The government is promoting automation of sewing robots in the textile and fashion industry, in line with its Speed Factor strategy to improve the manufacturing environment and boost productivity. A nationwide manufacturing robot tour briefing will be held in Dongdaemun on July 4th.

On the 4th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a 'Manufacturing Robot National Tour Briefing Session' in Dongdaemun, Seoul, to promote and expand manufacturing robots and innovate the textile industry.

This was the second briefing session held in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, following the first one held in May for the automotive and electronic parts industries. This session was held for the textile and fashion industries, including sewing companies, near Dongdaemun.

The briefing session was attended by approximately 150 people including representatives from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, robot and textile machinery manufacturers, demand companies, associations and organizations.

The textile and fashion industry was a key driver of Korea's economic growth in the past.

However, amidst rapidly changing fashion trends and the rapid pursuit of emerging countries, the Korean textile and fashion industry is facing a difficult situation due to the weakening of the domestic production base caused by rising production costs and aging facilities.

In particular, garment manufacturing companies near Dongdaemun, such as Changsin-dong and Suyu-dong, are experiencing a serious labor shortage due to the aging of skilled workers and poor working conditions.

Accordingly, the government announced on June 19th a plan to revitalize the textile and fashion industry as a follow-up measure to the manufacturing renaissance.The plan is to overcome the crisis by making the fashion industry smarter.

To this end, we are pursuing process automation using sewing robots in line with the Speed Factor strategy to improve the manufacturing environment and enhance productivity.

Speedfactory is a combination of the words smart factory and store. It refers to a business-to-consumer (B2C) model of the textile and fashion industry that aims to produce customized products by receiving consumer orders at stores based on the automation of the existing smart factory production process.

This briefing session was held to promote the introduction of manufacturing robots, thereby achieving two goals: expanding the market for robotics companies and enhancing the competitiveness of the textile and fashion industry.

At the briefing session, examples of robot applications in the textile and fashion industry and collaborative robots were exhibited and introduced to increase the understanding of robots in textile and fashion manufacturing companies, and the current status of robot development in the textile and fashion industry was shared.

Eleven types of robots from seven companies were exhibited, including collaborative robots from Doosan Robotics, Hanwha Precision Machinery, and Neuromeca; general manufacturing robots from Hyundai Robotics, Hizen Motor, and Robot & Beyond; and sewing-related machines from Suntech.

Additionally, consultations were held on the difficulties faced by companies hoping to introduce robots and their purchasing decisions. Government support and financial programs in accordance with the "Robot Industry Development Plan" announced in March were also introduced.

Choi Nam-ho, director of the Manufacturing Industry Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, “We will create an environment where textile and fashion manufacturing companies can introduce robots more easily than now,” and added, “We plan to continue to hold manufacturing robot briefings focused on fields with relatively low robot utilization, such as food and beverage, roots, and machine parts industries.”