Hardide Coatings has signed a marketing agency agreement with UDM Co Ltd (Republic of Korea) to identify and develop business opportunities for the company’s patented advanced surface coating technology in South Korea.
The agreement follows a trade visit to South Korea with Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme by Hardide Coatings’ technical director, Dr Yuri Zhuk, in October 2019. A number of promising opportunities have since been developed and this agreement will enable them to be progressed more quickly and new opportunities to be identified.
In 2021, South Korea was ranked as the 10th largest economy in the world and is a global manufacturer of semiconductors, plastics, ships and steel as well as aerospace and power generation components, all of which require advanced materials and coatings. The UK has a free trade agreement with South Korea.
Dr Zhuk commented: “South Korea is an industrial powerhouse with a growing market for high-quality UK-made products. Our experience in the market to date has demonstrated that there is significant interest in the Hardide tungsten carbide-based coatings and the benefits they offer in advanced engineering applications.
“Due to the distance from the UK, and language and cultural differences it is essential to have a local representative to develop business further. This agreement will enable us to offer a local surface engineering expertise through UDM Co Ltd, led by Mr Junil You, who was previously sales manager of a major international coating company.”
Samples and customer parts from South Korea are coated in the UK at Hardide Coatings’ advanced engineering and manufacturing base. In the longer term, the company may consider an in-country manufacturing site which would also serve the wider South-East Asia markets.
UDM will represent Hardide Coatings at INTRA 2022, the advanced materials exhibition in Seoul from 26-28 October 2022.
