First Stop on the Smart Manufacturing Innovation On-site Tour
On the 26th, Minister of SMEs and Startups Han Seongsuk visited the site of the "K-Beauty Smart Factory" as the first stop of the "Smart Manufacturing Innovation Industry-Specific On-site Tour" to review the outcomes of digital transformation.
Han Seongsuk, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is delivering remarks at the "K-Beauty Smart Manufacturing Innovation On-site Meeting" held on the 26th at Yegeurina Co., Ltd. in Incheon. Ministry of SMEs and Startups
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that on this day, Minister Han inspected the smart factory site and discussed manufacturing innovation measures with representatives and experts from manufacturing and technology companies engaged in the beauty industry ecosystem.
The smart factory construction support program of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups covers all manufacturing industries. In particular, it focuses on fostering export strategy items of small and medium-sized enterprises that have proven their competitiveness in the global market, such as beauty, food, and fashion, in connection with relevant ministries and local governments.
In the K-Beauty sector, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups are working together to provide package support for smart factory construction by beauty companies and consulting for certification under the "Cosmetic Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP)." Through the Chungbuk Manufacturing AI Center designated last year, they are also promoting AI model development and demonstration in the convergent bio fields such as cosmetics, as well as training for employees.
Last year, in the K-Beauty sector "Inter-Ministerial Smart Factory Construction Project," the Ministry of SMEs and Startups selected 18 cosmetics manufacturing companies and provided approximately 3.2 billion won in support. The selected companies are being assisted in introducing AI and other technologies through matching with a digital transformation (DX) mentoring group and experts from leading cosmetics companies.
To spread smart manufacturing innovation in key export items of small and medium-sized enterprises, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to conduct a relay of industry-specific on-site tours. Following K-Beauty, the ministry intends to visit smart manufacturing innovation sites in the K-Food and K-Fashion sectors to gather on-site opinions and strengthen support policies.
Yegeurina, which was visited on this day, is a cosmetics ODM specialized manufacturing company based in Incheon and is regarded as a leading case that has achieved innovative digital transformation through the establishment of a smart factory. In particular, by collecting and analyzing production process data in real time and fully implementing an automated cosmetics filling system, the company is simultaneously realizing maximized productivity and zero defect rates.
The on-site roundtable was attended not only by cosmetics manufacturing companies but also by manufacturers that possess related technologies such as cosmetics ingredients, containers, and microneedles. Participants discussed smart manufacturing innovation measures across the entire beauty industry supply chain and shared on-site challenges and policy proposals. Kim Jiyeon, Director of the Cosmetics Policy Division at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, who is responsible for cosmetics safety and quality control, also attended and emphasized the importance of inter-ministerial cooperation models and the need to expand support to strengthen the competitiveness of the K-Beauty industry.
Minister Han stated, "Cosmetics, the number one export item among small and medium-sized enterprises, achieved a record-high export performance last year," and stressed, "For the sustainable global growth of K-Beauty, it is crucial to advance smart manufacturing on the production floor, introduce AI, and invest in technology development." She added, "To drive smart manufacturing innovation in the K-Beauty industry, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will actively support the expansion of the growth base for K-Beauty by newly supporting the development of multi-AI agent technologies in the beauty sector for process and quality optimization, and by preparing AI transition guidelines tailored to the beauty industry."
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