for ‘discovery and registration of specialized materials and components companies’ through technology doctor linkage will be implemented. Over the next 10 years, 10 companies will be additionally registered as specialized companies annually, expanding the total to 160.
Son Kyung-jong, Director of the AI Industry Bureau of the city, said, “The Gwangju-type materials and components promotion plan is expected to bring greater synergy to regional economic development by linking with Gwangju-type jobs, Gwangju-type New Deal, and the AI Industry Convergence Complex project,” adding, “We will do our best to make the materials and components industry a new source of revenue for the regional industrial economy.”
Kim Seon-min, Director of Gwangju Technopark, said, “The materials and components industry is the source of added value in manufacturing and requires long-term preparation, investment, patience, and effort,” and added, “The Gwangju-type materials and components industry promotion plan will be an opportunity to lay the cornerstone for the Gwangju regional industry.”
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