Samsung began helping local mask manufacturers to increase production based on the company’s experience of supporting small and medium-sized companies to build ‘smart factories’. (image: Samsung Electronics)
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group is focusing its efforts to overcome the crisis caused by the coronavirus.
As the country continues to struggle from a shortage of protective masks, Samsung announced Tuesday that it has set out to donate 330,000 protective masks acquired from overseas and support mask manufacturers to increase production.
First, Samsung began helping local mask manufacturers to increase production based on the company’s experience of supporting small and medium-sized companies to build ‘smart factories’.
On March 3, Samsung sent experts to three manufacturers recommended by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs to begin production support.
These experts are sharing their production and technological insights to increase production in the short-term without the need for the construction of additional facilities.
Samsung also provided technological assistance to a number of mask producers that already have additional facilities in place, but unable to set them up for mask production.
Samsung even designed a metal mold for mask manufacturers struggling to get a hold of them.
Normally, it takes at least a month to order and receive a metal mold from overseas.
Samsung, on the other hand, designed the metal mold at the company’s Precision Mold Development Center in Gwangju and sent them to mask manufacturers in just 7 days.
Last month, Samsung sent smart plant experts to a local mask producer to optimize mask assembly lines and prevent bottlenecks, which helped the company to increase production of masks from 40,000 to 100,000 masks per day.
Samsung also joined hands with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to help import melt-blown fabrics, a base material for mask filters.
Using the vast global network owned by Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T, the company plans to conclude purchasing contracts with overseas filter suppliers selected by the government, and deliver all imports to the Public Procurement Service.
Alongside the order of 53 tons of melt-blown fabrics, Samsung plans to make additional rounds of purchases.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
