SK Inc. C&C, a part of SK Group in South Korea, and BriteLab in Silicon Valley announced the signing today of a partnership agreement to collaborate in joint development for the Global Manufacturing Business in the U.S. Market.
Some of the highlights of the joint effort will include:
- Collaboration between BriteLab’s AMHS (Automated Material Handling System) and SK Inc. C&C’s Smart Manufacturing Platform and Solutions.
- Development new digital business, such as AI-based component quality inspection with high demand from BriteLab’s current customers.
- Cooperation to apply manufacturing specialized Vertical Solutions of SK Inc. C&C, such as “iFactory Smart Vision.”
- Co-development manufacturing high-tech business for the U.S. based CM/CE customers.
Seong-ha Park, CEO of SK Inc. C&C announced today that SK Inc. C&C has signed a partnership agreement with BriteLab which has a specialty in the Automated Material Handling Systems in the U.S. for Global Manufacturing Hi-Tech Joint Development.
BriteLab Inc., located in San Jose, CA, is the leading semiconductor AMHS company in the United States.
Current customers for its AMHS install base include Texas Instruments (TI), NXP Semiconductors, On-Semi, Global Foundry, ST Micro, TSMC, SSMC, and UMC. BriteLab currently has 24 global 200mm and 300mm foundry customers.
The agreement between SK Inc. C&C and BriteLab is to promote the expansion of manufacturing high-tech business based on Britelab’s AMHS platform. By combining SK Inc. C&C’s multiple manufacturing software solutions, the joint partnership is set to offer best-of-breed smart manufacturing platforms and solutions which be successfully implemented in the manufacturing industry.
BriteLab’s AMHS offers an Overhead Hoist Transport (OHT) system utilizing robotic systems in the high-tech factory utilizing sophisticated robots from the ceiling and the floor of production lines. The robots are autonomous vehicles managed and controlled by software to support fast and accurate automation in the production of high-tech materials in the factories.
Under this agreement, the two companies have established a Joint Working Group (JWG) utilizing BriteLab’s AMHS commercialization of manufacturing high-tech solutions that meet the customer demands.
SK Inc. C&C’s “iFactory Smart,” which has proven excellence in the South Korean precision manufacturing industry, will now be offered to customers in the U.S. through Britelab. “We are excited to be working with SK Inc. C&C especially its AI-based quality management solution using ‘vision’ systems,” said Steven Kwak, CEO of BriteLab.
SmartVision is an artificial Intelligence package solution developed by SK Inc. C&C and has the ability to read the smallest unit pixel of the screen and quickly train the AI modules to read the information in real-time. It is highly utilized in the ESG (Environment·Social·Governance) field, such as quality control (QA) work that removes defects in parts and finished products throughout the production process, as well as application in the water quality management. By collecting images created through cameras or CCTV and analyzing the data, SmartVision can quickly perform a highly accurate inspection tasks that previously required operators to use expensive, separate quality equipment which can lead to poor inspection, product identification, and dimension measurements.
The two companies are also exploring manufacturing high-tech businesses for BriteLab’s current customer install base outside of semiconductor business, as BriteLab provides Contract Manufacturing (CM) and Contract Engineering (CE) service in the U.S. BriteLab provides robotics and production automation platforms in autonomous vehicle and robots, factory automation robots, data center monitoring robots, smart machines, and autonomous drones. With BriteLab’s CM and CE business and in conjunction with SK Inc. C&C solutions, the companies plan to offer a digital platform-based manufacturing high-tech digital service in connection with its customers, with the signing of the partnership agreement. “By combining BriteLab’s AMHS-based manufacturing logistics capabilities and SK Inc. C&C’s manufacturing automation capabilities, we look forward to creating a manufacturing high-tech business that will lead customers’ digital innovation. As a result, we will actively engage in marketing to our global customers, as well as here in the U.S.,” said Steven Kwak, CEO of BriteLab.
“With our partnership with BriteLab, we look forward to expanding the global business together for the manufacturing vertical solutions business, and will introduce customer-friendly digital services to meet the needs of BriteLab’s manufacturing customers in the U.S.,” said Young-dae Kim, Director of Digital New Business Development at SK Inc. C&C.
About SK Inc. C&C, Co. Ltd.
SK Inc. C&C is the de facto holding company of the SK Group, the third largest conglomerate group in South Korea. The company offers IT services, platforms, and solutions in system integration, and system maintenance & repair to every sector of industry, including finance, communication/media, energy/chemical, logistics/services, and the public sector. www.skcc.co.kr
About BriteLab, Inc.
BriteLab, based in San Jose, was established in 2007 as a Contract Manufacturing ODM Engineering services company, providing services in manufacturing automation for Automotive, BioSciences, Robotics, and E-Mobility. Today, in addition to its CE & CM business, BriteLab offers its own OEM AMHS solutions to all leading semiconductor fabs around the world. BriteLab is a subsidiary company of PHC (www.globalphc.com), a multinational Tier-1 automotive parts manufacturer based in Daegu, South Korea.
SK Inc. C&C Contacts
Media:
Min Kyung-dong
PR Team Leader
82-10-8797-2715
BriteLab Contacts
Media & Marketing
Peter D. Kim
General Manager
1-408-209-1942
peter.kim@britelab.com