[Visiting in the field of technological finance] (5 · end)

- Keon Chang IND. CO., LTD., recognized by Mitsubishi which has strict quality control in steel making facilities -

  

Looking at the organization chart of the company, you can find something different from other companies as there is no sales department that plays a major role in generating profits. The CEO, Gwon Jaesok, said, "We do not need to have the sales department because we are too busy to deliver our products by the order schedules of our customers." The company has been supplying steel-making facilities to Mitsubishi in Japan for the past 20 years. The company is also providing its products to famous Japanese companies, including Hanada, Kawasaki, and JP Steel. The company is not well known in Korea because it exports all the products to overseas customers. In 1973, Mr. Gwon joined the company as a production employee in Dong Sung, the former company of Keon Chang and acquired the company in 1995. The sincerity of Mr. Kwon touched the former CEO of Dong Sung, and he turned the company over to Mr. Gwon who is not his son. Dongsung made a briquetting machine, but when the briquette industry stagnated, the company transferred the technology from Mitsubishi to produce steel making facilities. Or course, at first, the company faced various difficulties. Mr. Gwon, said, "Mitsubishi reported that 70% of its products were defective products after receiving the first delivery from your company in 1988." He said that he was very doubted to sell products as Mitsubishi required extremely strict standards. However, the company decreased the defect rate dually with endless supplementations and returns. In 1993 after five years, the company succeeded in advancing quality level as much as Mitsubishi entrusted quality inspection to the company. At present, the company exports its products to Japan with its own quality inspection. Mr. Gwon, said, "Our company was able to advance technical skills due to the strict quality level of Mitsubishi." However, the company was in crisis in 2004 with the Low Yen. The company was unable to avoid profitability deterioration due to the won's exchange rate, since the company received yen after delivering products to Japan. Mr. Gwon, recalled, "The foreign exchange loss exceeded 3.2 billion won by 2006, and I was a nervous wreck. However, there was nothing to do. He wandered banks to raise money and finally went to Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KIBO).

The KIBO official said that the guarantee funds of KIBO have an average annual loss of about 5%. However, we decided to support the company because of the high level of technology. KIBO provided the loan guarantee of 1.26 billion won to improve the management. The company first replaced its production facilities with a metal processing machine with 5-axis. In particular, the previous equipment that cuts iron was more than 50 years old with a one-axis shaft, so It took a lot of working time. Gwon recalled, "I could not let me down because I took over the company with the will of betting my life on it.

As he said, the company posted a net profit of 400 million won on sales of 13.5-billion-won last year. After overcoming such difficulties, the company has been recognized my Mitsubishi for its technology and quality, and has received 20% of the commodity prices as advance payment since last year. This is to repay the debt of about 3.6 billion won, such as the fund guaranteed by KIBO and others, as soon as possible. The goal of the company for this year achieves total sales of 26 billion won and net profit of 2 billion won. The technology evaluation center of KIBO estimates that its manufacturing technology of steel making facilities reaches the highest level in Korea. Gwon also pointed out, "POSCO and others ask us to get technical advice and data. Raw material change develop

These results are highly attributable to skilled engineers with over 30 years of accumulated technology. More than 30 years of experience (fifties to sixties) account for more than half of the 60 manufacturing employees. The CEO, Gwon said, "We have been providing technical training for younger employees before three years for generational change." The company is currently developing facilities to produce less waste and hazardous materials during the steel making process. Facilities for aircraft production are also being researched. Gwon said, "We will succeed in developing eco-friendly facilities with our own technology until 2012".

Busan=Reporter, Im Gihun, shagger@hankyung.com