World Wood Experts Gather in Yongin as Hyundai Livart's "Smart Work Center" Named Official Tour Site

Hyundai Livart’s Manufacturing and Logistics Facility Recognized for Sustainability
Full Automation Across All Processes
Reducing Waste Wood and Harnessing Solar Energy

Hyundai Livart's automated production facility, the "Smart Work Center," has been recognized as a model case for sustainable wooden furniture manufacturing.

Hyundai Livart Smart Work Center Exterior. Hyundai Livart

On June 11, Hyundai Livart announced that its Smart Work Center, located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, had been selected as an official field tour site for the "2026 World Conference on Wood Science and Technology," hosted by the National Institute of Forest Science under the Korea Forest Service.

Now in its 69th year, the World Conference on Wood Science and Technology is an international academic conference held annually by the Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST), the most prestigious association in the field. This year's event will run through June 12 at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It is the first time the conference has been held in Korea since the association was founded in 1958. The Society of Wood Science and Technology counts thousands of wood experts among its members, including researchers from authorized organizations such as the United States Forest Service and the American Hardwood Export Council, faculty from major universities around the world, and executives from global companies such as the prominent U.S. wood company West Fraser.

This year's conference theme is "Wood Science and Materials for a Sustainable Future." On June 12, more than 30 leading association executives and wood scholars from various countries will visit the Hyundai Livart Smart Work Center in person.

A Hyundai Livart official explained, "The Smart Work Center has built advanced furniture manufacturing capabilities to reduce the waste wood rate and has worked to establish a sustainable production system, such as utilizing solar energy. Being selected as a field tour site for the World Conference on Wood Science and Technology means that our efforts to build a sustainable furniture production system have been recognized as a global model case by experts."

View of the smart factory inside the Hyundai Livart Smart Work Center. Hyundai Livart

The Smart Work Center, which began operations in 2022, is Asia's first advanced integrated manufacturing and logistics facility, covering a total area of 85,950 square meters (about 26,000 pyeong), equivalent to 12 soccer fields. The third floor houses the smart factory (17,000 square meters), while large-scale logistics centers (68,000 square meters) are located on the first, second, fourth, and fifth floors.

The smart factory operates through a "Smart Manufacturing Execution System (MES)" that automates the entire furniture production process. Once furniture design information is entered, 3D drawings and estimated material consumption are calculated in real time, and all six production lines and 400 specialized pieces of equipment are set simultaneously. Every step from wood transport, cutting, drilling, assembly, to packaging of finished products is completed without human intervention. Material transport is also handled exclusively by seven automated guided vehicles.

Hyundai Livart has reduced its waste wood rate by around 10% using the "Cut-rite" program, which calculates the optimal size and shape of wooden pieces to minimize leftover scraps. A company representative explained, "Wood processed through the Cut-rite program achieves a utilization rate of over 90%, which is 5–10 percentage points higher than wood processed through conventional methods."

The expansion of sustainable production infrastructure within the Smart Work Center is also accelerating. The company plans to install approximately 3,200 solar panels on the center's 16,528 square meter (about 5,000 pyeong) roof. Transport vehicles for materials are also being converted to electric vehicles in phases. In addition, the company is reviewing resource circulation plans, such as collecting waste vinyl and recycling it into pallets for product storage.

A Hyundai Livart official stated, "We will continue to develop and apply advanced technologies for furniture manufacturing to build unrivaled global competitiveness as a total interior company that adds new value to everything related to the home."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.