Production capacity boosted with 400-plus advanced precision machines and IT technology
Focused production of premium products such as high-end kitchen furniture
Hyundai Livart is bringing into full operation Korea's first smart factory equipped with an advanced automated production system. Through this, Hyundai Livart is expected to secure differentiated quality competitiveness, including the capability to produce the highest-quality furniture in the country.
Hyundai Livart, the total interior company of Hyundai Department Store Group, announced that it is bringing into full operation its ‘Smart Factory,’ an automated production facility within the ‘SWC (Smart Work Center, located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province).’
The SWC is Korea's first advanced integrated manufacturing and logistics facility in the furniture industry, built by Hyundai Livart with a total investment of 147.5 billion won over four years starting in 2017.
Established on idle land at the Yongin plant, the SWC spans five floors and 85,950㎡, comprising a 17,000㎡ (about 5,200 pyeong) smart factory (3rd floor) and a 68,000㎡ (about 20,000 pyeong) logistics center (1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th floors). Hyundai Livart has been operating the SWC logistics facility since May last year and, since this past July, has been conducting trial production to inspect the operation of the smart factory's main equipment.
A Hyundai Livart official explained, “The investment in building the SWC is the largest ever for a single production facility in the furniture industry, and it is not only the first of its kind in Korea but also the first smart factory for furniture manufacturing to be unveiled in Asia.”
The Livart Smart Factory is fitted with more than 400 automated precision production units controlled by IT technology, and is equipped with a total of six production lines. In particular, to build the smart factory, the company partnered with German system developer IMOS and equipment specialist HOMAG to introduce an advanced ‘Smart Manufacturing System (MES).’ Once furniture design information is entered into the system, the MES automatically generates 3D design drawings and estimated material consumption, and automatically sets up the production equipment for each process in line with the design drawings.
As a result, the Livart Smart Factory has established a system in which advanced automated equipment automatically handles every furniture production process according to the design drawings — from cutting wood to transporting materials for each process, edge bonding (the finishing process for furniture corners and edges), drilling, and packaging of finished products.
A Hyundai Livart official said, “At conventional furniture factories, production technicians had to adjust dozens of equipment settings to match each piece of furniture's design drawing, which made it difficult to maintain consistent quality and expand output,” adding, “The smart factory's production speed is on average more than five times faster than existing production facilities, and it can freely produce furniture of various specifications.”
Through the operation of the Livart Smart Factory, the Yongin plant's maximum annual output has increased to up to 300,000 sets — about five times more than before — based on Livart Kitchen (kitchen furniture).
A Hyundai Livart official said, “Through this establishment of the SWC, we have secured both the premiumization of manufacturing quality — the core of strengthening the furniture business — and the foundation for an advanced logistics and delivery process,” adding, “Going forward, we will strengthen synergy among group affiliates such as Hyundai Department Store and Hyundai L&C to further enhance Hyundai Livart's unique competitiveness.”
