Support for the deployment of smart factories in each region
| Includes consulting, training, after-sales service, technology development, etc.
Signboard unveiling ceremonies for 19 centers to be held sequentially, starting with TK
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it will newly operate 'Smart Manufacturing Innovation Centers' in 19 technoparks nationwide to oversee the dissemination of regional smart factories.

Last December, the government announced the 'Small and Medium Enterprise Smart Manufacturing Innovation Strategy,' stating that it would innovate factories, industrial complexes, and workplaces by deploying 30,000 smart factories centered on regional areas by 2022.
The Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center will serve as the focal point of regional manufacturing innovation. We provide close on-site support for all problems that small and medium-sized enterprises with insufficient capabilities encounter during the smart factory construction process.

It not only carries out overall deployment tasks for smart factories, ranging from application and reception to selection, agreement, and final inspection, but also enhances accessibility for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies by providing comprehensive support including consulting, training, follow-up management, and technology development.

Starting in March, retired professionals with experience equivalent to a general manager at a large corporation or a master craftsman at the field level will be selected as Smart Meisters and assigned to the Innovation Center. They plan to be stationed at companies adopting smart factories for three months to transfer manufacturing know-how from large corporations and resolve difficulties in implementing smart factories on the spot.

In particular, the Busan Manufacturing Innovation Center plans to establish a testbed within this year that can be jointly utilized in the region's key industries, such as shipbuilding equipment and automotive parts. By strengthening the verification capabilities of smart factory implementation solutions through the establishment of this testbed, the center plans to increase the success rate of smart factories for local SMEs.

Meanwhile, starting February 21, plaque unveiling ceremonies for 19 regional smart manufacturing innovation centers will be held individually, beginning with the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions.

At the plaque unveiling ceremony, representatives from smart factory-related companies, the head of the Regional Small and Medium Business Administration, the head of the Technopark, and local government officials plan to attend to discuss the direction of manufacturing innovation development in the region.

The government plans to establish 30,000 smart factories by 2022 by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises that wish to build smart factories through Smart Manufacturing Innovation Centers.