Gyeonggi Province holds a signing ceremony for the Gyeonggi and University of Texas Innovation Program on October 20 

◇ On October 20, participants including Gyeonggi Governor Nam Kyung-pil and Associate Vice President for Research Robert Peterson at University of Texas pose for a commemorative picture at the signing ceremony held for the 2014 Gyeonggi-UT Innovative Program at the Ramada Hotel in Suwon.

Gyeonggi Province held an export agreement ceremony together with companies who are participating in the Gyeonggi and University of Texas Innovative Program, and shared the results achieved through the program so far. 

On October 20, Gyeonggi Province held a ceremony for the 6^th year (2013 – 2014) export agreement of Gyeonggi-UT Innovation Program at Ramada Hotel in Suwon with over 100 people attending, including Gyeonggi Governor Nam Kyung-pil, Associate Vice President for Research Robert Peterson at University of Texas, and leaders of participating companies.

The ‘Gyeonggi-UT Innovation Program,’ which is an offshore marketing project, provides supports to excellent SMEs in the province with the technology commercialization program and the networking of University of Texas. Since back in 2008, the program has selected 15 companies every year within the province who are seeking to enter the US market, and has provided supports in areas such as technology evaluation, selection and education, and sourcing business partners and consultation.

Governor Nam Kyung-pil said in his congratulatory remark that “During the recent visit to Germany, I stopped over a hidden champion of Germany, a company which is small but strong. Gyeonggi Province also needs a lot more mighty SMEs that are equipped with specialized competitiveness. I sincerely hope that all those companies who are participating in the Gyeonggi-UT Innovative Program become hidden champions of Korea. Gyeonggi Province will do its utmost in providing supports so that the province becomes the land of opportunity, serving as a stepping stone for further growth of many SMEs.”

Associate Vice President for Research Robert Peterson at University of Texas said “Of those similar programs that University of Texas is currently carrying out in many other countries such as India, Mexico and Poland, this innovation program that is being carried out jointly with Gyeonggi Province has produced the best results, and has been received quite well by companies. This program is an opportunity for SMEs to expand throughout the world without worrying about challenges and jumpstarting innovation. I’m confident that it will be an exemplary program with a long-term and sustainable partnership.” 

◇ In his congratulatory remark, Governor Nam Kyung-pil said, “I sincerely hope that all those companies who are participating in the Gyeonggi-UT Innovative Program become hidden champions of Korea. Gyeonggi Province will do its utmost in providing supports so that the province becomes the land of opportunity for many SMEs.”

Of those companies selected for the 6^th year, five companies attended the signing ceremony, and they are: Kwang Technomagnet, JouTec, ES&D, Penta, and Geumnyong. These five companies entered into an agreement with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Element14, Zinger Hardware, Drill King, and Act Global, respectively.

Most of all, based on the support provided by Gyeonggi Province, Kwang Technomagnet, a small company with only two employees and gross sales of KRW 30 million, has accomplished the feat of exporting its own technology to NASA who is acknowledged for having the best technology in the world.

The ‘next generation Work-Holding source technology’ of Kwang Technomagnet, that is to be exported to NASA, is a cutting edge technology made of an extremely strong magnet — powerful enough to pull an object weighing many tons just by an electrical current less than for a second. For the reason that no magnetic force remains after switching off and for its transportability, the technology is being highlighted as an ideal technology for the next generation.

It is known that NASA will use the Kwang Technomagnet’s technology in areas such as space docking (an integral part of the aerospace industry), multistage rockets, and latching devices for spacecraft. Currently, astronauts manually dock a spaceship to a station, and then fasten the bolts. With the Kwang Technomagnet’s technology, however, it can be automatically done using magnetic force.

It is also expected that the risk of explosion will decrease greatly as the problem of damaged bolts and joints, which has been one of the major causes, can be naturally solved by using magnetic force instead.

The agreement Kwang Technomagnet signed with NASA is Space Act Agreement, an agreement for the final verification test stage, on the basis of which a verification test is to be conducted on actual spacecraft. It is expected that if the Kwang Technomagnet’s technology is applied to NASA’s actual spacecraft, the technology will have a great impact on many other related industries as well, including machinery, shipbuilding, heavy industry, railroad, architecture, logistics and the defense industry.

Expectations are also high for Penta Inc. which signed an agreement with a US company, Drill King. Specialized in drills Drill King manufactures and distributes drills and components that are used in construction, mining, and drilling oil. CEO Lee Su-yeong of Penta Inc. said, “We were able to establish a foundation thanks to this support program, and I am so glad to have come this far. I’d like to express my gratitude toward Gyeonggi Province for helping us to make an export agreement with a sound US company. I hope this program continues to offer a breakthrough to SMEs to enter overseas markets.  

After the signing ceremony on that day, UMT Labs, a manufacturer of smartphone screen protectors, delivered a donation of KRW 10 million to foster the export industry of Gyeonggi Province in appreciation for all the proactive supports the province has provided.

UMT Labs, a company which developed ultra-protective films for smart device screen, was selected for the last year’s program and received a help from University Texas through the program. UMT Labs was introduced to Speck, a subsidiary of Samsonite recording sales of U$100 million by manufacturing and distributing smartphone cases, and concluded an agreement with the company to supply its products across the US. With the agreement, UMT Labs expects their sales to jump to as much as KRW 1.2 billion this year from 0.4 billion last year.

CEO Sin Hyeong-cheol of UMT Labs expressed his appreciation by saying, “It has been just two years since our company was founded. Thanks to the help of the UT program, we were able to make a supply agreement with a leading enterprise in the US on the basis of a quality test only. The agreement has been a sound foundation for us to continue to enter the US market.”

In addition, Hwiil Inc. and DGS Inc. (of the 1^st year program) presented their successful cases of reaching supply agreements with multinational enterprises as well as their know-hows and sales strategies.

In the 6th year (2013-2014) of the Gyeonggi-UT Innovation Program, a total of 14 export agreements have been made, and contracts, worth 20.5 million dollars, are in negotiation. The province has supported a total of 81 companies since 2008, resulting in 41.57 million dollars in export sales and creation of 324 jobs. 

◇ CEO Sin Hyeong-cheol of UMT Labs delivers a donation of KRW 10 million to the head of Economy and Investment Office, Choi Hyeon-deok.

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201410201446007055C052&s_code=C052