Hyun-Woo Lee, Chairman of Ugint, had an interview with the DGFEZ team and shared a story about establishing a JV company in Daegu Technopolis District and DGFEZ’s support.
Q1. Could you please introduce UGint?
Approximately 25 years have passed since our company, UGint, was established. We are making equipment for processing miniaturized parts used in car components, and are especially aiming at the cellular phone market by producing metal cases that are very popular nowadays. Especially, you can think of our company as a producer of manufacturing equipment for Apple’s iPhone and for the metal cases for Samsung Galaxy 6.
Q2. How did your company move into the Daegu Technopolis District?
Regarding our general factory, it was already nearly completed at that time. By the way, I wanted to enter the place, but the remaining lots had already been sold to domestic investors. We thus entered into partnerships with EastBridge Group and Dallah Albaraka, which were foreign companies. Doing so seemed to afford us the chance to subsequently realize synergy, which would enable us to go public after our continuous growth.
Q3. What are your plans for advancing into the overseas market?
We established a sales office in Shanghai in early April 2015, and I am going to execute marketing strategies towards China, a main market, from the second half of 2015. We will also expand our major market to include the Americas and Southern Asia because the IT industry is now highly developed in Mexico, Argentina, and other countries in the Americas and Southern Asia.
Q4. What kind of assistance did you get from DGFEZ with regard to your overseas exports?
Ever since we entered Daegu Technopolis District, we have been getting overall support with regard to our exports, as well as receiving prior information from the Technopolis team. As a result, our company is now obtaining much profit and could already come up with a vision of stable exports.
Q5. How about the talented labor in Daegu-Gyeongbuk?
The place in South Korea where human resources are being developed better than in any other city in the country is Daegu. As the customized education being offered by the vocational schools in Daegu-Gyeongbuk is better, our company is obtaining considerable profit thanks to the special skills of the high school students. In particular, through customized education, the students can learn more about our products while pursuing studies during their vacation. Also, the college students in Kyungpook National University seem to be learning important things like being able to identify the parts that they should focus on in their studies through eco-education for about 4 weeks after being dispatched to our company.
Q6. What’s your impression about your movement into DGFEZ as an SME?
It seems that the current growth momentum of small & medium-sized enterprises is very strong because a J/V with foreign investors was established through overseas investments, which would give the small & medium-sized enterprises a better standing than when operating alone. Also, Technopolis provided such enterprises support, and thus, a trinity was formed.
