Invitation of CEOs from Selected Smart Factory Companies
Benchmarking at Samsung Electronics Gwangju Plant Conducted
A platform was established to share Samsung's manufacturing innovation know-how with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on the 5th that, together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Samsung Electronics, it invited about 300 CEOs from companies selected for smart factories this year to Samsung Electronics' Gwangju plant to benchmark Samsung's manufacturing sites and introduce innovative cases of smart factory construction.
This event included a manufacturing site tour where SME owners could directly see and experience Samsung's innovation cases, an awards ceremony and case presentations for outstanding companies, and a lecture by Samsung Electronics titled "Guide to Successful Smart Factory Construction."
The event was attended by Park Seung-hee, President of Samsung Electronics; Lim Kyung-jun, Chairman of the Gwangju-Jeonnam SME Association of the Korea Federation of SMEs; and Lee Sang-gap, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Economy of Gwangju Metropolitan City. Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Park Sung-min of the People Power Party, Min Hyung-bae of the Democratic Party, and Seo Wang-jin of the Innovation Party encouraged SME owners through video congratulatory messages.
In the outstanding company case presentations, three companies’ success stories were introduced: ‘Eva,’ which secured quality competitiveness through smart factories and led quality improvement in the industry; ‘Hanseo Precision,’ which reduced defect rates and shipping lead times by collecting and analyzing real-time production data through MES (Manufacturing Execution System); and ‘Sancheong Togiwa,’ a traditional roof tile manufacturer with a 60-year history that implemented smart manufacturing processes, contributing to increased sales and regional development. These three companies received commendations from the Minister of SMEs and Startups at the event.
Afterwards, SME owners toured the manufacturing site of Samsung Electronics' Gwangju plant, which produces premium home appliances. They observed product lines such as refrigerators, motors, molds, printed circuit board assembly (PBA), and compressors, and had the opportunity to directly see and ask questions about on-site innovation cases including Samsung Electronics' AI-integrated system operations, automated equipment, logistics optimization, and ESG-related know-how.
Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, “The government is strongly promoting smart factory construction within the broader framework of smart manufacturing innovation, and the large-small win-win projects that innovate SMEs by utilizing the know-how of large corporations are a core task of the government’s smart factory initiative. Samsung’s win-win projects are exemplary support cases, and I hope they will continue to be a reliable success partner for SMEs.”
Lim Kyung-jun, Chairman of the Gwangju-Jeonnam SME Association, said, “Samsung’s smart factory project is a representative win-win cooperation model involving the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Samsung, with high satisfaction and performance among SMEs. Especially from this year, by diversifying business models such as local government collaboration projects and food industry support projects along with qualitative advancement of smart factories, it will help minimize blind spots in smart factory implementation.”
Yang Chan-hoe, Head of Innovation Growth at the Korea Federation of SMEs, stated, “This event was a great opportunity for SME owners starting smart factory projects to directly learn Samsung’s know-how and gauge future business directions. We will work with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Samsung to ensure SMEs can respond well to recent industrial environmental changes such as carbon neutrality and industrial safety through smart factory construction.”
Park Seung-hee, President of Samsung Electronics, said, “Samsung has grown through the smart factory support project as a business that shares growth with SMEs rather than growing alone. Based on our accumulated support know-how and experience, we will continue to support SMEs to enhance manufacturing competitiveness and ESG capabilities, as well as help solve social challenges such as supporting companies in depopulated areas and social enterprises.”
Meanwhile, since 2018, the Korea Federation of SMEs, together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Samsung, has supported 2,188 companies through the ‘Large-Small Win-Win Smart Factory Support Project.’ This year, about 190 smart factory construction and advancement projects are planned to be supported.
According to a survey by the Korea Federation of SMEs, the satisfaction rate of SMEs with Samsung’s smart factory project reached 92.3%, and 95.2% of SMEs expressed a desire for the win-win smart factory support project to continue and expand.
Additionally, companies that introduced Samsung smart factories showed 37.6 percentage points higher operating profit, 11.4 percentage points higher sales, 23.4 percentage points higher added value, and 3.2 percentage points more employees compared to companies that did not introduce them.
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