Selected for three government and local authority support projects, securing approximately 2.1 billion won in external funding.
Driving automation in quality prediction, mold inspection, and cleaning, targeting completion by August 2027.
HLB Innovation (024850) is pursuing the artificial intelligence (AI) transition and automation of its semiconductor component production processes through a government and local authority support program totaling approximately 3.6 billion won. By covering about 58% of the total project cost through external support, the company aims to reduce its investment burden while simultaneously enhancing manufacturing competitiveness across quality inspection, facility operations, and cleaning processes.
HLB Innovation announced on the 9th that it has been selected for three support projects aimed at AI-based manufacturing innovation and production process automation. The targeted initiatives are the 'Win-Win AX Leading Model Construction Support Project', the 'Manufacturing AI-Specialized Smart Factory Construction Support Project', and the 'Manufacturing Robot Adoption Support Project'.
The total budget for the three projects is approximately 3.6 billion won, of which about 2.1 billion won will be financed through subsidies from the government, local authorities, and major corporations. The company plans to utilize this external funding to simultaneously implement manufacturing data integration, AI inspection, and robot automation.
2.9 Billion Won AI Transition: Integrating Production, Quality, and Energy Data
The largest undertaking is the 'Win-Win AX Leading Model Construction Support Project', valued at approximately 2.9 billion won. As the core initiative accounting for about 81% of the total project budget, its goal is to establish a manufacturing system that integrally manages production, quality, facility, and energy data.
The company plans to link data accumulated across various processes to establish an AI-based quality prediction system and optimize energy usage. By centrally managing production site information, the company intends to improve responsiveness to quality anomalies and enhance the operational efficiency of facilities.
The 'Manufacturing AI-Specialized Smart Factory Construction Support Project' focuses on automating inspections in the mold production process. By introducing an AI-based automated inspection system and equipment linked to the production line, the company will connect inspection results with process data, thereby shortening inspection times and improving quality control accuracy.
While utilizing existing manufacturing data for AI quality prediction, the projects also automate the actual inspection process, allowing them to respectively oversee production information management and on-site quality control.
Deploying Robots in Cleaning Processes; Phased Implementation by August Next Year
Through the 'Manufacturing Robot Adoption Support Project', robots will be applied to the ultrasonic cleaning process. The objective is to automate repetitive tasks such as product loading and retrieval, thereby reducing downtime and easing the workload on operators.
The three projects are categorized by application scope into manufacturing data integration, AI inspection, and robot automation. HLB Innovation plans to link these initiatives sequentially to boost operational efficiency and quality stability across the entire production process.
The target completion date for the projects is August 2027. Through the advancement of its production and inspection processes, the company aims to strengthen the competitiveness of its semiconductor components business and respond to growing customer demand in the AI and automotive electronics sectors.
Kim Bum-soo, CEO of HLB Innovation, stated, "Taking this support project as an opportunity, we will establish an AI- and data-driven production system and accelerate our transition to a smart manufacturing environment. Through the advancement of our production and inspection processes, we will strengthen our quality and production competitiveness while steadily meeting the rising customer demand in the AI and automotive electronics sectors."
