Hyosung, opened the 'Carbon-Specialized Start-Up Cultivation Center', a cornerstone of carbon power

Hyosung announced that the opening ceremony of the Carbon-Specialized Start-Up Cultivation Center which would be a corner stone of a carbon power nation and the first anniversary ceremony of the Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center were held in the afternoon of 7th.

This event was attended by Minister of Science, ICT & Future Planning Choi Yang-hi, Governor Song Ha-jin of Jeonbuk, Mayor of Jeonju Kim Seung-soo, Hyosung’s Vice Chairman Lee Sang-woon, Director of the Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center Kim Jin-su, and Director of the Carbon-Specialized Start-Up Cultivation Center Bang Yoon-hyuk.

Vice Chairman Lee Sang-woon said, in the address, “We will create a mecca of carbon industry in Jeollabukdo around the Carbon-Specialized Start-Up Cultivation Center and the Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center and make a role-model case of Creative Economy by taking the lead in vitalizing the regional economy.”

The Carbon-Specialized Start-Up Cultivation Center opened by Hyosung is the only start-up cultivation center established by a Creative Economy Innovation Center out of the 17 nationwide Creative Economy Innovation Centers, and was constructed by Hyosung’s free donation of a part of the land planned to be used for expanding the carbon fiber plant. Hyosung has a plan to nurture 1,000 innovative business founders and 100 innovative small and medium sized carbon-related companies until 2017 through the Carbon-Specialized Start-Up Cultivation Center.

Hyosung appointed Managing Director Bang Yoon-hyuk who is the best expert of Korea in carbon R&D and was the first manager of the carbon fiber plant to the Director of the Carbon-Specialized Start-Up Cultivation Center to be in charge of counselling in the carbon-related technologies which are extremely difficult to be applied.

The start-up and support procedure for companies that moved in the cultivation center has the following 5 stages of 「discovery – review – move-in – commercialization support - start-up」. Anybody who wants carbon-related start-up can knock the door of the Carbon-Specialized Start-Up Cultivation Center to get the counselling.

Particularly, in the stage of commercialization support, complete support will be given including ▲technology support by Hyosung R&D Center and outside institutions, ▲prototype making support, ▲commercialization support through management consulting, ▲marketing support through Hyosung’s domestic and abroad networks and joint participation in major exhibitions, ▲capability support such as education and mentoring, and ▲fund, connection to national projects and difficulties treatment.

In the 500-pyung scale Carbon-Specialized Start-Up Cultivation Center, 20 companies can reside together, and currently 6 companies have moved in. These companies are armed with ideas making good use of such features of carbon fiber that it has 10 times better strength and 7 times better elasticity than steel although its weight is only 1/4 of steel, and that it also has good electric conductivity and is preventive of fire.

The ideas that were successful in or are under commercialization include ▲a carbon fiber heating foot-holder maximizing its electric strengths, ▲a self-radiating safe streetlamp post, ▲an easily detached and replaced modular back-pack using carbon frame, ▲greenhouse cable with outstanding electric conductivity and heating, ▲a pest control agricultural robot that is corrosion preventive and light simultaneously, and ▲development of a new material converging carbon fiber and traditional lacquer.

The Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center opened on November 24th 2014 has played the role of vitalization hub of the Jeollabukdo economy. To discover innovative companies in the fields of ▲carbon, ▲agricultural life science and ▲traditional culture, which are strengths of Jeollabukdo, the center held start-up contest exhibitions twice and is holding the 3rd Start-Up Star Contest Exhibition. The center is currently nurturing a total of 56 companies in the 3 fields.

Out of the ‘carbon value chain’ comprised of 「materials – intermediary products – forming and processing of composite materials – completed products」, the Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center has focused on nurturing the small and medium sized companies dealing with intermediary products and processed products of composite materials which are weak areas of Korea. Representative successful companies include 「CES」 which developed an agricultural heating device warming a greenhouse with carbon fiber heating-wire and 「Hanho Technology」 which is developing a carbon fiber electric scooter easily picked up even by the old and weak. Besides, Hyosung and the Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center supplied 10 buses loaded with a carbon fiber CNG fuel tank made by 「Iljin Composite Materials」 to Jeollabukdo, under the support of Jeollabukdo, and plans to supply additional 10 buses next year.

The center has discovered and supported a number of good companies in agricultural life science, the field in which Jeollabukdo has the highest competitiveness in Korea. 「Myungshin Food」 which developed softly melting traditional sweets ‘Noonsongee’, 「Cheese Myungga」 producing such cheese as specialized to Korean taste, and 「Mountain Mai Fermented Steamed Brown Rice」 producing brown rice fermented for 72 hours may be mentioned out of such companies.

In the field of traditional culture, the center takes it as a goal to nurture traditional beauty as a fusion industry and is supporting innovative companies. The center discovered such companies as 「Myungpoom Hanji Jangpan」 producing floor materials made of Korean traditional paper, 「Ohchil Guchil」 producing products through converging such traditional materials as Korean traditional paper or lacquer and such cutting-edge materials as carbon fiber, and 「Monster Cell」 developing cultural heritages into virtual reality contents and applications.