Blocked Exports Due to COVID-19, New Paths Opened Domestically

Kim Hongjoong, CEO of Koberry
World-Recognized Linear Motor Technology
Busy Diversifying Client Base

Kim Hong-jung, CEO of Koberry (Photo by Koberry)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] "Creating new customers is the only answer." Kim Hongjoong, CEO of Koberry (age 54), is working tirelessly to reopen the blocked export route to Japan due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

CEO Kim said, "Regarding the localization of materials and components, we are actively responding to create new customers targeting equipment companies that are considering purchasing our products," adding, "Based on our track record of exporting linear motors to Japanese companies such as Hitachi, we are diversifying our clients by signing contracts with about 10 domestic electronic component equipment companies."

Koberry is a small but strong company producing ultra-precision linear motors. Linear motors are used as parts requiring ultra-precision control by electric motors for linear motion in semiconductors, machine tools, and other equipment. The market is dominated by technologically advanced Japanese and German companies.

Although Koberry is a small company with only 10 employees, it exports linear motors to Japan, which is considered the pioneer country in this field. The products produced by Koberry have been recognized for their high technology and competitiveness, and were selected as a 'Next-Generation World-Class Product' by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy last year.

However, the company has not been spared from the impact of COVID-19. Especially since the volume exported to Japan accounts for most of the company's total exports, exploring new markets is urgently needed.

CEO Kim said, "Around this time last year, we shipped about 100 million KRW worth of exports monthly, but now it has come to a complete stop." Due to movement restrictions caused by COVID-19, it has been impossible to visit Japan directly or meet clients for several months. Face-to-face consultations and participation in exhibitions are also impossible, so selling new products is out of the question.

CEO Kim is expanding sales channels targeting domestic electronic component equipment companies as alternative demand sources to the blocked export routes caused by COVID-19. Currently, the company operates on a small scale, so there are organizational and manpower limitations to expanding export networks to countries other than Japan. However, they plan to continue pioneering new markets based on their technological capabilities.

CEO Kim said, "Unlike conventional linear motors that arrange permanent magnets horizontally on the bottom surface, the linear motors we produce arrange them vertically, significantly reducing magnetic attraction force and friction resistance, allowing the motor to move faster and more precisely," adding, "We have patents registered not only in Korea but also in the United States, China, Taiwan, and the European Union (EU)."

After graduating from university, CEO Kim went to Japan as a Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) scholarship student. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering at Tokyo City University and worked for 13 years at Hitachi Research Institute in Japan. In 2010, he founded Koberry by opening a small office in Mullae-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. With financial support from the Small and Medium Business Corporation, he expanded and relocated the headquarters to Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province in 2018.

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