Korea, Partner Country of HANNOVER MESSE 2009

About 180 Korean exhibitors participate in the machinery fair to showcase their advanced technology and latest products

Korea is the official partner country of HANNOVER MESSE 2009, which opens in Germany on April 20 for a five-day run. Under the catchphrase "MAKE IT WORK," 181 Korean exhibitors have 365 booths in 13 fields, including new and renewable energy/electricity generation, robots, micro technology, parts & materials and the Korean national publication pavilion to showcase the latest products, including wind power generators, intelligent service robots, bio-sensor nano-chips, ultrasonic motors and proximity censors as well as Korean culture.
The following are excerpts of a NewsWorld interview with Chung Jae-hoon, director general for core industries at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, who touched on the specifics of the fair as well as Korea's policies designed to promote the machinery industry.
Question: Will you tell our readers about the status and prospects of the Korean machinery industry?
Answer: The Korean general machinery industry saw production contracting 0.1 percent, exports surging 21.2 percent and trade balance posting a $1.3 billion surplus during 2008. The industry, whose exports contracted by 21.6 percent in November 2008, continued its downturn into February 2009 with a 37.8 percent nosedive. The industry is forecast to post a production contraction of 18.4 percent, an export drop of 15.0 percent and an import decline of 17.6 percent for a $10.3 billion trade surplus for the year.
The global economic downturn, which has been exacerbated since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, has made a dent in the Korean machinery industry, but has also brought some positive things -- a share increase in the plant market of the Middle East, which has emerged anew since the mid-2000s, as well as in the United States, the world's biggest machinery trading market. Korea is also the official partner country of HANNOVER MESSE 2009, being held in Germany from April 20-24, which is designed to help Korea make a further foray into the European market. They are expected to provide the Korean machinery industry, now ranked ninth in the world in terms of machinery exports, with an opportunity to make a leap forward when the global economy gets back on track in the future.
Q: Will you elaborate on steps to ramp up the Korean machinery industry's competitive edge?
A: The domestic machinery industry has made strides with an average export increase rate of more than 20 percent since the 2000s, but suffered a setback due to the global economic crisis that came to a head in the fourth quarter of 2008. Amid these circumstances, global competition has been picking up speed in the wake of the rapid spread of free trade agreements (FTAs) and active corporate M&As among nations while such environmental regulations as curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants have become new trade barriers. The depletion of fossil fuels, caused by rising energy demand, calls for the urgent development of new and alternative energy industries.
In an effort to help the Korean machinery industry cope with new business environment changes and tide over the crisis caused by the global recession, the Korean government plans to expand support for extending facility loans; boost domestic facility investments by front-loading the budget for social overhead capital investments; explore export markets by making the most of the weak Korean currency; conduct a market survey into promising export markets; participate in exhibitions; and dispatch market exploration teams in order to ramp up market share.
The government seeks to implement core R&D tasks -- environmentally friendly construction machinery, agricultural machinery, refrigerating and air-conditioning machines, green power generation equipment and high-performance environmental facilities -- in order to proactively cope with international environmental regulations. It strives to strengthen the competiveness of the Korean machinery industry by systemically nurturing it as a green growth industry in order take control of the lucrative future "Green Ocean" markets -- new and renewable energy production/fabrication installation industry, environmental equipment engineering industry and water resources-related industries, while making the machinery industry a value-added one by combining Korea's advanced information technology and the machinery industry.
Q: Will you tell our readers what HANNOVER MESSE 2009 is?
A: HANNOVER MESSE 2009, which opens in Germany on April 20 for a five-day run, is the world's biggest industrial machinery fair that attracts more than 200,000 spectators annually. The exhibition is composed of 27 exhibition pavilions with a combined floor space of 490,000 sq. meters, nine times the size of KINTEX of Korea. Advanced technology and products are showcased according to their field, which serves as a stage of cooperation among companies from around the world.
Under the catchphrase "MAKE IT WORK," an expression of integrated technology, a combination of IT and energy/automation sectors and innovation technology, 181 Korean exhibitors have 365 booths with a combined exhibition space of about 4,400 sq. meters (except the Korean national publication pavilion) in 13 fields, including new and renewable energy/electricity generation, robots, micro technology and parts & materials to showcase the latest products, which include wind power generators, intelligent service robots, bio-sensor nano-chips, ultrasonic motors and proximity censors.
The fair attracted 5,045 companies from 60 countries in 2008 and 6,400 firms from 68 countries in 2007. The fair held specified sub-exhibitions with the likes of Motion, Drive & Automation in odd-numbered years, with the participation of exhibitors averaging 30 percent more than during even-numbered years.
Q: What're the expected benefits and significance of Korea's participation in HANNOVER MESSE 2009 as the official partner country?
A: The HANNOVER MESSE 2009 Organizing Committee designates a specified nation as the official Partner Country every year and holds a "Business Summit," a kind of bilateral summit with the country that the German government invites and publicizes its industry and culture.
During the fair, Korea is going to have synergetic effects, as it will have meetings of top Korean and German officials, such side events as economic cooperation, investment attraction, technology seminars and forums as well as publicity activities at the opening session and the Night of the Partner Country, a photo exhibition, a film festival and diverse cultural performances.
Figures made available at the United Nations showed that the Korean machinery industry has made strides as it saw its global standing surging from 18th position in 1990 to 14th in 2000 and 8th in 2007. Korea's designation as the official Partner Country indicates that the HANNOVER MESSE Organizing Committee with a 62-year history recognizes the nation's brilliant development. It also serves as an opportunity for Korea to be confirmed as mature enough to display its own high-tech products in the machinery/parts field and in the course of industrialization. The fair will become a chance to publicize Korea as the best place to make machinery investments for global machinery companies and investors.
Korea has a better business-friendly environment than any country as the nation has an affluent industrial infrastructure and manpower as well as the various free trade agreements (FTAs) it has signed or which are currently in negotiations. As a result, Korea's participation in the fair as the official Partner Country will give the nation momentum in attracting investments and more opportunities to enter the foreign markets, thus raising the Korean machinery industry's global standing and beefing up collaboration with foreign firms.
Q: What exhibits will be on display at the Korean national publicity pavilion?
A: The Korean national publicity pavilion will showcase exhibits under 10 themes, including robots, automobiles, nano-tech, plants and shipbuilding, so that spectators can peek into Korea's present and future. The robot booth will show off the nation's robot technology by exhibiting robots that have skin and diverse characteristics similar to human beings, the pansori (Korean traditional narrative song) performance by the human-type robot, "EverR," and the humanoid robot, "Hubo," that walks, dances and acts like a human.
In addition, technologies in the areas of nuclear power plants, desalination plants, models of value-added high-tech ships will also be on display, while Korean-made environmentally-friendly cars, new/renewable energy and high-performance energy technology, solar modules and fuel cells, home network control systems and remote controlled operating systems will be showcased to publicize Korea's industrial technology and potential.
The opening session will be followed by the "Korean-German Business Summit," taking up such topics as collaboration for overcoming the current financial crisis, ways to make the most of the Korea-EU FTA and steps to cooperate in the efficient use of energy and resources with regard to economic and industrial cooperation and investment attraction areas. Both sides will hold a symposium designed to promote technological tie-ups with Korean and German research institutions on green growth and industry-academia-research collaboration, an explanation session on Korea's investment environment and policies as well as the introduction of Korean local governments for attracting investments.
Among the cultural events designed to publicize Korea's culture will be contemporary art, design and photo exhibitions, the screening of Korean hit movies, including "Secret Sunshine," as well as the Korean history & contemporary children's book fair that will be held at the Hannover Municipal Library. Cartoons introducing Korea to German children, yuknoli (traditional Korean five-stick game) and other educational aid kits will be offered to Berlin City and Hannover Primary School in order to raise German children's understanding of Korean culture.
Q: Will you introduce Korean exhibitors participating in the fair and their activity plans?
A: Despite the current economic difficulties, approximately 200 Korean companies will participate in the fair, including those exhibitors in the Korean national publication pavilion. They include large-size corporations, research institutions and SMEs.
Among the Korean major exhibitors are three companies of the Doosan Business Group -- Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co., Doosan Infracore and Doosan Mecatec -- LS Industrial Systems, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Techwin, Hyosung Corp., Autonics and Unison.
In particular, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and other Korean power companies have teamed up with up-and-coming Korean SMEs to form the "One-Kepco" pavilion and display Korea's excellent electricity/power components and equipment.
Nine Korean research institutions, including the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials, will take part in the fair to display advanced technologies and their latest products.
The fair is expected to be an optimum place for exhibitors to meet with German and other businesspeople from all over the world, showcase and publicize their latest and advanced products to global buyers and hold negotiations. For Korean SME exhibitors, which have fewer chances of having direct contacts with foreign companies, the fair will be sure to help them enter foreign markets and have a chance to conduct aggressive foreign marketing activities and promote cooperation with foreign concerns.
In particular, HANNOVER MESSE 2009, a platform for buyers and exhibitors in Europe and other parts of the world, will be an opportunity for Korean exhibitors to gain access to new markets as well as to receive such benefits as the establishment of a foundation for building a global competitive edge by raising their standing in the global market. nw

Chung Jae-hoon, director general for core industries at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy