Paint Industry Collaborates with Startups to Discover Future Growth Opportunities

Chokwang Paint is taking a commemorative photo after selecting startups to participate in the '2022 Open Bridge with CHOKWANG' program last June.
[Photo by Chokwang Paint]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Min-jae] Major domestic paint companies, known for their "old company" image, are accelerating efforts to discover future growth engines by collaborating with startups. Paint companies can quickly secure future growth drivers in a changing era by partnering with technologically capable startups, while startups can validate their business models and expand their markets by utilizing the distribution channels and infrastructure established by these companies.

According to industry sources on the 5th, Jokwang Paint launched an "Open Innovation" project for startups in collaboration with the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation in the first half of this year. Open Innovation refers to companies collaborating with promising startups to find new business opportunities. Jokwang Paint is working with three selected startups through the program to develop technologies related to ESG (environment, social, governance), secondary batteries, and materials. First, they collaborated with Chemipolio, an eco-friendly bio-chemical material specialist company, to apply cardanol-based chemical products to the eco-friendly paint and coating industry.

At Zerabrid, a secondary battery materials and components specialist company, they plan to develop an aqueous binder with thermal safety by receiving composite separators optimized for lithium secondary batteries dedicated to future vehicles. Lastly, they collaborated with Magenta Robotics, an intelligent painting robot specialist company, to integrate painting robot technology into the automotive repair paint industry.

Jonguk Jo, CEO of Noroo Paint (center), Seokmin Jang, Head of Korea International Trade Association, and startup CEOs are taking a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Noroo Paint]

Noru Paint also held the final presentation of its Open Innovation project with the Korea International Trade Association in April this year. Noru Paint recruited startups with strengths in future innovative technologies such as eco-friendly technologies related to ESG and AI technologies related to color. Over 60 startups applied, and three companies were finally selected. A Noru Paint official explained, "We are developing paint for water pipes using antibacterial materials with Terahaim, a binder for SIC silicon anodes with MG Innovation, and eco-friendly flooring extracted from cashew nuts with Chemipolio."

The reason the paint industry is venturing into new businesses is that the domestic paint market has entered a mature phase, causing slow growth. As overall market growth slows and competition intensifies among companies, they are seeking breakthroughs in high-performance, eco-friendly paints and secondary battery materials. An industry insider said, "There are limits to the existing paint industry, so companies are trying to expand into the materials industry, but there are limitations with internal personnel alone, so more paint companies are collaborating with startups. It is expected that cooperation between startups with technological strengths and paint companies with long experience and field knowledge will pioneer new markets."

Although open innovation between the paint industry and startups is becoming active, some paint companies are still developing technologies in collaboration with mid-sized companies. KCC, the number one paint company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in June this year with Murim P&P, a pulp and paper specialist company, to develop eco-friendly water-based paints applying new nanocellulose materials. Nanocellulose is a substance made by breaking down cellulose fibers extracted from natural pulp into nanometer-sized particles. It weighs about one-fifth of iron but has five times the strength, making it a promising next-generation eco-friendly new material. A KCC official said, "We plan to apply and commercialize nanocellulose's characteristics to various paint raw materials used across industries such as automotive, industrial, and construction."

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