Hempel Co., Ltd. (CEO Kim Jung-hwan), a company specializing in indoor air quality, announced that Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Hong Nam-ki attended the ‘On-Site Communication Meeting with Export SMEs’ held on January 9 at Hempel’s headquarters in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the ‘On-Site Communication Meeting with Export SMEs’ serves as a forum for listening to the difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises and providing feedback. Hempel was selected as the first site to be visited in consideration of the importance of export vitality. Hempel is a company that Deputy Prime Minister Hong visited in November 2018 while preparing for his confirmation hearing as the nominee for Minister of Economy and Finance.
Ahead of the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Hong toured Hempel’s showroom and production lines. In the showroom guestbook, he wrote: ‘While Hempel holds unrivaled competitiveness in the ventilation system market, today I see here Korea’s first zero-energy building certified factory. I feel ‘the power of Hempel,’ which accomplishes anything it sets its mind to. I hope Hempel will grow into a super-strong company and become a cornerstone enterprise for national development.’
At the main meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Hong summarized the reasons for his return visit to Hempel in three points. First is the power behind Hempel’s continued growth. Hempel’s revenue increased compared to the previous year; in particular, its exports grew from the previous 740,000 dollars to 1 million dollars, and its workforce also expanded. In addition, with a new investment of 5 billion won, the company completed Korea’s first zero-energy building certified factory. Hempel’s first zero-energy factory in Korea is a good example worth benchmarking at a time when the capacity to prepare for climate change is needed. Deputy Prime Minister Hong assessed that Hempel’s growth in exports and employment over the past year likely made a significant contribution to our economy, and stated that the government would push forward with support measures for SMEs to boost economic vitality.
The second reason is to compare the changes in the business operating environment over the past year at the same company’s site. During his first visit, Hempel had proposed various opinions on the business operating environment, including the minimum wage, the 52-hour workweek system, export support, support for the joint use of R&D equipment, and a recommendation to abolish the promissory note system. This visit was intended to check whether there had been any changes as of the present time. Regarding the overseas export marketing support measures that Hempel’s executives and staff had recommended about a year earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Hong noted that a support budget had been included in this year’s economic policy direction, adding that this year’s overseas export marketing support budget had been set at 511.2 billion won—up 14.4% from last year—providing more than 70,000 opportunities to small, medium, and mid-sized enterprises. Specifically, this year’s budget for export financing support has been set at 240.5 trillion won, an increase of 23.5 trillion won over last year, and in particular, support will be provided within a separate scope so that 86 trillion won can be supplied to small and medium-sized export firms. Special guarantee loans based on export contracts were also provided in the amount of 50 billion won last year, but this year the figure increased to 200 billion won. Although the special guarantee loan is a new type of loan requiring risk management, so the budget increase has not been able to gain much speed, it is expected to be usable this year thanks to the increased budget.
The third reason is to serve as an occasion for the head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance to renew the initial resolve of the relevant departments and to pledge an economic rebound and leap forward this year. As the manufacturing and export industries are important on a national level, it was a time to encourage the relevant export SMEs. Hempel is a company whose exports grew by more than 30% compared to the previous year, and it is contributing to the government’s New Southern Policy through measures such as expanding exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
Regarding this year’s outlook for the export market, Deputy Prime Minister Hong forecast that while there would be differences by industry, exports would grow by about 3% in overall volume. He remarked, “Considering that the overall economic situation is better than last year and that government support is being carried out in various ways, we can expect it actively,” adding, “From the government’s standpoint, we have increased the budget significantly within the limits that financial resources allow, so it is important for small, medium, and mid-sized enterprises to find and make the most of the benefits best suited to their own businesses.” In particular, he also revealed that whereas last year the focus was on the New Southern Policy, this year emphasis would be placed on the New Northern Policy targeting Russia, China, Eastern Europe, and other regions.
Meanwhile, Hempel is a strong, small-but-competitive company that supplies ventilation fans and air-purifying ventilators (heat exchangers) to the housing market, holding a domestic market share of over 60%. It supplies products such as the Hugentte bathroom multi-function ventilation fan and the Huven ceiling-type heat exchanger to major construction companies, and strives to put into practice its corporate mission: ‘We contribute to human health through air and energy technology.’ At a time when the government is proposing various measures to encourage zero-energy construction for the reduction of greenhouse gases and energy savings, Hempel’s first zero-energy new headquarters and third factory in Korea are symbolic buildings that reflect the trends of the times. They are characterized by reduced heating and cooling loads through passive design element technologies and heat-recovery ventilation devices, as well as improved energy efficiency through the use of renewable energy via the installation of solar panels and a remote metering system. In addition, Hempel’s ‘Huven’ ventilation system has been installed in the EZ House (located in Nowon-gu, Seoul), which is drawing attention as a zero-energy home, improving the indoor air quality for its residents.