LG Electronics bets big on smart factory business

LG Electronics Inc. launched a smart factory business division under its research and development center early this month to accelerate its transition into a business-to-business (B2B) company beyond a home appliances brand.  

The South Korean household name has picked B2B services, particularly for smart factories, as its new growth area, utilizing its domestic and overseas plants and operating know-how.

Smart factories automate all production processes from assembly to packaging, while leveraging big data and deep learning technology to improve work and power usage efficiency.

LG’s smart factory division, consisting of dozens of employees, will lead the technology development, including mobile robot systems to oversee the sales process ranging from automated factory design, construction and management know-how.

TURNKEY SERVICES

LG is planning to offer turnkey services for smart factories throughout the entire automation process from planning to designing, building and operating them.

Currently, smart factory projects are mostly about consulting on and upgrading parts of production lines.

“Our smart factory projects do not end with factory construction, but continue to provide consulting at the factory upgrade level,” said an LG Electronics official.

A smart factory collects and processes data in real time through the Internet of Things (IoT) and analyzes the information to control each process.

As companies seek to improve production efficiency through digital transformation, demand for smart factories is on the rise globally.

According to market tracker Statista, the global smart factory market is forecast to expand to $244.8 billion this year from $153.7 billion in 2019.

LG has transformed part of its six home appliance production lines into smart facilities at its main production base in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, as well as at its home appliance plant in the US state of Tennessee. 

It is said to have recently secured its first smart factory orders from a secondary battery manufacturer and an automotive electronics maker, but their names were not disclosed.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.