[Ulsan = Newsis] Reporter Ahn Jung-seop and Hyundai Heavy Industries' headquarters in Ulsan are holding a business agreement ceremony to promote the construction of a shipbuilding & middot; marine general digital cluster smart factory. (Photo = Hyundai Heavy Industries provided) 2021.07.07.

Hyundai Heavy Industries has started to support the construction of smart factories to strengthen the production competitiveness of outside partners who supply equipment and materials for the first time in the shipbuilding industry.

Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its headquarters in Ulsan to build 'Chosun·Ocean General Digital Cluster Smart Factory and promised active technical support and cooperation for 10 outside partners (Ulsan 4·Gyeongju 6).

At the signing ceremony, representatives of companies participating in smart factory construction projects such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Cho Yong-soo, head of the shared growth division, and Gyeongbuk Techno Park, Ha In-sung, head of the company, MIT Co., Ltd., and Engka Co., Ltd. attended to build a cluster.

Earlier, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups approved the government support project for cluster smart factories of Hyundai Heavy Industries' outside partners in May as part of the 2021 Smart Factory Supply & Middot Project, which is being promoted to enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized manufacturing sites.

The project is aimed at improving process innovation and productivity of suppliers through convergence of digital cluster-based advanced information and communication technology (ICT) at a time when the shipbuilding & middot marine industry, which is centered on labor-intensive production technology, is suffering from manpower supply and demand.

To this end, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Gyeongbuk Techno Park will invest a total of 1.38 billion won (including 687 million won in national expenses) to provide 10 outside Hyundai Heavy Industries with various information needed to build smart factories and support technology consulting on factory automation.

The main support will be integrated cluster database (DB) and server configuration, production & middot collaboration module development, quality collaboration product information sharing service development, artificial intelligence (AI) control system development, digital infrastructure construction, and digital cluster company education and promotion.

An official of Hyundai Heavy Industries said, "We expect that the general digital cluster smart construction project will serve as an opportunity to increase productivity of outside partners through better working environment and process automation."We will do our best to analyze the manufacturing environment and support technology with the responsibility of spreading shared growth between large and small businesses"I said,"