HYOSUNG

Whenever we hear news about how a Korean drama that was moderately popular among domestic viewers has become a hit overseas, rising to Netflix's most-watched ranking, we are filled with a sense of excitement. It is not just K-dramas that are on a roll; there are hidden champions in the world of business, too. These companies are gaining popularity overseas while consolidating their positions in the domestic market. Hyosung Goodsprings, a leading South Korean pump manufacturer, is a case in point.

A hidden ace that supplies every type of pump we need in our daily lives

Images of large factories tend to spring to mind whenever someone mentions the word ‘pump’. A pump is a product that is closely connected to our daily lives. The tap water that feeds into your apartment or house can only flow in with the power supplied by a pump. And the electricity that we rely on every day are supplied to us through pumps at the electric power station where electricity is produced. Industrial water pumps for oil refineries and manufacturing processes enable the production of many, if not all, of the items necessary for our daily lives, such as toothbrushes, shampoos, apparel, cell phones, cosmetics, and medical drugs. This is how important pumps are in our lives.

Hyosung Goodsprings established a pump manufacturing business back in 1962, and it has been manufacturing and supplying a wide range of pumps to the South Korean and overseas markets ever since. Hyosung’s pumps are used in oil and gas plants, power generation plants, and regular industrial plants, as well as in regular buildings and high-rise buildings. The company has contributed to the development of the domestic and foreign energy industries with its world's best technology for manufacturing and supplying not only boiler feed pumps (BFP) and circulation wave pumps (CWP), which are the main pumps of power plants, but also safety grade pumps for nuclear power plants.

Especially since acquiring the Korea Electric Power Industry Code (KEPIC) certification for safety-rated pumps used in nuclear reactors in 1998, the company has been supplying key, technologically complex nuclear reactor pumps. Also, as the first South Korean company to develop a pump for nuclear reactors, Hyosung Goodsprings is today recognized as a specialist in power plant pumps.

Recently, an increasing number of countries have been returning to nuclear power as it seems to be the scarcely viable solution for realizing carbon neutrality and energy security. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has concluded that in order to achieve Net Zero by 2050, nuclear power plant capacity will have to be doubled from the current 400GW to around 800GW. As such, it predicts that an increasing number of countries will choose to extend the lifespan of their existing nuclear power plants and construct new nuclear power plants.

The South Korean government is also preparing to resume the construction of Shin Hanul Reactor Units 3 and 4 in accordance with its policies on national energy security and carbon neutrality. With the growing importance of nuclear reactors, the South Korean government is pushing hard to increase exports to the Czech Republic and Poland and is heavily promoting South Korea's feat of winning the project to construct the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant in Egypt. The government is hoping that if South Korea wins the bids to build nuclear power plants in the two eastern European countries, it will ultimately boost Korea’s competitiveness (when bidding for future projects) and power in the global market for nuclear power plants.

Based on its outstanding technological capabilities and products, Hyosung Goodsprings has been able to maintain its position in the nuclear reactor pump business for many years. Starting with the Yeonggwang Reactor Units 3 and 4 in 1992, followed by eighteen other domestic reactors including the Uljin, Shin Kori, and Shin Uljin reactors, Hyosung Goodsprings has supplied around KRW 340 billion worth of pumps needed by these reactors for their operations. Meanwhile, in the global arena, the company has supplied pumps to the Barakah Reactor Unit 4 in the United Arab Emirates. As a major supplier of pumps, including safety-rated nuclear reactor pumps, the company is expected to contribute immensely to South Korea’s transformation into a powerhouse in the global nuclear market, by developing and delivering products whose performances are continuously upgraded.

Hyosung Goodsprings’ competitiveness as a player in global markets

Did you know that Hyosung Goodsprings' products are impressing many customers in the global markets? With high-pressure pumps that can tolerate 400 bar pressure and an operating range of -195°C to +450°C, the company's products satisfy the tight requirements of some of the world's most notable customers including Exxon Mobil of the United States and Aramco of Saudi Arabia, and the company is gaining recognition in overseas markets based on the strong performances of its products. The company develops and manufactures high-pressure and large-size pumps for use in power plants and petrochemical plants. Because the company’s pump products meet the ISO and API (American Petroleum Institute) standards, the company is able to export over 70% of its pumps to customers in foreign markets.

The UAE’s ADNOC project of 2019 should be mentioned here as an exemplary illustration of the success Hyosung Goodsprings is enjoying in global markets. ADNOC, or Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, is the national oil company of the UAE. Hyosung Goodsprings supplied 79 different kinds of pumps worth 47.8 billion won to ADNOC through Samsung Engineering. The pumps included ultra-high temperature and ultra-high pressure-resistant reactor feed pumps for oil refineries. As a single feed pump can cause a whole plant to come to a halt if it is defective, it is a product that can only be manufactured and supplied by a few key manufacturers. Potential bidders to supply the pump are carefully screened before they are allowed to submit their bids. In addition to this, Hyosung Goodsprings is building its brand credibility by supplying pumps that are optimally designed to satisfy the technical specifications requested by global companies.

Pumps are no exceptions! Hyosung’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions through energy savings

The environmental regulations that are being introduced by countries around the world to reduce carbon dioxide emissions requires companies to respond actively with essential measures. Companies are concerned over how to cut back on energy consumption in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions amid the current economic downturn. To address this issue, Hyosung Goodsprings  designed a high-efficiency pump that saves energy by using less electric power. Immediately, an R&D project was initiated to develop this pump. The eco-friendly pump project was successful, and now it is being supplied to many industrial sites.

The steel industry is an example of an industry that consumes substantial electric power. In the case of POSCO’s Pohang factory, its electricity expenses of around KRW 700 billion per year made it necessary to reduce its energy consumption. Normally, motor loads account for about 45% of electricity consumption, and 60% of the electricity consumed by motor loads can be traced to pumps. Also, about 25% of total electricity expenditure is due to the electricity used by pumps. As a matter of fact, after replacing aging pumps with high-efficiency pumps, POSCO was able to achieve significant energy cost reductions. POSCO's successful adoption of high-efficiency pumps piqued the interest of other industries. Hyosung soon began receiving requests from semiconductor companies and display manufacturers to replace their aging pumps. Hyosung Goodsprings carefully listened to the voices of such customers and developed a tailored high-efficiency pump replacement service in which the company conducts an analysis of the costs involved in purchasing, operations, maintenance, repair, and disposal of the pumps, and then proposes a customized replacement plan to the customer.

Hyosung Goodsprings also spares no effort when it comes to developing new products for saving more energy. The sensorless in-line pump that it developed recently automatically controls the number of rotations of the pump, so that the right flow rate and lift level could be provided without the need for a pressure or a flow sensor. With this pump the stability of the whole system can be maintained, resulting in energy savings of up to 75%. 

Well-intentioned efforts to revitalize local economies

Hyosung Goodsprings has focused on improving its technological competency and has been contributing to the localization of products that the country had long had to import from overseas. It has also contributed to the growth of South Korea's pump industry through its global business. Now, it intends to steadily grow its business of manufacturing pumps that save energy costs in response to the worldwide pro-environmental movement and South Korea’s efforts to export its nuclear reactor technologies.