Yuyu Pharma (000220) is bringing artificial intelligence and advanced robotics into its drug manufacturing operations to strengthen the competitiveness of its Jecheon plant. The company plans to convert core production steps now performed by hand into robot-based automated processes, raising productivity and quality while improving working conditions.
Yuyu Pharma said it was selected for the Advanced Manufacturing Robot Pilot Program run by the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, an agency under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and will install advanced manufacturing robots on production lines at the Jecheon plant.
Under the program, the company will build a robotic automation system centered on the secondary packaging process for prescription omega soft capsules. It plans to introduce AI vision inspection equipment along with multi-vision automated aggregation and box loading using articulated robots, as well as case erectors, sealers and labeling machines, lifting the level of automation across the packaging process.
The processes targeted for robotic automation are currently handled manually by workers and sit on a core production line at the Jecheon plant that runs at an average daily utilization rate above 100%. By applying AI and robotics to processes with high output and heavy workloads, Yuyu Pharma expects to ease the burden of repetitive tasks on workers while improving process efficiency and production stability.
Applying technologies such as AI vision inspection and articulated robots to an actual drug production site is also expected to yield a more precise quality control system. The company aims to strengthen overall production competitiveness at the Jecheon plant by improving work efficiency, lowering defect rates and cutting manufacturing costs through process automation.
The Advanced Manufacturing Robot Pilot Program is a government support program designed to accelerate digital transformation in manufacturing through the demonstration of "robot process models." It targets manufacturing sectors that need robots to improve their production environments, with up to 200 million won in state funding per company.
A "robot process model" refers to a technical manual for using manufacturing robots that covers everything from analysis of the production process to robot system configuration, design drawings and operating procedures. The core of the program is not simply installing individual robot equipment on the factory floor but building and validating ways of using robots that are optimized for the actual manufacturing process.
Yuyu Pharma plans to use the program to speed up the upgrading of production processes and the digital transformation of the manufacturing site at Jecheon. In particular, it intends to apply advanced automation technology to the stable production and quality control required in pharmaceutical manufacturing, building a manufacturing environment that raises production efficiency while reducing the physical burden on workers.
"Introducing robots into the production process is expected to improve key quantitative measures such as productivity, defect rates and costs, and also to deliver qualitative effects that secure flexibility in production operations, including the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders, the creation of a safer work environment and a lighter workload for employees," said Park No-yong, chief executive of Yuyu Pharma. "I am grateful to the government agencies that designed and carried out a policy reflecting the voices of companies on the ground."
