The Italian company Walvoil, specializing in manufacturing industrial valves, will move into the industrial complex in Oseong, Pyeongtaek, which is an exclusive complex for foreign-invested companies.

According to Gyeonggi Provincial Government, Walvoil, which had committed to invest US$3.5 million(approximately 3.5 billion won) in Oseong, Pyeongtaek to build a factory that will manufacture special industrial hydraulic control valves, held a groundbreaking ceremony on the 20th. The construction is scheduled for completion by October of this year.

In 2005, Walvoil established a company in Korea to assemble and sell hydraulic valves. Now with the construction of the new facility, Walvoil will be equipped with a factory to manufacture its products. Thirty new jobs are expected to be created.

Walvoil was established in 1973 and now has branch offices in 8 countries, including the US and France. With a 40 year history and sales reaching 199.5 billion won (2012), Walvoil is a small giant in the valve producing industry.

In June of last year, Gyeonggi Provincial Government sent an investment promotion delegation to Europe to sign an investment MOU with Walvoil. From then on, Gyeonggi continued to provide administrative support to make the groundbreaking possible.

Walvoil said, “The technical skills of the skilled workers in Korea are higher compared to other countries, making it possible to reduce the cost by more than 20%. We are also planning to develop new products that will integrate the advanced IT technology of Korea”.

Hyun-Do Kang, Director of Investment Promotion Division at Gyeonggi Provincial Government, said, “Walvoil is our first successful case of finding and attracting foreign investment from Europe’s small yet strong technology-based companies. We will continue to actively attract technology-based small giants from Europe.”