LG Innotek has inaugurated its new “Dream Factory,” a fully automated manufacturing facility that sharply reduces the need for human labor in the production of Flip Chip Ball Grid Arrays (FC-BGAs), a type of high-performance semiconductor substrate. The company aims to scale the FC-BGA business to a projected USD 700 million by 2030.
Located in Gumi, the 26,000-square-meter facility utilizes artificial intelligence, robotics, deep learning, and digital twin technologies to execute all ten stages of FC-BGA production and logistics with minimal human intervention. With the exception of essential maintenance staff, the entire production line is unmanned, supported instead by autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and AI-based quality control systems.
According to LG Innotek, the elimination of direct human contact in production mitigates the risk of contamination and defects from foreign substances such as dust or bodily residues, which are critical concerns in the ultra-fine manufacturing process required for FC-BGAs. The factory’s robotic logistics system executes tasks from raw material delivery to finished product storage, driven by an automated order and barcode system that configures production equipment without manual input.
Inspection processes are also fully automated. An AI-enhanced vision system evaluates each product for micro-defects, and robots transport units through inspection checkpoints. Every FC-BGA is barcoded, enabling automated rejection of non-compliant units without human oversight. Data from more than 200,000 files generated daily informs machine learning systems that predict defects and optimize equipment maintenance.
LG Innotek has also implemented a Line Quality Control (LQC) system that measures key specifications in real time and shares results directly with customers. Plans are underway to introduce an intelligent Quality Management System (i-QMS) by 2026, designed to autonomously detect and adjust for quality deviations during production.
Through digital twin simulations conducted before the facility’s construction, LG Innotek reduced the production ramp-up time by nearly half. The simulations helped calibrate the environmental and process variables critical to maintaining high yields in FC-BGA manufacturing.
While the factory underscores LG Innotek’s ambition to lead in next-generation semiconductor substrates, it also exemplifies a broader industry trend toward the automation of labor-intensive manufacturing processes. The move aligns with the company’s strategic shift toward minimizing human error, defect-related costs, and downtime through technology-led production models.
LG Innotek began mass production of FC-BGAs in 2024 and currently supplies North American technology firms. It plans to expand into high-end markets, including CPUs and servers, by developing advanced substrate technologies such as glass cores and device embedding in collaboration with global partners.
The global FC-BGA market is forecast to grow from USD 8 billion in 2022 to USD 16.4 billion by 2030, according to the Fuji Chimera Research Institute.
