Pulmuone builds data sharing cluster for factories

South Korea's major plant-based food company Pulmuone Co. Ltd. said on Monday that it has built a "digital cluster smart factory" that can share, integrate, and manage data by applying information and communications technology to its eight factories and six partner firms.

A digital cluster refers to a model that optimizes operations by linking multiple factories through a network.

Earlier in Aug. 2021, the company was selected as a participant in the Korean government's digital cluster project and signed an agreement with the Food Safety Management Certification Authority (HACCP certification authority) under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for the first time in the food industry.

Afterward, it organized a task force and invested a total of 4.7 billion won ($3.8 million), including 2 billion won in government subsidies, to build a digital cluster smart factory.

Pulmuone now has a system in place by which it shares and manages information on manufacturing, production, quality, and delivery with eight factories, including the raw noodle factory in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, and the tofu factory in Uiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province, and six partner firms that produce frozen foods, tofu, and Kimchi.

"We expect to improve operational efficiency in terms of production and quality control by establishing the food digital cluster," said an official of Pulmuone.

Write to Kyeong-je Han at hankyung@hankyung.com