Jeonnam Province and Samsung Electronics Join Hands to Lead Innovation in SME Manufacturing Sites

Jeonnam Province announced on the 20th that it will expand support for the establishment of collaborative smart factories in partnership with Samsung Electronics to lead innovation in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises.

To promote win-win cooperation between large corporations and SMEs, the number of basic stage projects has been significantly increased from 5 companies last year to 20 companies. Jeonnam Province and Samsung Electronics will each support up to 60 million KRW per company, covering 30% of the project cost. Including the company’s own contribution (40%), the total project cost can reach up to 100 million KRW.

Three current manufacturing experts from Samsung will reside at the supported companies for 8 to 10 weeks, transferring manufacturing innovation know-how from task discovery to execution to the SMEs.

For innovation activities in manufacturing sites across fields such as quality, productivity, logistics, and environment, smart factory solutions applying advanced technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing, as well as linked automation equipment, controllers, and sensors, will be supported.

Additionally, utilizing the Samsung Group network, the program will provide comprehensive support including market development, education, maintenance, sustainable management (ESG) support that is difficult for SMEs to handle on their own, and consulting for advanced growth, making it a comprehensive nurturing program rather than a one-time support.

The support project will begin with a business briefing session at the Jeonnam Technopark main conference room on the 22nd and will proceed through project announcements by Jeonnam Province and the Korea Federation of SMEs within May.

Wi Gwang-hwan, Director of the Job Investment and Attraction Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “Smart factories are an essential element that digitalizes information related to a company’s production and sales to enhance competitiveness. We will do our best to spread and promote smart factories to achieve digital manufacturing innovation by integrating new technologies such as information and communication technology (ICT), artificial intelligence, and big data.”

Meanwhile, to strengthen manufacturing capabilities, Jeonnam Province has distributed and supported smart factories to a total of 926 companies, including 158 companies at the advanced stage and 768 companies at the basic stage, up to last year.