I always lead, so I don’t have a competitor. “Don’t be dragged, but lead change.”
“My goal is to become a global leader in laser precision processing. I’m already laying the foundation”.
I’m going to drill countless microholes, if I get one dollar per hole…
“The employee’s biggest asset. I’m happy and the staff should be happy”.
‘Curious, persistent, positive’
These are words that must be used to explain Kim Seong-hwan, CEO of the 21st century. It was possible to raise a company that started 26 years ago in a poor environment with a deposit of 3 million won and a monthly rent of 300,000 won as a global small company, and to have ultra-precision laser processing technology without competitors on this planet.
Located in Dongtan General Industrial Complex in Hwaseong, the 21st Century Co., Ltd. is the world’s most advanced company with ultra-precision laser processing technology. It is possible to implement unique products that other companies cannot even imitate, such as ultra-precision blades, ultra-precision molds, ultra-precision cutting tools, and ultra-precision jigs.
Customers also cover various fields such as electricity, electronics, semiconductors, automobiles, materials, and automation industries. It will supply products to major domestic companies such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Hyundai as well as Toshiba, NEC, Nidec, Toyota, and Bosch. Once the transaction is opened, there is no company with a replacement technology, so it can be supplied exclusively and continuously.
‘A company that needs precision can’t leave our company’
“I started my business in 1996 and named it the 21st century. It contains the dream of creating the best product in the world and creating the company that wants to work the most in the world. Twenty-six years later, the company has grown into a recognized technology company. In the field of ultra-precision laser processing technology and ultra-precision polishing technology, we have the world’s most advanced technology. My goal is to become a global leader in precision processing using laser. It will be outlined in a decade or so.”
CEO Kim Sung-hwan’s business direction was clear. It was a “global leader in laser precision processing.” The foundation has already been laid. The core technologies of the 21st century are ultra-precision laser processing technology, ultra-precision laser processing system design technology, ELID grinding technology, ultra-precision laser micro-drilling technology, ultra-precision laser nano-polishing technology, and ultra-precision laser nano-polishing system.
The 21st century was able to secure such excellent technologies because of continuous R&D efforts. In December 2019, the laboratory at its headquarters was moved to the Dongtan 2 New City Knowledge Industry Center. In June, it was selected as an excellent corporate research institute designated by the Ministry of Science and ICT in the first half of 2021.
R&D efforts paid off through participation in national R&D projects. It won commercialization-linked technology development project (2018), Gyeonggi-do technology development project (2019), Korea-Germany international technology development project (2019), purchase conditional new product development project (2019), SMEs technology innovation development project (2020), and Korea-Russia overseas cooperation platform construction project (2021).
Through participation in such national R&D projects, it achieved excellent results such as edge implementation through ultra-precision laser irradiation, helical advance drilling machine implementation using ultra-precision laser, and ultra-smooth large-area laser polishing machine implementation. Technology that has never existed in the world has been born.
“It’s a product that can’t be imitated anywhere else, so it can be supplied exclusively. All products become smaller and thinner. In order to play a role in it, the parts must be more precise. In the past, I was able to understand with my eyes, but now I have to understand things that I can’t be seen. Automation facilities are required to produce precise products, and they require precise parts. The only thing that can satisfy this precision is the ultra-precision laser processing.”
CEO Kim Sung-hwan affirms, “There are no competitors.” This means that the competition structure itself cannot be established because the dimension is different.
“Every company competes within a process ranging from 1 to 10 when it comes to making products. It’s a competition over who makes it faster, cheaper, and better. But what if there was a company that developed the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth processes? Will it be a competition? It’s not comparable.”
CEO Kim said, “There will be no company in the future that can chase the 21st century.” He explained the reason as follows.
“There could be a company that’s coming after you. If there’s any equipment on the market. If you’re a smart person, you can implement everything if you bring me equipment. However, there is no such equipment on the market. We make the equipment. Through research and development using government R&D policy funds. It is an equipment that is only available in the 21st century on Earth. Customers who need precision cannot leave the 21st century. There is no other place where such precision can be implemented. That’s why we’re constantly striving to create mechanical equipment that can implement processing techniques and processing techniques that don’t exist in the world.”
‘Question that changed fate.’
His hometown is Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Born in 1971, he was the son of a poor farmer. In junior high school, he was so poor that he was always called to the administrative office because he could not pay tuition and training fees. It was difficult to pack a lunch box. I went to a mechanical engineering high school to learn technology and make money early. I majored in mechanical systems in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The tuition fee was exempted, so I didn’t have to worry, and I was able to eat three meals a day.
I was offered skill training in the first grade. In other words, he is a kind of special trainee for public announcement. When specialists grow up, they will participate in the Skills Olympics. While undergoing skill training, I was able to gain experience in drawing. I got a job with the design skills that I learned. His first job in August 1989 was in Pyeong-dong, behind Suwon Station.
“At that time, the mass production lines of large corporations were almost turning from abroad. Everything, including consumables, is foreign parts. I’ve done a lot of development to localize it. While designing and improving, I was able to improve my understanding of equipment and parts, what parts of the machine are important, and how the machine operates and makes products. I directed and supervised the production site with the drawings I drew. I also managed production, purchasing, and development operations. I was a multiplayer. I worked without work hours, weekends, holidays, or holidays. I learned a lot of skills in a short period of time.”
The product was made as he thought and received favorable reviews from customers. It was fun working. The company has also developed. The company continued to grow even after moving to Yeongtong, Suwon, but its investment was wrong and, to make matters worse, Kia Motors went bankrupt. The CEO of the company fled, and CEO Kim became involved in a large part in organizing the company. In the process, I learned about management, including how to deal with banks. It was like taking management classes in advance for a year and a half.
Since then, he has been in a cutting tool distribution company for a while, but he came out of the idea that it is not his way. He started his business with two colleagues who worked in his first workplace production part. The name was 21st century. It was May 1, 1996. It earned a deposit of 3 million won and a monthly rent of 300,000 won. It was Pyeong-dong, where my first job was. The environment was poor. It was so noisy that I couldn’t hear the opponent’s voice when I called because it was next to the runway where the fighter jet was flying. When it rained in the summer, water had to be pumped out, and when it snowed in the winter, the roof had to be swept away because it was afraid of collapsing. In the meantime, the IMF also experienced it.
Three years later, in 1999, a corporation called 21st Century Craft Co., Ltd. was rebuilt. Three years later, in 2002, he took out a bank loan and bought 500 pyeong of land in Sin-ri, Jeongnam-myeon and built his own factory. The machines were also purchased using technology policy funds. The name of the corporation was changed to the current 21st century.
“By the end of 2003, we had a request from Samsung. It was “Can you make a hole with 80 microphones?” It’s the thickness of my hair. I answered that it is possible because I have developed a lot. That’s what developers do. When you hear what you can’t do, you get motivated to do it and endorphins are secreted. I searched everywhere in Korea, but there was no company with that kind of technology. I turned to overseas. I’ve been to Japan, Switzerland, England, France, Germany and Israel. I could really pierce it. It was the laser that could be drilled quickly while reducing the cost. I learned about lasers while thinking about drilling holes until 2004, and I became confident that lasers are a technology that can overcome the limitations of the processing field. I thought I’d have to introduce laser equipment unconditionally.
‘Life that changes all the time. You have to enjoy the changes.’
In 2004, annual sales were about 700 million won, but Kim suddenly signed a 700 million won contract for equipment.
“It was crazy, wasn’t it? I didn’t even receive an order. I signed the contract because there was a certain possibility. However, when I put in the equipment, I was pushed back by a Japanese joint venture in the order contract. I’ve only been testing equipment for over a year. In the process, you start to see the capabilities of the equipment, the range of use, and applicable items. The materials tested at that time remain in three books. I didn’t have time to sleep. I had to make money to pay for the equipment, and I had to test it.”
Orders flooded in as there were more things that could be done through laser equipment. It was possible to create high added value because it could solve things that could not be solved elsewhere. Customers who did not give orders were able to overcome defects in existing products. It started to gain recognition and made a lot of money. In 2007, he bought 1,800 pyeong of land in Hyangnam and built and relocated a factory in 2009. At that time, I learned that a large number of large companies were expanding overseas. It was implementing a localization strategy in a place where labor costs were low.
“I thought it would be a problem in the future. After walking around a lot, I could see the flow. I’ve been to a place where the big companies we’re dealing with have entered. They built a huge factory in China and the Philippines that really fell backwards. I also thought that we should build a factory in the Philippines.
In 2011, it established a corporation with a capital of $20,000 in PEZA Zone, a free export area in the Philippines. The Korean customer company, which started operating the factory but seemed to give orders, did not give orders. I couldn’t make fun of the factory, so I went all over the Philippines. I learned that there are many PEZA zones, and I also learned that there are many multinational global companies.
“I persuaded them one by one. I can supply precise products quickly and cheaply. It worked, didn’t it? We have a lot of good customers. About two years later, the original customer also gave me an order. In 2013, when semiconductors were in crisis, they acquired a 100% stake in a company called MTE, which announced its intention to sell the company. After acquiring it, MLCC, called laminated ceramic capacitors, was activated. The Korean headquarters was very difficult in 2015 and 2016, but the Philippines was doing well until 2018. It was very profitable. I did another M&A with a semiconductor equipment company called Micron. There are about 120 employees in the Philippines now.”
In 2018, the U.S.-China trade war broke out and the semiconductor market plunged, going through a difficult time. The Philippines is still in a difficult situation. Kim Sung-hwan found a breakthrough. After hearing that a semiconductor company in Europe was moving to the Philippines, it jumped into competition. Other companies were already presenting conditions and waiting for a decision. Kim negotiated in two hours.
“There is no law against death. I received an order for $2.4 million for the starting line. 99% of the production line is ours. The estimated amount is about $30 million. I don’t think you have to worry for the next few years.”
He also took 12 CEO courses. At the age of 35, he started his course at Qinghua University in China, followed by Boston University in the U.S., Waseda University in Japan, and KAIST University. Korea University of Industrial Technology. It includes the World Class CEO Training Course for SMEs, the FKI CEO Course, and the Win-Win Forum Course. CEO Kim is a college student in 2012. Feeling the need to study properly, I entered college after I was over 40.
Kim Sung-hwan, armed with a positive mind, is curious. When I see something new, I get curious. I’m always doing something because I can’t stay still.
“My motto is to enjoy change. It’s also motto of the company. Life is always changing. I’m the one who drives change. I’ll be seen by the staff as a job giver. Hahaha. What I really want to achieve in the rest of my life is to pierce a single ultra-precision microhole. It takes a huge number of ultra-precision holes to get into space. I wish I was happy and all of our 21st century employees were happy. Employees are the biggest assets. I’ll probably be traveling around the world in ten years.”
Reporter Kim Joong-geun.
