Towards a "Hangari-type Economy"... Mid-sized Companies Collaborate with Germany, Russia, and Israel on Materials, Parts, and Equipment

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy & KIAT Host '2020 Mid-sized Enterprise Innovation International Conference'
Sign MoU for Exchange and Cooperation with German Startups
Online B2B Meetings with Germany, Russia, and Israel

Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) announced that from the 16th to the 20th, in celebration of the '2020 Mid-sized Enterprises Week,' they will hold the '2020 Mid-sized Enterprises Innovation International Conference' starting at 3 p.m. on the 19th.

This conference marks its fourth year. This year, it was organized to explore response strategies for our mid-sized enterprises to proactively respond to the reorganization of the Global Value Chain (GVC) in accordance with the 'Materials, Parts, and Equipment 2.0 Strategy' announced last July.

About 300 participants, including domestic and international experts, mid-sized businesspeople, and related organization officials, joined both online and offline. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the number of on-site participants was limited to fewer than 50.

The conference discussed survival and growth strategies for our mid-sized enterprises amid the rapidly changing GVC environment caused by COVID-19 and the US-China technological hegemony competition.

Specifically, the conference included ▲ presentations and discussions on responding to the reorganization of the materials, parts, and equipment GVC ▲ signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for exchange and cooperation with the Startup Center of RWTH Aachen University in Germany ▲ sharing of successful cases of GVC entry and consulting cases ▲ and an online business-to-business (B2B) consultation meeting with companies from Germany, Russia, and Israel.

Jae-sung Kim, Executive Director of Caleb & Company, stated in the keynote speech, "With the acceleration of GVC reorganization, our mid-sized enterprises stand at a crossroads of growth depending on whether they innovate." Director Kim proposed strategies to secure competitive advantages according to the characteristics of major industries with a large proportion of mid-sized enterprises, such as automotive, chemical, steel, and bio sectors.

Johannes Pitzka, Head of the Korea-Germany Technology Cooperation Center, who participated online, emphasized the importance of innovation through examples of German Mittelstand companies such as DEVOLO AG.

Devolo is a global small and medium-sized enterprise recognized as a 'Hidden Champion 2015' by Germany's N-TV. It grew from a 25-member team to 300 employees and manufactures internet network equipment. Mittelstand refers to companies with 10 to 499 employees and annual sales of 1 million to 500 million euros.

On the same day, KIAT and the Startup Center of RWTH Aachen University signed an MoU for exchange and cooperation. This established a channel to introduce promising German startups to our mid-sized enterprises and facilitate exchanges.

RWTH Aachen University has nurtured companies such as StreetScooter, an electric vehicle company acquired by DHL in 2014; Adhezion Medical, a medical adhesive company acquired by Gr?nenthal Pharmaceuticals in 2017; and Xelixica, a multicore programming solutions company that has signed supply contracts with global companies like Denso.

Successful cases of collaboration between different industries and corporate acquisitions were also shared.

Nam Hak-hyun, CEO of i-SENS, revealed the secret to entering the US digital healthcare market after being acquired by a US bio company. He shared know-how on discovering startups with ideas and technological capabilities and entering the global GVC.

Eun-kyung Park, CEO of Sekonix, presented experiences pioneering new markets in the automotive electronics sector, including cameras for autonomous vehicles, collaborating with global companies such as Nvidia in the US and Continental in Germany.

Hyun-soo Park, Head of the Management Planning Team at GoYoung Technology, the world's top semiconductor inspection equipment manufacturer that has entered the brain surgery medical robot market, shared achievements in entering new industries through collaboration with other sectors and domestic localization of advanced industries.

An online business consultation meeting with companies from Germany, Israel, and Russia was also arranged. The meeting included nine companies from these three countries and nine domestic companies.

Especially, companies from Israel, a startup powerhouse, participated in various fields such as automotive parts, semiconductor equipment, and robotics. From Russia, Rusal, the world's second-largest aluminum producer, participated.

Andreas Pinkwart, Minister of Economic Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, said in a video congratulatory message, "NRW is an industrial leader with many hidden champions in various fields such as artificial intelligence and information and communication technology," and expressed confidence that there would be many cooperation opportunities suited to the demands of Korean mid-sized enterprises.

NRW has maintained a close cooperative relationship with Korea, especially since the opening of the 'Korea-Germany Materials, Parts, and Equipment Technology Cooperation Center' in June.

Seok Young-chul, President of KIAT, said, "To stably grow our industry, which is highly dependent on the GVC, we will do our best to strengthen the global competitiveness of mid-sized enterprises and support innovative growth."

Park Ki-young, Deputy Minister for Trade of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "I hope our mid-sized enterprises will proactively respond to the rapidly changing GVC environment with their unique flexibility and agility and become the main players in the national transformation through the Korean New Deal."

Deputy Minister Park added, "The government will support our mid-sized enterprises, including materials, parts, and equipment companies, to grow into world-class specialized companies according to the 'Innovation-type Small and Mid-sized Enterprise Growth Strategy' announced at the National Policy Coordination Meeting on the 12th. We will actively support the development of a 'jar-shaped economy' with a strong industrial backbone."