The Materials, Components, and Equipment Convergence Innovation Support Group (hereinafter referred to as the Convergence Innovation Support Group) achieved direct and indirect sales of KRW 818.1 billion and resolved 3,100 technical difficulties through 23,000 cases of technical support to 5,000 companies over the past year.

On the 6th, the Small and Medium Business Administration's Convergence Innovation Support Group held the 'Convergence Innovation Support Group 1st Anniversary Performance Presentation' at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute, chaired by Vice Minister Park Jin-gyu.

The Convergence Innovation Support Group is a consultative body of 32 public research institutes launched in April 2020 based on the Special Act on Strengthening Small and Medium Business Competitiveness. It is a solidarity and cooperation platform that supports small and medium-sized businesses by utilizing the human resources, technology, and equipment infrastructure owned by public research institutes.

This year, five new organizations, including the Carbon Industry Promotion Agency, the Apparel Testing & Research Institute, the Nanotechnology Institute, the Nano Comprehensive Technology Institute, and the Next-Generation Convergence Technology Institute, will participate, expanding the total to 37 organizations. In addition, a dedicated budget project will be established to invest 50 billion won over five years, thereby promoting more specific and full-scale corporate support and visualizing the results.

Since its launch, it has provided close support to 5,634 companies in 23,359 cases, including equipment utilization, technical consulting, and personnel dispatch, contributing to achieving direct and indirect sales of KRW 818.1 billion and cost reduction of KRW 27.7 billion in just one year, and creating results such as resolving 3,100 cases of technical difficulties and transferring 468 cases of technology (technology fees of KRW 20.8 billion).

Among the cases of corporate support, the results are A case study collection of 30 excellent cases was published and distributed.

AP Semiconductor Co., Ltd., a power integrated circuit manufacturing company, received reliability improvement consulting and test report from the Korea Electronics Technology Institute and successfully supplied products worth 6 billion won to Hyundai Motor Company, Unique Electronics, etc.

Woori Industry Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of vehicle air conditioning and eco-friendly vehicle electrical components, succeeded in completely resolving the failure rate and reducing system costs by 32% through analysis of the cause of PTC heater claims by the Korea Automobile Research Institute.

SPG Co., Ltd., a company specializing in precision control motors for electronic devices and robots, received support from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials for verification testing and analysis of causes of failure in connection with demand companies for robot reducers, improving product lifespan by 250% and increasing sales in China by 60% year-on-year to KRW 130.4 billion.

Sambu Metal Co., Ltd., a company specializing in ship engines and steering devices, reduced product costs by 8% and shortened total process time by 17% through design and molding analysis technology consulting from the Korea Institute of Materials Science.

At the event, the organizations and individuals who most actively supported small and medium-sized enterprises were awarded the Minister's Award.

The Korea Electronics Technology Institute received a group award as an excellent research institute supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, and Yang Won-jon, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Materials Science who actively discovered and supported the difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises at the corporate support desk, and Lee Sang-hoon, a senior researcher at the Korea Automobile Research Institute who contributed to reducing quality improvement costs by 87% by supporting automobile parts companies, received individual awards.

Also, at the event held that day, a joint declaration ceremony was held to support small business special complex companies by the Convergence Innovation Support Group and the five special complex promotion groups for solidarity and cooperation.

This is a technology support cooperation platform that supports small and medium-sized enterprises in specialized complexes through solidarity and cooperation between research institutes, and it is expected to efficiently support the improvement of technological capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises in specialized complexes.

This is the small business manager in the specialized complex Small and medium-sized enterprises can now receive priority support for technical difficulties and preferential treatment for using research institute equipment, such as a 50% discount on equipment usage fees.

Seok-cheol Seok, head of the Convergence Innovation Support Group, said, “This year, we will focus on supporting specialized complexes, leading companies, and cooperation models to achieve excellent results.”

Vice Minister Park Jin-gyu said, “The Convergence Innovation Support Group is a corporate support platform representing solidarity and cooperation in the small and medium-sized enterprise industry, and has created meaningful economic results in just over a year since its launch in April 2020.” He added, “We will actively support the Convergence Innovation Support Group, now in its second year, so that it can contribute to improving the technological capabilities and creating results for small and medium-sized enterprises.”