[Running towards the future] Youngdo Velvet ‘From a textile company to a high value-added IT materials company’

Textile, a traditional industry, exquisitely met with IT to create new added value.

Gumi Youngdo Velvet (CEO Lee Chung-ryeol) is reborn as a representative convergence company that has transformed textiles into high value-added IT materials through a change of thinking.
 

As demand for velvet increased, the company also rode the wave of growth. After winning the 10 million dollar export tower in 1995, the 10 million dollar export tower in 2006 and the 30 million dollar export tower in 2010. At the time, Youngdo Velvet Chairman Ryu Byung-seon (current CEO Lee Choong-ryeol’s mother) also received the Presidential Award and the National Medal of Merit (Pomegranate Medal) in recognition of his contribution to developing domestic velvet into a world-class product.

Youngdo Velvet solidified its position in the global market as a luxury velvet brand called Three Eagle, but did not stop there. Since 1997, research on applying velvet as a material for industrial parts as well as for clothing has begun. In other words, it has begun to open up a new market to which velvet can be applied.

The transformation into IT materials began in 2003. It started to develop rubbing cloth for LCD using velvet material. There were many technical challenges to be solved before textile companies developed IT materials. Since the velvet for rubbing cloth needs to be twice as dense as the velvet for general clothing, it went through a lot of trials and errors.

The development of Loving Cloth gained momentum as it was ed as a part material technology development project by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy in 2006 and received 6 billion won in funding. In the end, Youngdo Velvet succeeded in developing a rubbing cloth for LCD processing in collaboration with Hyperflex, a flexible circuit board company, in mid-2008.

At that time, the LCD rubbing cloth was a product made of rayon material developed by Akihara of Japan, which dominated the world market for 20 years. However, the Loving Cloth independently developed by Youngdo Velvet was the worlds first acetate material. Compared to Japanese products, the process is simpler and the price is cheaper, but the LCDs viewing angle, brightness, color reproduction, and touch feel were evaluated to be superior.

After being first applied to the LG Display process, the developed Loving Cloth was recognized for its excellence and began to be exported around the world. The superior color and touch sensitivity of the current Apple iPad LCD panel is because the companys rubing cloth is applied.

Youngdo Velvets LCD Loving Cloth currently occupies 10% of the global market, but plans to raise it to 50% within the next few years. This year, sales are expected to increase by 5 billion won to 40 billion won from last year. In particular, sales of Lovingpo are expected to double from last year to KRW 5 billion.

We also plan to accelerate research and development. Half of the research personnel are currently conducting research to improve the performance of next-generation displays, such as improving the weaving and processing technology of rubbing cloth. It is concentrating its efforts on developing new products that remove foreign substances not only in displays but also in semiconductor processes.

In line with the companys growth, Youngdo Velvet recently joined hands with the Gumi Corporate Doctor Center to prepare a growth coaching roadmap to grow into a mid-sized company. It plans to grow into a company that produces the worlds best Loving Cloth through consultation at the attending physician center.

“We plan to respond aggressively and flexibly to the IT field based on our 53-year-old unrivaled technology in the velvet field,” said President Lee Chung-ryeol.
 

Gumi = Reporter Jeong Jae-hoon jhoon@etnews.com