Nurturing Hidden Champions

Samsung Electronics’ Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun (6th from left in front) poses for a ceremony to select this year’s valuable companies at Samsung Digital City in Suwon at Feb. 25, together with representatives of ten selected firms.
Samsung Electronics’ Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun (6th from left in front) poses for a ceremony to select this year’s valuable companies at Samsung Digital City in Suwon at Feb. 25, together with representatives of ten selected firms.

 

Samsung Electronics selected ten business partners on Feb. 25 as this year’s most valuable companies. The selected firms include Pavonine, Bumjin, A-Tech Solution, Dong Yang E&P, DAP, Melfas, Elentec, KCTech, TeraSemicon, and Protec. 

Valuable companies refer to Samsung’s suppliers selected by the tech giant itself, with the possibility of growing as global component makers. The Korean tech firm supports and nurtures selected companies so that they can develop international competitiveness.  

Samsung began to choose candidates for valuable companies from 2011, providing comprehensive customized support in capital, technology, and manpower. Last year, 14 firms were selected as valuable companies for the first time, based on their technologies, global market share, and production capacity. 

To date, the Korean tech giant has provided capital worth 30.9 billion won (US$29.0 million) to 10 firms selected this year. It has also provided various kinds of support, including dispatching experts on development, purchasing, and manufacturing technology, and those in charge of outside consulting. Thanks to Samsung’s efforts, the ten companies were able to turn over about 3.7 trillion won (US$3.5 billion) in 2013, a 46% increase from 2011 (around 2.53 trillion won, or US$2.38 billion). 

To be specific, mobile phone charger manufacturer Dong Yang E&P achieved 163 billion won (US$153 million) in sales last year by developing new products such as high-performance chargers used in the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 3.

Semiconductor equipment and Flat Panel Display Equipment maker KCTech posted 23 billion won (US$21.6 million) in sales in 2013, helped by the strong sales performance of Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) gears. The company was also able to shorten the period to manufacture CMP gears from 12 to 8 weeks. 

So far, Samsung has provided monetary support worth 203.5 billion won (US$191 million) to 59 companies, including 14 firms in 2013, candidates, and 10 selected ones this year. The tech company is planning to foster 50 valuable companies by 2015.

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