The wind of change is sweeping through the root industry. As the backbone of manufacturing, the root industry encompasses core processes such as mold making, casting, plastic working, welding, surface treatment, and heat treatment. It plays a critical role in determining quality and productivity throughout the entire process from raw materials to components, modules, and finished products. While the importance of the root industry is widely recognized, its competitiveness has been steadily declining due to factors such as outdated facilities, aging workforce, and labor shortages. Advanced countries have already been accelerating digital transformation by combining various policy supports with cutting-edge technologies such as AI, smart factories, and robotics. In response to this trend, domestic root-industry companies are also accelerating their digital transformation.
[Fig] Correlation Between the Root Industry and the Materials/Parts Industry
Domestic startup BeLinker Co., Ltd. (CEO Jaemin Ahn) succeeded in raising seed funding with its one-stop on-demand solution for the root industry. BeLinker’s on-demand solution meets diverse customer needs by collaborating with small manufacturing businesses across the country to handle a wide range of processing requirements (multi-item small-batch production). In particular, it can commission manufacturing in high-demand areas such as contract processing (CNC, MCT, etc.), molds, and injection. Whereas traditional methods required working with three to five companies to make one processed item, BeLinker integrates the process into one company, reducing both processing and manufacturing costs, and ultimately lowering the final unit price. In the future, BeLinker plans to open a second tech center in Changwon, which is expected to enhance its manufacturing competitiveness.
[Fig] BeLinker Co., Ltd.’s On-Demand Solution
Digital transformation to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic root-industry companies is in full swing. Leading root company Halla Cast Co., Ltd. (CEO Jongdu Oh) is actively developing automation and related material technologies to enhance competitiveness. In particular, Halla Cast has developed an alloy technology that improves the tensile strength of die-cast parts used in high-demand electrical and communication equipment. In addition, it is responding to digital transformation by introducing robots and automated systems for various surface treatments and process-specific automation. Also, small root-industry company Jinbo Precision Co., Ltd. (CEO Deuksik Choi) has developed technology that allows metal-processing equipment and user terminals to share data in real time, enabling rapid user response throughout the processing process. This makes it possible to remotely control metal-processing equipment from a distance and respond in real time. In this way, the previously outdated root industry is undergoing production innovation through digital transformation.
[Fig] Halla Cast Co., Ltd.’s Manufacturing Process
In 2020, the government announced the “Root Industry 4.0 Competitiveness Enhancement Master Plan” to support competitiveness enhancement and digital transformation of the root industry. This project invested a total of 158.6 billion KRW and revised the “Root Industry Act” to reorganize the policy support system. Through this, it aims to: (1) secure the competitiveness of the root industry in response to environmental changes such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, (2) strengthen the supply-chain stabilization function of the root industry amid global supply-chain restructuring, and (3) shift from a labor-intensive, low-value-added industrial structure to a future-oriented structure. Such government policies to revitalize the root industry are expected to expand further.
[Fig] Direction of the Root 4.0 Competitiveness Enhancement Master Plan
Recently, the city of Gumi was selected for the “DX Infrastructure Project for Supporting Manufacturing Process Innovation in the Root Industry” promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and is expected to receive 10 billion KRW in national funding. This project supports improving the poor environment of the regional root industry by designating Gumi City as the hub for the mold sector and Seongju County as the center for heat treatment, thereby enabling the production of high-efficiency, low-cost, high-value-added products.
[Fig] K-Root Industry Advancement Strategy: New Industries and New Market Response Strategy
As such, the root industry is emerging as a spearhead of production innovation. Accordingly, government support measures and industrial changes are intensifying, and companies need to strengthen their competitiveness to respond to these changes.
#RootIndustry #Mold #Injection #DieCasting #MoldDX #SmartManufacturing #SmartFactory #MachiningCenter #CNC #Milling
The wind of change is sweeping through the root industry. As the backbone of manufacturing, the root industry encompasses core processes such as mold making, casting, plastic working, welding, surface treatment, and heat treatment. It plays a critical role in determining quality and productivity throughout the entire process from raw materials to components, modules, and finished products. While the importance of the root industry is widely recognized, its competitiveness has been steadily declining due to factors such as outdated facilities, aging workforce, and labor shortages. Advanced countries have already been accelerating digital transformation by combining various policy supports with cutting-edge technologies such as AI, smart factories, and robotics. In response to this trend, domestic root-industry companies are also accelerating their digital transformation.
Domestic startup BeLinker Co., Ltd. (CEO Jaemin Ahn) succeeded in raising seed funding with its one-stop on-demand solution for the root industry. BeLinker’s on-demand solution meets diverse customer needs by collaborating with small manufacturing businesses across the country to handle a wide range of processing requirements (multi-item small-batch production). In particular, it can commission manufacturing in high-demand areas such as contract processing (CNC, MCT, etc.), molds, and injection. Whereas traditional methods required working with three to five companies to make one processed item, BeLinker integrates the process into one company, reducing both processing and manufacturing costs, and ultimately lowering the final unit price. In the future, BeLinker plans to open a second tech center in Changwon, which is expected to enhance its manufacturing competitiveness.
[Fig] BeLinker Co., Ltd.’s On-Demand Solution
Digital transformation to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic root-industry companies is in full swing. Leading root company Halla Cast Co., Ltd. (CEO Jongdu Oh) is actively developing automation and related material technologies to enhance competitiveness. In particular, Halla Cast has developed an alloy technology that improves the tensile strength of die-cast parts used in high-demand electrical and communication equipment. In addition, it is responding to digital transformation by introducing robots and automated systems for various surface treatments and process-specific automation. Also, small root-industry company Jinbo Precision Co., Ltd. (CEO Deuksik Choi) has developed technology that allows metal-processing equipment and user terminals to share data in real time, enabling rapid user response throughout the processing process. This makes it possible to remotely control metal-processing equipment from a distance and respond in real time. In this way, the previously outdated root industry is undergoing production innovation through digital transformation.
[Fig] Halla Cast Co., Ltd.’s Manufacturing Process
In 2020, the government announced the “Root Industry 4.0 Competitiveness Enhancement Master Plan” to support competitiveness enhancement and digital transformation of the root industry. This project invested a total of 158.6 billion KRW and revised the “Root Industry Act” to reorganize the policy support system. Through this, it aims to: (1) secure the competitiveness of the root industry in response to environmental changes such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, (2) strengthen the supply-chain stabilization function of the root industry amid global supply-chain restructuring, and (3) shift from a labor-intensive, low-value-added industrial structure to a future-oriented structure. Such government policies to revitalize the root industry are expected to expand further.
[Fig] Direction of the Root 4.0 Competitiveness Enhancement Master Plan
Recently, the city of Gumi was selected for the “DX Infrastructure Project for Supporting Manufacturing Process Innovation in the Root Industry” promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and is expected to receive 10 billion KRW in national funding. This project supports improving the poor environment of the regional root industry by designating Gumi City as the hub for the mold sector and Seongju County as the center for heat treatment, thereby enabling the production of high-efficiency, low-cost, high-value-added products.
[Fig] K-Root Industry Advancement Strategy: New Industries and New Market Response Strategy
As such, the root industry is emerging as a spearhead of production innovation. Accordingly, government support measures and industrial changes are intensifying, and companies need to strengthen their competitiveness to respond to these changes.
#RootIndustry #Mold #Injection #DieCasting #MoldDX #SmartManufacturing #SmartFactory #MachiningCenter #CNC #Milling