Korea Tungsten Company
Encyclopedia
Korea Tungsten Company was a major South Korean manufacturer of tungsten cutting tools, tungsten powder, and related metal-cutting products. It was the 28th-largest chaebol
by asset with subsidiaries such as Korea Tungsten Construction and Korea Sintered Metal. With the national government, KTC also established POSCO
, which is now the world's second largest steelmaker by output. In 1998, Keo-Pyung, then KTC's proprietor, defaulted on its loans and was declared bankrupt by its main creditor, CHB Bank
. On May 12 1998, Keo-Pyung announced that it would shed 14 of its 19 companies, Korea Tungsten among them. ISCAR
, the predecessor and now the largest arm of IMC
, bought KTC after months of negotiations, and renamed it TaeguTec
. Today, TaeguTec group has become a global tooling and solutions giant with 25 overseas subsidiaries and over 130 distributors in 50 countries throughout the world.
, South Korea
. Ever since, the company had grown to be one of the most successful and influential companies in Korea, accounting for 60 per cent of the country's total export revenue in the 60s and 70s.
Chaebol
Chaebol refers to a South Korean form of business conglomerate. They are global multinationals owning numerous international enterprises. The term is often used in a context similar to that of the English word "conglomerate"...
by asset with subsidiaries such as Korea Tungsten Construction and Korea Sintered Metal. With the national government, KTC also established POSCO
POSCO
POSCO is a multinational steel-making company headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It is the world's third-largest steelmaker by market value and the most profitable Asia-based steelmaker....
, which is now the world's second largest steelmaker by output. In 1998, Keo-Pyung, then KTC's proprietor, defaulted on its loans and was declared bankrupt by its main creditor, CHB Bank
CHB Bank
CHB Bank was a bank company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It was one of the oldest banks in Korea, having been established on February 1, 1897. CHB merged with Shinhan Bank in April, 2006.-See also:*List of Banks in South Korea...
. On May 12 1998, Keo-Pyung announced that it would shed 14 of its 19 companies, Korea Tungsten among them. ISCAR
ISCAR Metalworking
Iscar Metalworking is the largest company of IMC and one of the largest toolmaking companies in the world. The company was founded in 1952 in a wooden garage behind the home of Stef Wertheimer in Israel...
, the predecessor and now the largest arm of IMC
International Metalworking Companies
IMC International Metalworking Companies B.V. is one of the world's largest holding companies for metalworking products. As part of Berkshire Hathaway, IMC operates Iscar, TaeguTec, Tungaloy, Ingersoll and more in over 50 countries. IMC member companies have secured management control over...
, bought KTC after months of negotiations, and renamed it TaeguTec
TaeguTec
TaeguTec Ltd. , formerly known as Korea Tungsten Co. , is a multi-national corporation headquartered in Daegu, Korea. It is the largest cutting tools manufacturer in the Far East, also Korea’s largest manufacturer of tungsten cutting tools and hard metal tools with the only integrated tungsten...
. Today, TaeguTec group has become a global tooling and solutions giant with 25 overseas subsidiaries and over 130 distributors in 50 countries throughout the world.
History
The history of KTC dates back to April 1916, when the Sangdong Tungsten Mine was discovered in Gangwon ProvinceGangwon-do (South Korea)
Gangwon-do is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Gangwon and its North Korean neighbour Kangwŏn formed a single province.-History:...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. Ever since, the company had grown to be one of the most successful and influential companies in Korea, accounting for 60 per cent of the country's total export revenue in the 60s and 70s.
Before 1960s
- Apr. 1916: Outcrop of Sang-dong mine discovered in Gangwon ProvinceGangwon-do (South Korea)Gangwon-do is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Gangwon and its North Korean neighbour Kangwŏn formed a single province.-History:...
, South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... - Feb. 1936: Established SOLIM Mining Co. Ltd.
- Feb. 1947: Export Scheelite to the USA for the first time
- Sep. 1952: Established Korea Tungsten Co. Ltd. (State Enterprise)
- Export: US$16,457,000 (56% of Korean Total)
- Employing: 4,287
- May. 1959: Constructed Chemical processing plant
1960s
- Jun. 1961: Established New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Branch office - Sep. 1961: Established R&D center
- Nov. 1961: Established LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Branch office - Feb. 1963: Established TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
Branch office - Nov. 1966: Won official commendation from government for export
- Ranked second among Korean companies
- Nov. 1967: Won official commendation from government for export
- Ranked third among Korean companies
- Feb. 1968: Established POSCOPOSCOPOSCO is a multinational steel-making company headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It is the world's third-largest steelmaker by market value and the most profitable Asia-based steelmaker....
with the National Government (Government 75%, Korea Tungsten Co. Ltd 25%) - Nov. 1968: Won official commendation from government for export
- Nov. 1969: Won official commendation from government for export
1970s
- Nov. 1972: Constructed of APT (Ammonium Para Tungstate) plant
- Feb. 1974: Constructed Tungsten Metal Powder and Tungsten Carbide Powder plant
- Nov. 1976: Established Rotterdam Branch office
- Nov. 1977: Constructed Cemented carbide plant
- Products: Blank, Carbide insert, Mining tools, Brazed tools
- Oct. 1978: Constructed Coating plant (CVD-TiN production firstly)
- Dec. 1979: Constructed Tool holder plant
1980s
- Jan. 1981: Developed Special Coating Substrate
- May 1983: RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
Branch office in Netherlands moved to Germany - Jul. 1985: Common R&D cooperation between Korea Tungsten Co. Ltd. and POSCO
- Oct. 1985: Developed CERMET Inserts
- Nov. 1988: Constructed Carbide Roll plant
- Nov. 1989: Constructed Tungsten Wire plant
1990s
- Mar. 1991: Constructed Ceramic plant
- Feb. 1994: Sang-Dong Tungsten mine closed
- Mar. 1994: Privatized and taken over by Keo-Pyung Group in Korea
- May. 1995: Established Tungsten Wire plant in China
- Aug. 1998: Korea Tungsten Co. Ltd. bought out by IscarÍscarÍscar is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 6,508 inhabitants....
- Aug. 1998: Company name changed from Korea Tungsten Co. Ltd to TaeguTec Ltd.
Post-merger / TaeguTec era
- Feb. 1999: Headquarters moved to Daegu from Seoul
- Apr. 1999: Constructed new Marketing Center
- 1999: Established TaeguTec USA (The present Ingersoll USA - RockfordRockford, IllinoisRockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
) - 1999: Established TaeguTec Germany (The present Ingersoll GMBH - HaigerHaigerHaiger is a country town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. The nearest city is Siegen, about 25 km north of Haiger.-Location:Haiger lies about 5 km west of Dillenburg, and 20 km southeast of Siegen on the eastern edge of the Westerwald range, near where the three states of...
)
- 1999: Established TaeguTec USA (The present Ingersoll USA - Rockford
- Mar. 2000: Established TaeguTec cutting tools factory in India
- Jul. 2000: Constructed new R&D Center
- Dec. 2000: Established TaeguTec China in ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
- Mar. 2001: Established TaeguTec Brazil in Sao PauloSão PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
- Jun. 2001: Established TaeguTec Scandinavia in CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... - Jun. 2002: Established TaeguTec UK in LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
- Jun. 2002: Established TaeguTec Italy in TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
& MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... - Jun. 2004: Established TaeguTec Japan in Nagoya
- Jun. 2004: Constructed new Tech Center and Carbide Rod factory
- Jun. 2005: Established TaeguTec Australia in SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
- Oct. 2005: Established TaeguTec Turkey in IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
- Mar. 2006: Established TaeguTec Slovakia in ŽilinaŽilinaŽilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of approximately 85,000, an important industrial center, the largest city on the Váh river, and the seat of a...
- Apr. 2006: Established TaeguTec Malaysia in Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
- Jan. 2007: Established TaeguTec Thailand in BangkokBangkokBangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
- Feb. 2007: Established TaeguTec Spain in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
- Mar. 2007: Established TaeguTec France in Champs-sur-MarneChamps-sur-MarneChamps-sur-Marne is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France in the Île-de-France region from the center of Paris....
- Jul. 2007: Established TaeguTec Indonesia in BekasiBekasiBekasi is a city in West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta in the Jabodetabek metropolitan region. To the south is Bogor Regency, east is Bekasi Regency....
- Nov. 2007: Established TaeguTec Poland in WroclawWroclawWrocław , situated on the River Oder , is the main city of southwestern Poland.Wrocław was the historical capital of Silesia and is today the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Over the centuries, the city has been part of either Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, or Germany, but since 1945...
- Apr. 2008: Established TaeguTec Russia in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- Apr. 2008: Established TaeguTec Ukraine in DnipropetrovskDnipropetrovskDnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
- Jun. 2009: Established TaeguTec South Africa in JohannesburgJohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
- Sep. 2009: Established TaeguTec Czech in PilsenPilsenPlzeň, or Pilsen is a city in western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is the capital of the Plzeň Region and the fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic. It is located about 90 km west of Prague at the confluence of four rivers—the Radbuza, the Mže, the Úhlava, and the Úslava—which...
- Nov. 2009: Established TaeguTec Hungary in TörökbálintTörökbálintTörökbálint is a town in Pest county, Hungary. Törökbálint received town status on 1 July 2007.The city has also got a German name, Großturwall, which originates from the times of the Swabian immigration after the Turkish occupation of Hungary....
See also
- TaeguTecTaeguTecTaeguTec Ltd. , formerly known as Korea Tungsten Co. , is a multi-national corporation headquartered in Daegu, Korea. It is the largest cutting tools manufacturer in the Far East, also Korea’s largest manufacturer of tungsten cutting tools and hard metal tools with the only integrated tungsten...
- Economy of South KoreaEconomy of South KoreaSouth Korea has a market economy which ranks 15th in the world by nominal GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity , identifying it as one of the G-20 major economies. It is a high-income developed country, with a developed market, and is a member of OECD...
- IMCInternational Metalworking CompaniesIMC International Metalworking Companies B.V. is one of the world's largest holding companies for metalworking products. As part of Berkshire Hathaway, IMC operates Iscar, TaeguTec, Tungaloy, Ingersoll and more in over 50 countries. IMC member companies have secured management control over...
- Government of South KoreaGovernment of South KoreaThe Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...
- POSCO GroupPOSCOPOSCO is a multinational steel-making company headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It is the world's third-largest steelmaker by market value and the most profitable Asia-based steelmaker....