iljin history
ILJIN’s today that we created with a strong spirit of passion and boundless passion.
Today is not a period, but a comma for tomorrow.
1978
The forging business, the first of its kind by ILJIN, began on Dec. 4, 1978 with the establishment of Iljin Danjo, based in Hwangseong-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Iljin forge, which was launched as a producer of forged car parts, began to grow in earnest as it wisely overcame the second oil shock in the early days of its establishment. The forging business, which secured cost and quality competitiveness through continuous technology development, provides stable materials to the container, chassis, and wheel bearing businesses. It played a key role in ILJIN's growth.
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1979factory figures at the time of the start-up
ILJIN forge, which started on December 4, 1978, installed 1,300-ton Forging Press 1 and 2 from the U.S. in November 1979 at 50 Hwangseong-dong, Gyeongju, and started pilot operation. In January 1980, the company began mass-producing and supplying transmission gears and strut bars for PONY, the first Korean car developed by Hyundai Motor.
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1982Whole view of the forge
ILJIN Forge was the second company to move to Yongkang Industrial Complex,
so the surrounding farmland remained intact even when the plant was operating. -
Center Link Production Site
1982the first export abroad
President Lee Sang-il signed a family agreement to supply center-link forged goods at the U.S. exhibition, but the contract was in danger of being scrapped only after he returned to Korea, knowing that production of the products was impossible due to limitations in production equipment, however the problem was solved by introducing a second-hand 3-inch setter. By doing so, Iljin forge, which secured Korea’s first 3-D up-setting technology, achieved its first historic export performance in 1986.
1982
During the period when the secondary oil shock was difficult, the container parts business was faithfully responsible for its role as a new growth engine. Established in 1982 as a joint venture with British firm BLOXWICH, Korea Blockswitch secured technologies and brands through a patent-use contract at the time when the perception of intellectual property was weak, and based on this, it was recognized by more than 100 domestic and foreign companies. In addition, the container business played a major role in establishing a growth base for the first time in the IMF crisis.
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Container lock parts produced by Korea Block Switch
1980Launch Container Parts Business
In the fall of 1980, Lee Sang-il, president of the company who visited the client company, accidentally found some forged goods at the developer's desk. I started hearing product descriptions out of curiosity, but after careful examination, I borrowed samples to manufacture prototypes and started production in late 1980. Although there were difficulties due to low reputation in the early days of the project, the global container industry gradually expanded its business by taking advantage of the opportunity to move from Japan to Korea.
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1982Container Parts Business Meaning
Although the container parts business was recognized in the domestic and foreign markets through world-class competitiveness, it gradually lost competitiveness due to the collapse of entry barriers due to low wages and the end of the patent period in emerging countries, and eventually settled the business in 2003. This clearly presented what the future day should aim for by providing an example that a continuous business operation would not be possible without a continuous competitive edge in cost and technology that could be differentiated from its competitors.
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Container parts production site(1986.11)
10 Million Dollar Export Tower
1985
Iljin, which was on the path of a company specializing in forged products, started its automotive chassis parts business in 1985 upon request from customers. Although the company suffered from lack of professional technology and production facilities in the early stages of the project, it overcame it through a unique challenging spirit and established Dong-A Industry for the chassis parts business in 1986. Since then, the chassis project, which was recognized for its excellence worldwide through continuous technology development and quality improvement efforts, laid the foundation for Iljin to become a company specializing in automotive parts.
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Early Dong-A Industry(1986.11)
Initial production site of chassis factory
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1988Technical Convention with Kyoritsu Seiki of Japan
In June 1988, the government signed a technical agreement with Kyoritsu Seiki of Japan to introduce B/Joint and Stabilizer production technology to improve the productivity and quality of the chassis parts, and dispatched engineers to acquire the production technology. Technology trainees acquired production technology and quality control techniques, and not only contributed to improving productivity and quality, but also increased productivity and secured cost competitiveness by locally producing welders, ball-joint automatic assembly machines, etc. and using them for production.
1994
Iljin, which entered the automotive wheel bearing business in 1994, has established a foundation for global wheel bearing companies by securing continuous cost and quality competitiveness despite the checks of leading foreign companies. In particular, the company is recognized for its technical skills and quality through the independent development of third-generation wheel bearing in 2003 and delivery of leading domestic and foreign carmakers. Growing up amid fierce global competition, the wheel bearing business is a key business of a day and also provides a foundation for becoming a top-notch bearing specialist in the world.
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Technical partnership agreement with KOYO(1994.01)
1994
Iljin decided to invest through analysis of feasibility of wheel bearing business from fall of 1993 and decided to invest with KOYO of Japan in 1994. It started its business in earnest through second-generation wheel bearing technology partnership and construction of factories.
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Wheel Bearing Production Site(1990s)
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New Technology Certificate by Ministry of Science and Technology
Korea Technology Show Bronze Award
19973rd Generation Bearing Independent Development
As the IMF financial crisis in 1997 saw less than 50 percent of new facilities operating, President Lee Sang-il recognized the importance of the overseas market and started to target the U.S. OEM and A/S markets at the same time to gain results first in the A/S market. Because third-generation bearings have already been commercialized in the U.S., third-generation development was requested on the A/S trading line, and technology tie-ups with foreign companies were pushed for but failed to be achieved. As a result, it was recognized for the same quality as advanced products by pushing for independent development of 3rd generation bearings and also entered OEM markets.
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Jang Young Shil Award
1999Self-manufacturing of production facilities
By reducing the need for independent manufacturing capabilities of production facilities in the initial stage of the wheel bearing business, the company established a machine tool team in April 1999 to increase facility independence through self-manufacturing of production facilities, while reducing investment costs and strengthening wheel bearing business capabilities.
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100 Million Dollar Export Tower
200 Million Dollar Export Tower
2008
Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2008, Iljin has set out to secure growth engines to move into new technologies, new products and new markets that will open up the future. First, in the bearing part, quality and technical skills were recognized by supplying automotive wheel bearing to Europe in 2010, and production base was established in the U.S. to establish a stable supply base for the North American market. Based on production and research capabilities, the company is also stepping up efforts to develop bearings for hybrid and electric vehicles, construction machinery, railways and aviation. In addition, Chassis part is actively responding to rapidly changing market conditions with the goal of developing hybrid parts that are lighter, developing components using ultra-light, high-strength carbon composite materials, and creating synergy with bearings by developing corner modules.
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Reported to the media such as Daegu Ilbo, Gyeongbuk Ilbo, and Newsys
2011Bearing Art - MOU for factory building in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province
In December 2011, Iljin Group signed an MOU with the North Gyeongsang Province city of Yeongju on the establishment of 300 billion won worth of auto and industrial parts factories. Bearing Art plans to solidify its position as a comprehensive bearing company by producing hybrid and electric car bearings and industrial bearings to cope with domestic demand and expand overseas markets.
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300 Million Dollar Export Tower
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Korea R&D Center
USA R&D Center
Europe R&D Center
2016Expansion of overseas production and sales bases
Iljin established ILJIN USA R&D Center in August 2014 and Europe R&D Center in January 2016 to establish R&D network linking Korea, the U.S. and Germany. Having established a global R&D network in the U.S. and Germany, where global car makers and comprehensive bearing makers are concentrated, Iljin has a 24-hour technology development system to respond to customers’ needs in real time.
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Chongqing ILJIN
ILJIN GLOBAL INDIA
2017Expansion of overseas production and sales bases
ILJIN continues to expand production and sales bases in overseas areas. In June 2015, the company established Iljin Global India in order to pioneer the northwestern part of China and the Indian market, which is growing at an annual rate of 8%. In 2017, the company established sales branches in Paris, Italy, Turin, and Yokohama, Japan, and is striving to pioneer new markets. We will do our best to ensure that any production plant in the world produces the same quality of quality products, and we will continue to continue our activities until the day when the products are put into cars around the world.
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2019Expansion of Overseas Sales Branches
Iljin is making continuous efforts to diversify its sales at this moment. We established a sales branch in Frankfurt in 2018 and in Sao Paulo in 2019 to expand our global sales base. ILJIN will continue to strive to become a global company.