Hwaseung Becomes 'Industrial Rubber Leader' from a shoe company

Having started making rubber shoes in Busan in the 1950s, the company stands tall as one of the world's leading industrial rubber producers. Having entered the auto parts industry using rubber beyond shoes, the company is supplying products not only to Hyundai Motor and Kia but also to leading global mobility companies such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and General Motors. The main character is Hwaseung Corporation, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.

Hwaseung, who has become an industrial rubber 巨 at a shoe company, said unexpectedly that "rubber is not a technology that anyone can make" at Hwaseung Corporation's Seoul office in Yeouido on Wednesday. "Thanks to decades of accumulated know-how, we have secured more than 2,000 types of rubber mixing technologies," Huh said. "We are expanding not only into automobiles but also into various fields such as energy generation and defense industries." He showed his pride as a "tech company."

Hwaseung Corporation, a listed company in the securities market, posted KRW 1.5853 trillion in sales and KRW 43.1 billion in operating profit last year. In the first half of this year, the company recorded KRW 835.5 billion in sales and KRW 39.2 billion in operating profit on the back of strong automobile sales. Compared to the same period last year, sales and operating profit increased by about 11 percent and 4.5 times.

Rubber is largely divided into general-purpose rubber used for tires and special rubber used in chemical products. Hwaseung Corporation is the unrivaled No. 1 special rubber industry in Korea. Special rubber has to maintain elasticity even in high temperature of over 200 degrees Celsius. Hwaseung Corporation supplies self-made products or materials that can be made except for tires among rubber products that are used in automobiles. Its main products include sealing products (weather strips) that prevent external noise, rainwater and dust from entering the vehicle, and rubber hose products that deliver various oils and hydraulic sources to major automobile devices.

Thanks to its outstanding technological prowess, Hwaseung has recently diversified its business into defense industry. "It produces and supplies sound absorbers as one of the stealth functions to prevent naval submarines from being exposed to enemy forces," Huh said. "We are localizing Surion helicopter fuel tanks with rubber." Huh explained that by replacing the previous parts of steel with rubber products, it can lighten the weight and increase the capacity.

Hwaseung Corporation's ambitious new material is TPE. TPE is attracting attention as a rubber alternative material with both soft touch and recyclable plastic properties. As the material is easy to mold, it does not require additional chemicals such as additives, contains fewer harmful substances such as environmental hormones, and can be recycled 100 percent than ordinary rubber products, making it an eco-friendly material. Not only has it been developed by itself, but it is also mass-produced and used in the production process.

Huh, who had a relationship with Hwaseung in 1985, is set to mark his 40th anniversary. "We will become a leading company in the global market based on our accumulated technology," Huh said.

Source: Korea Economic Co., Ltd. (https://www.hankyung.com/article/2023100951581)