July 18 (IANS) LG Electronics said on Thursday it aims to achieve over 1 trillion won ($725.2 million) in sales from its smart factory solution business by 2030, leveraging its artificial intelligence technologies and manufacturing expertise. This year, the South Korean home appliance giant entered the smart factory solution market, offering technologies and services to transform traditional manufacturing facilities into automated and digitised smart factories. LG Electronics highlighted its extensive experience and data in the smart factory solution sector, accumulated through its production technology research lab, LG PRI. The lab has undertaken projects on production customisation and manufacturing operation development for LG affiliates, including LG Energy Solution and LG Display Co. It is part of the South Korean tech company's recent moves to advance its digital transformation strategy, aiming to evolve into a software-based platform company beyond its traditional hardware focus. "This year, LG PRI is expected to secure orders worth 200 billion won from companies outside of LG Group," LG Electronics said. "We aim to expand the smart factory solution business to achieve more than 1 trillion won in sales by 2030." The company said its customers include secondary battery producing companies, auto parts makers and logistic companies. LG Electronics plans to accelerate its business expansion by targeting industries with rising factory demand, such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnologies, and food and beverages. According to market research firm Precedence Research, the global smart factory market is projected to grow from $155.6 billion in 2024 to $268.5 billion by 2030. --IANS na/