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Growth strategy of a Korean lighting company

Techen secures competitiveness by introducing automation equipment

Jung-Bae Kim | 기사입력 2021/02/18 [04:44]

Growth strategy of a Korean lighting company

Techen secures competitiveness by introducing automation equipment

Jung-Bae Kim | 입력 : 2021/02/18 [04:44]

 

 

▲The head office and factory of Techen Co., Ltd. that installed solar power generation

facilities on the roof of the building. (Photo=Jung-Bae Kim) © World Lighting News.

 

 

Written by : Jung-Bae Kim. Publisher & Editor. Lighting Critic.


 It is not too much to say that the current international competitiveness of Korean lighting companies has reached the bottom level. The core competitiveness required for the

lighting business, such as technology, quality, price, and marketing, is significantly lower

than those of foreign companies such as China.
 
However, TechN Co., Ltd., the first generation LED lighting company in Korea, succeeded

in securing original technology, factory automation, and'high quality' based on the'three

arrows' of reducing production costs. . These achievements are a driving force for Techen

to actively increase its exports to the Middle East and other overseas markets these days. <Editor's Note>
 
‘Silver nano fin heat dissipation technology was developed in-house and patented

Secure price competitiveness by introducing automation of production facilities

By acquiring the “Middle East Certification”, which has only four companies in the world,
 
Among the overseas lighting companies that participated in the '2018 Guangzhou

International Lighting Exhibition' held in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China in June

2018, one of the most noticeable overseas lighting companies was 'Fumagalli

Illuminacione' from Italy.

 

Among the participating companies in the ‘2018 Guangzhou International Lighting

Exhibition’, which is close to 3,000, there is only one reason why “Pumagali” received

attention.

 

This is because despite being a “European company” with headquarters and factories in Italy, the price of the product was only the price of a Chinese-made lighting fixture. On the

other hand, the quality of the lighting fixtures remained unchanged, as it was "the quality of the lighting fixtures in the world."

 

In fact, “the price is at the level of China and the quality is at the level of Italy” is the

“ultimate goal” of lighting companies in advanced lighting countries such as the United

States, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain.

 

If only that can be done, lighting companies in countries like the US, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain will be able to compete with Chinese lighting companies. And it may be

possible to go back to the "times" when these lighting companies dominated the global

lighting market.


However, 'Pumagali' achieved 'that dream'. And made-in-Italian lighting fixtures with a

price tag of genuine Chinese-made products were made and brought to the forefront of

the Chinese lighting market, the “Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition”.

 

However, there are lighting companies in Korea that have achieved the formula of “the

price is the level of Chinese products and the quality is the level of Italian products.” The

difference, however, is that the goal achieved by this company is'Chinese-made products

for price and Korean-made products for quality'.

 

The protagonist of this ‘story’ is Techen Co., Ltd. (CEO : Young-Seop-ri), the first-

generation LED lighting company in Korea, located in the national industrial complex of

Dalseong-gun, Daegu, Korea.

 

Korean government agencies, public companies, public institutions, local governments,

construction companies, electric construction companies, urban landscape companies,

public design companies, landscape companies that purchase and use LED street lights,

security lights, tunnel lights, and landscape lighting devices now. It is hard to find a

company that does not know Techen.

 

And the perception of techen that these demanding institutions have can be summarized

in just two sentences. First, it is a company that has the'source technology' that

fundamentally solves the heating problem of LED lighting in Korea.

 

Second, Techen's LED lighting fixtures are of the highest level in performance, quality, and design. Here is another new nickname for Techen. It is one of the'lighting companies with the largest production facilities, automation facilities and solar power generation facilities

in Korea'.

 

However, Chairman Young-seop Lee, founder and owner of TechN, is aiming for a bigger goal than this. In short, it is to become a “global lighting company with original

technology” standing on the ranks of global lighting companies such as Philips, Osram

and GE.

 

In fact, when we consider the reality of the Korean lighting industry and the situation of

lighting companies that we often see in Korea these days, the “new goal” of Techn and

Chairman Young-seop Lee is not easily understood.

 

Many Chinese companies have given up on domestic production and started OEM

production in China because they were forced to compete in technology, quality and

price. In addition, there are a considerable number of lighting companies that import

Chinese-made parts, assemble them, and put them on the market.


However, if you take a closer look at TechN's true nature, you will understand that the

goal of becoming a world-class lighting company with original technology may be

achievable by TechN and Chairman Lee Young-seop. Because for TechN, such a grand

vision and goal This is because there are'three arrows' that can be realized.

 

Techn's first arrow : original technology


TechN is one of the'first-generation LED lighting companies' in Korea established in May

2009. Of course, there are some LED lighting companies in Korea that started the LED

lighting business before Techen.

 

However, many of them have been shut down for reasons such as lack of funds, lack of

technology, product quality, or marketing failure. Among the companies that have

survived so far, it is difficult to find a company that has succeeded in expanding its

business like Techen.
 
What is the reason why TechN was able to achieve the two goals of survival and growth

among “first generation LED lighting companies”? Many people in the lighting industry

point to the fact that TechN had the original technology that fundamentally solved the

heat problem of LED lighting unlike other companies.
 
In fact, TECHN Co., Ltd., established in May 2009, independently developed the'heat c

onduction pin insertion type heat dissipation technology', and acquired high efficiency

No. 1 LED street light, new technology (NET) certification and self-quality assurance of

green technology certification. Focused attention.
 
This technology is a heat transfer medium (metal heat conduction fin specially processed

to increase the heat transfer cross-sectional area, and the material is silver (Ag) or copper (Cu) with high thermal conductivity. It is a feature and advantage of maximizing heat

dissipation effect by rapidly discharging heat into the air by inserting a).
 
In this regard, Lee Young-seop, CEO of Techn, said, “When LED lights are turned on, 30% of the total power consumption is converted to light and radiates to the front, and 70% is radiated to the rear of the LED as heat. The heat generated so much is the cause of

shortening the performance and life of the LED.

 

Therefore, it is important how to quickly dissipate the enormous heat generated from the LED. This technology is the heat dissipation technology of LED lighting. Therefore, from

the beginning, we focused on developing technology to solve the heat (heat) problem,

which is the weakness of LED lighting. As a result, he explained, “We were able to

independently develop “heat-conducting fin-inserted heat dissipation technology”.

 

Next, Chairman Lee Young-seop said, “These original technologies brought about the

difference in product performance and quality, and became the driving force in the market for demanding organizations and companies to trust and purchase TechN's products. “The difference in technology became a decisive factor between the success or failure of the

LED lighting business in the end and the fate of the company.”
 
Techn's second arrow : product quality improvement and factory automation


No matter how much the original technology
exists, if the product competitiveness factors such as

performance, quality, and design of the finished product made by applying the technology are not

superior to those of other companies, it will inevitably be ignored in the market.
 
In this respect, Techn has continued to invest and endeavor to improve product performance and

quality and design development from the beginning of its inception. Until now, TechN's investment in technology development and product quality and design level improvement alone amounts to billions of billions. These efforts and investments of TECHN Co., Ltd. contributed decisively to market

evaluation and sales improvement of excellent performance, reliable quality, and excellent design.
 
In fact, TechN's LED lighting fixtures, which were produced by applying their own heat dissipation

technology, were evaluated to have significantly improved the light efficiency and lifespan of LED

lighting products by more than 30%, respectively, compared to existing products.
 
In this regard, on November 28, 2015, the Public Procurement Service conducted a review result of

the Public Procurement Subcommittee (Quality Quality Assurance Product) under Article 15

(Designation of Self-Quality Assurance Products), Article 15 (Quality Quality Assurance Products)

General Section-3031, November 20, 2015) has been announced.
 
Meanwhile, Techen's flagship products are ▲200W module LED tunnel light (Product name: TCN-TMA-200) ▲150W module LED street light (Product name: TCN-SNM-150) ▲600W built-in LED security

light (Product name: TCN-GND-60 ) ▲200W explosion-proof LED floodlight (product name: TCN-FPC-200) ▲300W high-power LED floodlight (product name: TCN-FRC-300).
 
Among them, 200W module LED tunnel light (Product name: TCN-TMA-200) is a product that adopts standard module for road construction, and adopts Techen's new technology, heater pipe (Patent No. 10-1501363), and weighs 40 compared to other companies. %, and the thermal conductivity improved by 70%.
 
The 150W module LED street light (TCN-SNM-150) adopted the standard module of Korea

Expressway Corporation, and adopted Techen's new technology heater pipe (Patent No. 10-1501363). It is a street light with the latest sense of streamlined style, and the weight is 40% lighter than other products. Angle can be adjusted in multiple steps. With one-touch opening and closing, it has

excellent maintenance and repair functions.
 
The 600W built-in LED security light (product name: TCN-GND-60) improved light efficiency by 30%

by applying a radiating fin. With one-touch maintenance, the maintenance function is excellent. It has a multi-level angle adjustment function, and a dedicated lens is used for each application.
 
The 200W explosion-proof LED floodlight (TCN-FPC-200) is designed in consideration of explosion-

proof to ensure safety. Installation is simple due to the integrated structure of SMPS. The streamlined style prevents foreign matter from attaching. Also, dust is prevented by special design.
 
The 300W high-power LED floodlight (product name:TCN-FRC-300) is a product capable of lighting a large area with a large-capacity design. It has excellent luminous flux maintenance performance, and has expanded the place of use by adopting a variety of lenses.
 
Recognizing the excellence of these technologies, TechN has ▲New Technology Certification, Green

Technology Certification, New Intellectual Award (2012) ▲Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy

Award, Korea Technology Award (2013) ▲Korea Lighting Award (Product Development Grand Prize) , Awarded a number of awards, such as the Award for Merit for Commercialization of New Technology, Award for Education Donation (2014) ▲Engineer Award, Beautiful Taxpayer Award, Korea Lighting

Award (Social Contribution Category), and President Award for New Technology Development (2016).

 

Techn's third arrow: Factory automation and production cost reduction


Here's a dilemma that lighting companies around the world are facing all over the world. That is,

"Just because the original technology is present and the product's performance, quality, and design

are excellent, does not mean that a product is sold well." To put it plainly, it means, "No matter how good the technology and products are, if the price is high, they are not sold."
 
In this regard, Chairman Young-seop Lee explained, “The first factor that determines whether to

purchase a product, regardless of domestic buyers or overseas buyers, is'price'.”

However, TechN has already secured price competitiveness in the domestic and overseas markets.

This is the reason why we can say "the price is made in China and the quality is made in Korea."

Chairman Lee Young-seop also said, "Techn's products have already reached Chinese-made prices,"

and revealed the vision that "We will achieve higher price competitiveness than Chinese-made

products through improved productivity and cost reduction in the future."
 
As such, what was the secret of TechN's ability to achieve price competitiveness comparable to that

of China? The first are'economy of scale' and'factory automation'. Here, “economy of scale” means

maximizing production manpower and productivity per unit of time by effectively and efficiently

arranging production facilities in large factories.

 

To this end, on March 16, 2016, Techenrelocated a new large-scale modern factory to 99 National

Sandan-daero 50-gil (Ngam-ri San73), Gu-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Daegu. Techen's new factory was

built with an annual floor space of 4200 pyeong on a site of 3200 pyeong, of which 3,000 pyeong is a manufacturing facility and 1,200 pyeong is an auxiliary facility.
 
The new factory is fully equipped with production facilities such as automatic lighting characteristic inspection equipment, automatic aging equipment, automatic heat conduction pin inserter, and SMD

equipment.

 

These production facilities are fully automated and are operated with only a few personnel. This

production method is drawing attention as the most ideal “smart factory” model because it maximizes productivity and minimizes cost compared to the method in which most of the work is done by hand with the input of manpower.

 

The second is the reduction of production costs. In this regard, Techn Co., Ltd. introduced solar

power generation facilities (450Kw/h) on the roof of the building and on the roof of the ground

parking lot when constructing the new factory. It also has a renewable power generation & ESS

system (150KWH) and rainwater (rainwater) recycling facilities (300Ton).

 

TechN Co., Ltd. uses this facility to regenerate and use electric energy and water, and the surplus

electric energy is sold to the Korea Electric Power Corporation (300KWH).

For example, all of the electricity produced by solar power generation facilities built in the form of a

roof on the ground parking lot is used as energy used by the headquarters offices and factories.

Thanks to that, TechN Co., Ltd. does not spend even 1 won of electricity required to operate the headquarters office and factory. Rather, electricity (300KWH) produced by the photovoltaic power

generation facility installed on the roof of the factory is sold to the KEPCO and receives monthly

electricity bills.

 

Water from a rainwater (rainwater) recycling facility with a capacity of 300 tons that connects the rooftop of the building and the basement is used to cover the water required by the plant, so there is

no expenditure for the use of tap water. The savings in electricity and tap water usage are

contributing greatly to TechN's reduction in production costs and increase in product price

competitiveness.

 

Do everything you can to'strengthen competitiveness'


What can we find out of TechN's efforts like this? It is the fact that TECHN Co., Ltd. is solving the task of 'strengthening competitiveness' from a wide variety of perspectives.

 

Techn Co., Ltd. secured the core technology of competitiveness and improved product

competitiveness by innovating product performance, quality, and design. The production facilities

were enlarged and the production facilities were automated to increase productivity, and it gave

confidence that it could satisfy enough orders from overseas buyers.

 

In addition, by introducing solar power generation facilities and rainwater recycling facilities,

production costs were reduced by achieving zero (0) electricity and tap water expenditure when

others are worried about electricity costs. The result of these efforts is the ideal competitiveness of

‘the price of the product is at the level of Chinese and the quality of the product is at the level of

Korean’.

 

Now, Techen Co., Ltd. is actively expanding overseas exports by leveraging these “three arrows”. As a close example, recently, a country in the Middle East acquired certification for “LED lighting”.

Currently, it is known that only three companies in the world have obtained this certification, which is famous for being tricky: Philips, OSRAM, and Techen.

 

Taking advantage of this “Middle East Certification” acquisition, Techn Co., Ltd. is exporting 15,000

LED lighting products to Middle Eastern countries every month.
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