Transformation from a Boiler Company to a Comprehensive Heating and Cooling Energy Group
Growth Achieved Through Business Diversification After Boiler Industry Stagnation Since 2000
Gidulami is expected to achieve record-breaking performance for the fifth consecutive year, thanks to its 'cooling' business. Although Gidulami was once regarded as synonymous with boilers, the company has steadily expanded its business areas into cooling, air conditioning, and energy after the boiler industry entered a mature phase, transforming itself into a 'comprehensive heating and cooling energy group.'
According to industry sources on the 19th, since transitioning to a holding company structure in November 2019, the Gidulami Group has maintained record-breaking performance for four consecutive years through 2023, and it is expected to set a new record for sales last year as well. The holding company, Gidulami Holdings, saw its sales increase from 935.2 billion KRW in 2020 to 1.2372 trillion KRW in 2023, breaking records every year. This trend reportedly continued last year.
Gidulami Holdings has 19 subsidiaries, including the boiler company Gidulami, Gidulami Beomyang Cooling, Shinseong Engineering, Century, and Gidulami Energy. The strong performance is attributed to the cooling business growing alongside a solid foundation in the heating business. The cooling industry’s sales were driven by refrigeration and air conditioning equipment for semiconductors, bio, and data centers, and it has posted solid results centered on supplying dry room and clean room systems that achieve ultra-low humidity for secondary battery production processes. Refrigeration and air conditioning solutions specialized for nuclear power plants and the shipbuilding industry have also shown stable sales growth. A Gidulami Group official explained, “Non-boiler businesses, excluding heating business sales, account for 70% of the group’s total sales, and both sales volume and sales proportion have been increasing annually due to the growth of refrigeration and air conditioning affiliates.”
Specifically, in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, Gidulami Beomyang Cooling has recorded record-breaking performance every year since joining the group in 2006, except for 2009 during the Lehman crisis. This is due to the development of a new method that shortens the equipment process of industrial air conditioning units such as industrial cooling towers and outdoor units used in semiconductors and clean rooms, which expanded the development and construction of customized refrigeration and air conditioning facilities. Shinseong Engineering, the number one domestic company for dry room systems for secondary batteries, has enhanced its competitiveness since being acquired by Gidulami in 2008 by increasing the proportion of technical support and research personnel to over 30% of the total, raising its overseas sales ratio from about 8% in 2017 to 40%. Century has also been active in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment for nuclear power plants and submarines, participating in the construction of more than 20 domestic nuclear reactors. It holds a 40% market share in the domestic nuclear power plant refrigeration and air conditioning equipment sector and exports to countries including the United States, UAE, China, Taiwan, Romania, Spain, Canada, and Mexico.
A Gidulami Group official stated, “Since leading global boiler companies have long established themselves as heating and cooling system companies, Gidulami plans to provide total solutions integrating heating, cooling, air conditioning, and energy into one technology based on the technological capabilities and synergy of its core affiliates.” He added, “We will continue to organically grow and develop our core businesses in heating, cooling, air conditioning, and energy to solidify our position as a comprehensive heating and cooling energy group representing South Korea, beyond being a specialized boiler company.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
