Robit, one of the world’s top three drilling machine manufacturers, has become the first Finnish company to open a plant in a foreign-exclusive industrial complex in Gyeonggi Province.

Gyeonggi Province announced that Robit Korea, Ltd., held a completion ceremony on February 8 for its new plant, constructed for the manufacture and export of drilling machines, in the Jangan 2 Foreign Investment Zone of Hwaseong City.

Gyeonggi Province and Robit signed an agreement last September on the investment of USD 10 million (foreign direct investment) at the company’s head office in Tampere, Finland.

Robit is one of the world’s top three leading drilling machine companies and has the third highest market share in Korea. The company also participated in the construction of infrastructure for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.

The newly opened plant will function as the company’s Asia and Pacific regional headquarters, as well as a base for expanding business in the Korean market and reinforcing cooperation with Korean partner companies in the metropolitan area.

International Cooperation Bureau Director General Kim Hyun-soo said, “I hope that more Nordic SMEs will advance into Gyeonggi Province following the success of Robit. We will actively promote the diversification of investment zones to support their advancement.”

Gyeonggi Province has actively engaged in the attraction of strong high-tech SMEs of northern Europe, which is emerging as a new region for the inducement of foreign investment in addition to major regions including the US, Japan, and Germany.

Of particular note, a working-level mission was dispatched to Nordic countries including Sweden, Estonia, and Latvia at the end of last year to present successful cases of foreign investment and introduce the investment environment of Gyeonggi Province.