[Mid-sized Business Master Series]⑥ Kim Jeong-ho, Factory Manager of Sinjinhwa Sner Industrial... The 'Bolt Master' Who Started with a Broom

Started at 25, 35 Years at Sinjinhwa Sner Industrial Making Bolts
"Would They Teach Skills If You Just Stay Still?" Advice Sparked Determination... Secret Night Factory Practice
"Top Technicians Are Multi-Players, Must Handle All Related Tasks"

"Even if you complain, do your work properly."

Kim Jeong-ho, the factory manager of Sinjin Hwasner Industrial, a top expert in the bolt manufacturing industry, said, "Whatever work you do, it is a choice you made. Trust yourself as much as you chose it and work. It's okay to complain if the work is hard, but if you only complain and don't do your job properly, life becomes difficult."

Factory Manager Kim Jeong-ho of Sinjinhwa Sner Industrial Co., Ltd. is explaining the world's first developed 450mm bolt.
[Photo by Kim Jong-hwa]

Sinjin Hwasner Industrial is a globally renowned small but strong company specializing in special bolts. Bolts used in precision machinery equipment, ultra-large ships, and nuclear power plant facilities cost hundreds of thousands to over 100 million won each. Manager Kim joined the predecessor company, Sinjin Bolt, in November 1989 at the age of 25. Sinjin Bolt merged with its sales subsidiary Sinjin Hwasner in 2010 and started anew as Sinjin Hwasner Industrial. Next month marks his 35th year working at this company. Manager Kim is a world-famous bolt manufacturing technician.

It is rare for such a high-level technician to work at one company, especially a small or medium-sized enterprise, for 35 years. As he was known as an outstanding technician in the industry, he received many scouting offers. In the late 1990s, when he was earning 700,000 won a month at this company, a famous Japanese company offered him 5 million won per month?more than seven times his current salary?but he stayed with this company.

Because of this, when he meets people, he is most often asked, "Are you brothers with the CEO?" When asked about their actual relationship, the answer was, "A relationship stronger than brothers."

"Who would teach you technology if you just stay still?"

Born in Gochang, Jeonbuk Province, he graduated from Gochang High School, a humanities school. After completing his military service and looking for a job, his older brother recommended, "Hedda-Former technology has potential; try learning it." Thanks to a friend of his brother working at Sinjin Bolt at the time, he joined Sinjin Bolt. Hedda-Former refers to the bolt and nut manufacturing processes and equipment. Although he joined through a friend from the same hometown named Baek, no one was in a position to directly support him as he had no skills.

He wanted to learn the technology, but after joining, he spent a whole month just sweeping. No one paid attention to him. When he thought about quitting, his brother's friend advised, "They won't just teach you technology. Even if you wait for over a year doing menial tasks, they might or might not teach you. Who would teach technology to someone who just stays still? Don't wait; think of a way to make the skilled people willing to teach you."

Twenty-five. A photo taken by Factory Manager Kim Jeong-ho, who just joined Sinjinhwa Sner Industrial Co., Ltd., alone on Mount Gyeryong.
[Photo by Kim Jeong-ho, personal collection]

Awakened, after work, he only ate dinner and returned to the factory without stopping by the dormitory. At night, he asked the factory security guard to turn on the lights and practiced by imitating seniors operating machines during the day. He disassembled and reassembled expensive equipment imported from Japan and Taiwan countless times, hardly sleeping for months while mastering the technology. He also found it enjoyable.

Then a new machine arrived at the factory, but no one could operate it due to a shortage of technicians. When he stepped up and operated the machine, the employees were surprised. Although he had never been taught, he handled the new machine with ease, astonishing everyone.

"I was going to go somewhere better," but...

Three months later, he submitted his resignation, saying there was nothing more to learn at this company and he wanted to move to a better one. At that time, moving to a better company was not unusual, and seniors and other employees accepted it without objection. However, CEO Jeong Han-seong of Sinjin Hwasner Industrial earnestly persuaded him to stay, saying, "I will raise your salary, so keep working here."

A month later, his daily wage, which was 6,500 won, was nearly doubled to 11,500 won by CEO Jeong, who also added a special skill allowance of 50,000 won monthly, treating him with exceptional conditions. Although it was youthful pride, he had confidence in his skills and recalled, "It was good that my salary increased, but more than anything, I was happy that the CEO recognized me as a capable technician."

From then on, he became the ace of the company. Encouraged by CEO Jeong, he learned computers and CAD. The company also arranged opportunities for him to visit other companies to acquire skills. After finishing overtime at 9 p.m., he stayed an extra hour to learn skills from seniors. He became proficient in operating major machines like lathes and milling machines, which were usually handled by technical high school graduates.

After five years, he could learn all technologies just by watching, naturally noticed what needed fixing, and was able to teach others. He became a highly skilled technician who could do everything from mold design, process design, to cold and hot forging of Pasformer. He met his spouse, got married, and had children.

Factory manager Kim Jeong-ho explaining the factory's automation system.
Photo by Kim Jong-hwa

Son on the brink of death, CEO secretly paid hospital bills

Then a crisis struck. The second son, born in December 1996, suddenly contracted sepsis three days after birth and was on the brink of death. The doctor said there was nothing to be done and advised giving up, but he could not. As a father, determined to save his son, he said, "Let's try everything," and stayed at the hospital. The son, who could not breathe on his own and was on a ventilator, began breathing independently after a week and recovered enough to be registered two weeks later.

Although he saved his son, he could not attend to work for fifteen days, and the work became a mess. He was in the middle of an important project, but nothing was more important than his son's life. When the factory manager visited him at the hospital and asked him to come back to work, he coldly handed in his resignation, saying, "I will quit." With his son dying, he had no room to think about his job.

Perhaps fate wanted to keep the connection. At that time, he was earning 770,000 won monthly and living in a 12-pyeong company house. Having notified the company of his resignation, he had to leave the company housing as well. On top of that, he faced the difficult situation of hospital bills amounting to several million won, four to five times his monthly salary.

In that situation, CEO Jeong paid the hospital bills without making a fuss and paid him his salary for the fifteen days he was absent as paid leave. It turned out that the CEO had told the factory manager not to visit him, but because the work was urgent, the factory manager personally came to ask for help.

Manager Kim said, "It was a really tough personal situation, but I was very grateful to the CEO." Since then, he resolved never to leave this company no matter how much money was offered, and he led efforts to retain technicians who wanted to leave. His wife also repeatedly urged him, "I won't ask you to earn more money, so stay with this company."

From technician to manager: "Leave the machine side" order

In 2001, the company underwent a generational change. Older technicians with old skills stepped back to the second line, and young technicians with new skills took the lead in developing new technologies and actively exploring export markets. As a newly appointed manager, he had to manage technicians while still operating machines.

Factory Manager Kim Jeong-ho in his mid-30s as a manager. At that time, all the employees who took the photo together were in their early 20s, and except for one person, they are all still working together. Kim, the factory manager, is the second person standing in the back row.
[Photo by Kim Jeong-ho, personal collection]

Having never managed people before, he could not leave the machine side for the first month and worked as before. Naturally, management of technicians was neglected. CEO Jeong ordered Manager Kim, "Leave the machine side. Invest only 30% of your time on machines and focus 70% of your time on managing technicians." He also specially prepared an office room inside the factory for him.

From then on, he mingled with employees. Whenever possible, he played soccer, went hiking, and had company dinners, showing interest in their family matters. Just as he learned from his seniors, after work, he taught willing employees for an hour by disassembling and assembling machines, sharing equipment and technology.

Wanting to take care of hardworking employees, he suggested to CEO Jeong, "How about giving employees occasional cash gifts?" CEO Jeong replied, "How much would cash gifts be?" and promised, "I will give performance bonuses to all employees." Early the next year, all employees received generous performance bonuses?the first in the industry. In 2002, no small or medium-sized enterprise gave performance bonuses. Employee morale soared.

Moved to Cheonan six months before factory relocation, persuaded employees "Let's go together"

In August 2010, the headquarters and factory moved from Ansan Banwol Industrial Complex to Cheonan. Unlike Banwol Industrial Complex near the city, Cheonan was a vacant site in the mountains, so employees were reluctant to move, raising concerns about workforce loss. At that time, it was common for competitors to poach even those with minor skills. Convincing employees was a challenge.

Manager Kim took the lead. Six months before the factory relocation, in February, he moved to Cheonan first, rented a goshiwon (small lodging) near Banwol Industrial Complex, and lived there, taking a bold step to persuade employees, saying, "Let's go together." Perhaps as a reward for sharing joys and sorrows with employees day and night, except for two who could not leave Ansan due to unavoidable family reasons, all employees moved to Cheonan. Most of the employees working with him then still remain at the factory as senior technicians.

His honed skills shone with the factory's move to Cheonan. Manager Kim drew the layout of the three buildings and the equipment arrangement inside each factory. According to his layout, all buildings and equipment were installed directly by him.

Factory Manager Kim explaining the layout of the factory equipment he personally drew.
[Photo by Jonghwa Kim]

Based on his experience, he created a standard timetable for all processes and measured production quantities on daily, weekly, and monthly bases according to the timetable. He developed a system that automatically assigns work volumes by individual and team. This system is the 'Personal Objective Productivity Management POP System' that domestic manufacturing companies strive to adopt. With this system, delivery schedules were perfectly met upon receiving orders. Consequently, factory productivity increased, and there was room and capability to develop new technologies.

Stopped half of existing product production, focused on new technology development

Immediately after moving to Cheonan, the first thing Manager Kim did was to stop producing half of the existing products. He agreed with CEO Jeong on this. Instead, they focused on developing new technologies, such as making large-size products. It is difficult for general bolt manufacturers to make bolts longer than 150 mm. The longer the bolt, the harder it is to manufacture machines and equipment, and unique technology is required in forging, cold and hot processes, and other aspects.

Under Manager Kim's leadership, Sinjin Hwasner Industrial developed and produced the world's first stainless steel cold-forged hex bolts with a diameter of 5 mm and length of 300 mm. They also began producing and exporting the world's longest bolts, 450 mm in length and weighing 5 kg. Special bolts over 450 mm used in nuclear power plants cost over 100 million won each. Such products require durability and cannot be made by companies without technology. Recognized for these capabilities, the company received a presidential citation in 2020.

Factory Manager Kim, who received a commendation from President Moon Jae-in in 2020.
[Photo by Kim Jeong-ho, private collection]

Thanks to these efforts, Sinjin Hwasner Industrial uses about 350 tons of stainless steel, alloy steel, and special steel monthly to produce the world's largest and best bolts in small quantities and many varieties, all made to order. They supply special bolts to famous shipbuilding companies in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, as well as construction and offshore plant companies, and domestically to Hanwha Ocean, generating annual sales of 50 billion won.

Manager Kim is versatile, able to operate CAD, lathes, milling machines, forklifts, and more. He has developed or improved 16 types of equipment and holds one patent. The patented 'dent prevention device' was born from a sudden idea.

After the final bolt production process, the freshly made bolt falls from a conveyor belt as high as the size of a huge machine onto the floor. The impact causes cracks in the bolt. To prevent this, the simple principle "Don't let it fall from a high place" inspired a quick sketch, design, and welding to create the dent prevention device. After several improvements, this device received revolutionary recognition in the global market, and overseas manufacturers have adopted it one after another.

"The person who made me who I am today is the CEO"

Factory Manager Kim explaining the finished product at the packaging stage before export.
Photo by Kim Jonghwa

His motto is 'Samjeong (三正)'?right mind (正心), right action (正行), and right work (正事). He always emphasizes these three. He believes that if you have the right mind, right actions follow, and if you act rightly, you can handle all tasks properly.

"If work is hard, you can complain, but even if you complain, you must strive to do your work properly," he said. Otherwise, life becomes difficult. That's why 'Samjeong' is necessary. "If you try to practice Samjeong regularly, people around you will help. If no one helps, I will help you," he added.

He intends to repay the grace he received from CEO Jeong Han-seong, who had the greatest influence on his life, to his juniors. CEO Jeong was the first to encourage him to go on business trips related to technology and spared no time or expense. Not only technical education but also life culture was emphasized; he even sent him to Japan for a lecture titled "How to avoid twilight divorce."

Manager Kim said, "The CEO is the person who has had the greatest influence on my entire life. Although my parents gave birth to me, the person who made me who I am today is the CEO." When this was conveyed, CEO Jeong said, "Manager Kim is the treasure of our company." CEO Jeong, who also serves as vice chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, is highly regarded in the SME community for his exceptional ability to recognize talent.

◆A Word from the Master

To become the best technician, you must be a multi-player. Nowadays, people are called experts for having one skill, but the best technicians can do everything related to their work. If you are a machine design expert, you should not only know how to design but also how to operate the machines you design, where to source raw materials for making the machines, what tools the machines use, and what technologies are related to these machines. You must master all related aspects. Only then can you design machines properly and become someone who can handle any task anywhere. Thinking "That work is not my job" is equivalent to giving up on becoming the best technician. Become someone who can work multi-dimensionally.