Jinsung Corporation (CEO Kim Jin-sook), a manufacturer specializing in elevator parts, announced its intention to diversify its business with a large-scale factory expansion at the end of last year and declared itself as a 'powerhouse in the elevator parts industry' with an aggressive sales strategy.

Jinsung Corporation, which completed the expansion of two factories in September 2012, more than doubled the size of its previous factory to 6,369㎡ in size and 2,310㎡ in size, added wire rope cutting processing facilities, link chain molding and welding automatic lines, and equipped new facilities to batch-produce compensation chains for all elevator models from mild steel wire to finished products. As a result, the company has been able to improve the quality and reliability of its products and strengthen its market competitiveness by producing 100% of the production process that had been partially outsourced.

In particular, in 2010, the company completed the development and mass production of ECOSYS (Elevator Compensation Optimum System), an optimization system for elevator compensation cables developed in-house after upgrading to the next level, and mid-range compensation chains, Becum Chain and EcoFlex Cable, and entered the mass production system, enabling it to gain an edge over other companies not only in wire ropes, the main production part, but also in compensation chains.

Jinsung plans to 'popularize' the manila-inserted chain, which was previously outsourced or relied on manual production, by replacing it with the ecosys chain. "In the case of manila-inserted chains, there were uneven quality caused by manual work, difficulties in mass production and inventory accumulation, and at the same time, manufacturers are increasingly demanding an alternative model to manila-inserted chains that generate serious noise during operation," said Kim Jin-sook. "Now, we can mechanize and automate the ecosys chain production line to lower the cost to the level of manila-inserted chains and increase the quality."

In terms of daily production, one person can produce 150 meters of manila-inserted chain, while one machine can produce more than 200 meters of ecosys chain with an automated line. In addition, it is possible to produce more with less than half of the existing labor force, which is expected to speed up the spread of ecosys chain. Currently, the company is focusing on steadily improving quality by conducting durability tests, friction fracture tests, and proper curvature tests at the test tower in the factory.

The ecosys chain, which adopts high-strength polyester yarn that has passed a million breaking tests without any problems, reduces chain noise between runs by more than 10% compared to manila-inserted chains, and can produce various colors and patterns depending on the braiding method of the covered synthetic fiber, which is especially advantageous for applications such as observation elevators.

The product began development in 2007 as a braided sheathed chain, and in 2009, it was selected as a government project for technology innovation development and received a government subsidy, leading to the current form of Ecosys Chain in 2010. Since then, as a result of unremitting efforts to verify components, the number of elevators installed with ecosys chain from May 2010 to the end of December 2012 was about 11,520, accounting for 40% of the total market.

Currently, it has been established as Jinsung Corporation's 'filial business' with annual sales of about 2 billion won, and in recognition of its technological prowess, it has already registered two related patents in 2011, including a PCT (international patent application) for the ecosys chain.

In addition, the compensation chains that Jinsung is ambitiously developing and preparing for production and supply are the vacuum-extruded synthetic resin medium and high-speed chains, 'Vecuum Chain' (for elevators with speeds of 105 to 120 meters per minute) and 'EcoFlex Cable' (for high-speed elevators with speeds of 120 to 180 meters per minute). This is good news for manufacturers looking for quality components at affordable prices, as they can replace mid- to high-speed chains that currently rely entirely on imports. Currently, both the Becum chain and EcoFlex cable are being tested at Hyundai Elevator's high-speed test tower since the second half of last year to ensure high quality and zero defects before mass production, and some sites have been installed.

The biggest feature of the product is its durability. "Since it uses 100% new synthetic resin (PVC) for the primary and secondary sheaths surrounding the chain like European high-speed cables, there is no cracking or bursting of the chain during operation after installation and no defect rate, so it boasts high quality and long life," Kim said.

The company adopts only PVC raw materials that meet eco-friendly ROHS certification standards and uses only POSCO mild steel wire rods that have undergone a wet acid treatment process to prevent corrosion, and although the cost of raw materials is high, it has greatly reduced production costs by having a system that can produce all materials that go into the product at once, including link chain molding, welding, and extrusion. However, in the case of Chinese and other products, the inner part of the chain is filled with recycled PVC and only the outer part uses new materials, causing impurities in the synthetic resin material to get stuck in the coated PVC during operation.    

"In the extrusion process, double extrusion is performed, but other companies first fill the inside with recycled PVC to reduce raw material costs, so foreign substances such as PP and PE may be mixed, and secondly, a layer is formed with the new PVC extruded on the surface, which is inappropriate for the manufacture of compensation parts for elevators with the characteristics of repeated bending movement." Kim emphasized, "As a manufacturer of elevator parts that deal with human life, the manufacture of defective parts must be eliminated.

Jinsung Corporation's main product is wire rope. It has been supplying wire ropes to leading domestic elevator manufacturers for nearly 20 years since 1996, and as of the end of last year, about 93,600 elevators were installed and in operation. Considering that there were about 470,000 elevators installed in Korea as of the end of December 2012, Jinsung Corporation's market share for this component is unrivaled, accounting for a quarter of the total.

Wire rope is a component that needs to be replaced periodically between 3 to 7 years due to wear and tear caused by friction with the sheave and breakage caused by physical force. Although the volume of new installations has been declining due to the recent downturn in the construction economy, the overall wire rope market is expected to increase due to the expansion of the replacement and remodeling market, as the number of elevators installed in the mid-1990s due to the explosive increase in new city construction is passing the 20-year replacement cycle.

In response to this, Jinsung Corporation is striving to strengthen the competitiveness of its customers by reducing on-site work time during maintenance and replacement work by completing and delivering modular work for each elevator at the factory, and is also pursuing safety for construction workers by pre-working dangerous factors at the factory.

Meanwhile, Jinsung Corporation has developed link chains for automobile spare wheel carriers (SWC) and has newly expanded the link chain molding and welding automatic line to create new sales related to the auto parts industry. Jinsung Corporation, which has signed a transaction contract with Hyundai Motor Co.'s primary supplier, expects the market demand for chain blocks and auxiliary chains to develop in the future, given Hyundai Motor Co.'s strong commercial vehicle exports and domestic market share.

In particular, the company has applied for SQ certification, a quality certification system for suppliers of Hyundai Motor Company, and is awaiting evaluation in May, so it is expected to capture a high share of the SWC link chain market with high quality competitiveness.

"Link chain is a specialized part with 20 to 40 rings welded in just one meter, and consistent quality control of voltage, current, pressurization, pressurization time, holding time, and cooling time is key, "Unlike the existing vertical butt welding machine, the horizontal butt welding machine built early last year has a small scatter of breaking strength, enabling the production of products with uniform quality, and the history of welding conditions at each welding point is managed electronically, which will affect the quality of the elevator compensation chain." He explained, "Unlike the existing vertical butt welding machine, the horizontal butt welding machine built early last year has a small scatter of breaking strength, enabling the production of products with uniform quality.    

Currently, Jinsung Corporation is working on research and development of new and complementary products in cooperation with Hyundai Elevator Co. In particular, the company has jointly carried out two government projects with Chungbuk National University in 2011 and 2012, serving as a good example of local industry-academia collaboration.

We look forward to creating new and alternative demands in the elevator parts market and promoting overseas expansion of new products from the second half of this year, with the goal of achieving 20 billion won in sales by 2015.