Business group launches tech sharing

The Large and Small Business Corporation Foundation (BCF) under the National Committee for Corporate Partnership (NCCP) said yesterday it will kick off the “2013 Business Project to Strengthen Technology Cooperation for Basic Industry” to make shared growth work between large and small companies.

The annual business project launched in 2011 has been well received by both big businesses and small and medium enterprises.

“Basic industry” includes casting, plastic forming, heat treatment, surface treatment, molding and welding. It is also referred to as backbone industry as it is the basis of manufacturing competitiveness for large corporations.

However, as basic industries companies are considered blue collar, workers have been avoiding them. The purpose of the business project by the NCCP is to help the SMEs that manage the industry.

The BCF said yesterday it will promote mutual growth between large and small businesses by helping small businesses to advance technologies in the basic industry and improve global competitiveness of the finished products by large corporations.

According to the BCF, the business project in cooperation with the Small and Medium Business Administration and large corporations will provide technological support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that lead basic industry.

The project will allow large corporations to identify SMEs in basic industry that are experiencing technical difficulties or require specialized technical training, and form a consortium to solve difficulties and conduct technical education.

The business operation is divided into three broad categories: technical guidance tailored to basic industry, a technical cooperation academy and job creation.

In technical guidance tailored to basic industry, personnel from conglomerates will directly set the direction of SMEs’ technology development and offer collaboration with relevant experts.

Technical cooperation is the customized training courses, which involves field-oriented training of partner SMEs.

Finally, the job creation process is a program to train unemployed youth to meet the needs of SMEs in cooperation with the government and big businesses.

“In the case of basic industry, most SMEs have difficulties in reaching out to large corporations for technical cooperation,” said Yoo Jang-hee, chairman of the BCF. “We expect this business project will establish a basis for technological improvement of the partner SMEs in basic industry through active transfer of conglomerates’ know-how.”

By Kim Jung-yoon [kjy@joongang.co.kr]