Samsung backs smart factory push
Samsung Electronics and the Korea Federation of SMEs are recruiting companies for a smart‑factory support program to automate and AI‑augment production lines, a model worth benchmarking for Fremont automation upgrades. The program highlights regional momentum toward fully automated, data‑driven manufacturing. (mk.co.kr)
Applications for this year’s Samsung–KBIZ smart‑factory program will be accepted Apr. 6–May 8, 2026, with final recipients chosen after on‑site due diligence and evaluations in June. (biz.chosun.com) Organizers set total support at 15.45 billion won for roughly 150 target firms this cycle, and introduced an AI track that can fund up to 300 million won per company (covering about 75% of project costs). (biz.chosun.com) The program runs three tracks—basic (up to 60 million won), advanced (up to 150 million won), and the new AI track for real‑time autonomous control—while firms without prior Samsung transactions remain eligible to apply. (biz.chosun.com) Samsung will allocate some 160 manufacturing experts to the initiative, deploying three‑person expert teams to reside on‑site for six to 10 weeks to execute customized manufacturing‑innovation consulting. (biz.chosun.com) Samsung’s decade‑long Smart Factory program reports support for 3,450 SMEs since 2015 and cites measured productivity gains in participant firms—about a 33% rise at food producer Baekje and a roughly 52% increase at machinery maker Wijes following modernization. (chosun.com) The effort is coordinated with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and pairs technical grants with market‑access and financing measures—participants gain Smart Biz Expo exposure and access to partnered financial support from Woori Bank and KOTEC for preferential loans and guarantee‑fee assistance. (biz.chosun.com)
