Textile Fashion Industry Specialized Business Education Course ‘Tex+Fa’ Corporate Visit

“Meeting the key players of the future market in the textile fashion industry, the ‘small and medium-sized enterprises’”

‘Tex+Fa’ that drives growth, a networking hub that encompasses the entire industry

The key words that penetrate the market beyond ‘economies of scale’ are ‘eco-friendliness and coexistence development’

“We all agree that we should actively recommend this to the surroundings by receiving both tangible and intangible help such as information exchange”

Starting from its first cohort in 2011, Tex+Fa’s specialized business education program for the textile fashion industry has produced graduates from its 15th cohort this year and is gaining attention as it grows alongside competitive small and medium enterprises in a challenging market environment.

With an increasing participation of small but competitive specialized companies, Tex+Fa is playing a significant role as the only specialized business school in the domestic textile fashion industry that supplies growth dynamism.

CEO Jeong Gi-hoon of Deokseong Inco (7th cohort)

“Due to climate change and environmental destruction, the desire for the development of sustainable eco-friendly and recycled materials can only increase. I believe that developing materials that match this trend will be a survival strategy.”

Jeong Gi-hoon, a graduate of the 7th cohort of Tex+Fa, emphasized that only developing materials suitable for environmental changes is the solution to survive, based on over 30 years of experience in the textile industry.

CEO Jeong has a background of focusing on textile development at the Deokseong Research Institute, which was the first in Korea to manufacture synthetic leather for 10 years. After that, he was the CEO at Deokseong P&T, a subsidiary of Deokseong, before changing the company name to Deokseong Inco and spinning off in 2015.

This company mainly deals with synthetic leather and faux fur, maintaining a differentiated strategy of low-volume, high-variety production, while firmly establishing its position. In particular, CEO Jeong realized the importance of eco-friendliness and recycled fibers earlier than anyone else and has actively informed those around him about the importance of developing eco-friendly products.

CEO Jeong said, “For the textile fashion industry to grow, it cannot rely on just one field. There must be a shared understanding among all streams so that a direction for developing new products for the future market can be established and the market can be formed.”

As part of this, they recently joined the ‘Textile Exchange’, an eco-friendly product certification organization. This global non-profit organization, established in 2002, conducts eco-friendly certification systems for the global textile and apparel industry.

Although there are price resistances in developing eco-friendly materials, it is explained that consumers are also showing a tendency to consider climate and the environment and aim for ‘value consumption’, thereby expanding the possibilities.

To survive and grow in a rapidly changing environment, it is no longer feasible to rely on individual power; therefore, it is time for the entire industry to recognize this need and connect ideas between each stream. He believes that such movements are inevitable to expand the Korean textile industry's pie.

CEO Jeong emphasized, “It is encouraging that the positive role of Tex+Fa as a networking hub among different streams is expanding.”

CEO Lim Dae-bin of ID Mode (9th cohort)

Having grown into the best knit promotion company in Korea since its launch in 1997, ID Mode (CEO Lim Dae-bin) is recognized for instigating innovation in the domestic knit market by introducing the first whole garment knitting machine in Korea in 2002.

CEO Lim explained, “We provide a one-stop system for all processes from design to production, processing, finishing, and delivery.”

In particular, recognized for its specialized processes and expertise, ID Mode received small and medium-sized enterprise certification from the Ministry of Employment and Labor this May.

CEO Lim mentioned, “After establishing the company, the IMF crisis hit, and I stood at a crossroads regarding the direction of the business. At that time, many were heading towards China, but I decided to take a gamble in the domestic market. I borrowed a sample of the whole garment equipment from Japan and started consulting. Coincidentally, the leading women's clothing brand Hanssem was looking for this machine, leading to our entry into the domestic market with whole garments,” he said.

At that time, although the Shima Seiki side in Japan proposed to supply the machines for free for a year, ID Mode rejected it and jumped in directly. This was a time when awareness of whole garments was non-existent, so they made a bold move by importing the equipment and taking a gamble despite uncertainties.

Starting with 4 machines for whole garments, ID Mode expanded its equipment to 45 units as the market grew. Now, it is recognized as a top-notch company in the field of whole garments, acknowledged even in Japan as a success story. Additionally, in line with the digital transformation trend, after about three years of preparation, they have established a smart factory that eliminates paper work and transitions to digital.

CEO Lim said, “Efficient classification was key in transitioning to digital.”

Initially, employees resisted the change, but now they have become accustomed to monitoring all processes on the screen, significantly improving production efficiency.

CEO Lim appreciates the unity and convergence among companies through the Tex+Fa gatherings in the difficult environment and has brought his son, Lim Seung-hyeok, who is also a graduate of the 13th cohort, into Tex+Fa following himself, a graduate of the 9th cohort. CEO Lim, who previously served as president of the Tex+Fa 10th alumni association, expressed that he wants to continue to play a role in helping Tex+Fa.

Director Park Geon-woo of DKT&C (11th cohort)

DKT&C, a specialized company in functional textile processing (CEO Park Myung-soo), focuses on outdoor clothing, military uniforms, and police uniforms.

Since its establishment in 2003, this company has been concentrating on developing functional laminating products, gathering numerous technical data based on various raw materials to focus on optimal product production.

Director Park Geon-woo explained, “The softness when the film is attached to the fabric is a unique advantage of DKT&C products. It encompasses a unique technology that cannot be matched by typical laminating processes.”

Following CEO Park Myung-soo (a graduate of Tex+Fa 7th cohort), Director Park Geon-woo has been responsible for practical work in the field for the past 10 years.

To produce optimal products, DKT&C has its own dry laminating line designed to be 100 to 110 meters long. Additionally, the hot melt product using eco-friendly adhesive boasts high functionality, excellent touch, and stretchability.

This process has attached three chambers to extract the film stably. Also, while most laminating processes typically use two layers, DKT&C is attempting a rare 2.5 layers in Korea to enhance dry touch. Processing with 2.5 layers results in volume that hardly shows compared to size or weight, making it much lighter than 3 layers and better in hand feel than 2 layers.

Continuously challenging research tasks for new product development, DKT&C is now focusing on developing the eco-friendly material 'Vegan Leather'. Vegan leather is gaining attention for its advantage of significantly reducing carbon emissions caused by existing synthetic products through the use of natural materials.

Director Park said, “The ‘mushroom leather’ currently being developed as part of vegan leather is an environmentally friendly product that biodegrades, unlike synthetic leather. As this is still in the early development stages, more research needs to be conducted, including issues of material stabilization. We started developing it earlier this year, but the price competitiveness compared to existing leather is a concern.”

He participated in Tex+Fa at the suggestion of his father, CEO Park. Through this gathering, he met many people in the textile industry. Due to the collaboration with Jeong Eun FNC during the COVID-19 period, he also gained business opportunities to develop cooling vests. Based on such experiences, he is actively recommending the Tex+Fa business school to those around him.

CEO Lim Ji-sung of Yui Shining (14th cohort)

Starting from 2001 with sub-materials, Yui Shining (CEO Lim Ji-sung) is recently reinventing itself as a developer of eco-friendly products. One of its representative items is an eco-friendly paper desiccant that differs from the conventional silica gel product.

Since the first development over 10 years ago, continuous performance upgrades have resulted in recent inquiries from not only the clothing industry but also the food and electronics industries.

CEO Lim Ji-sung stated, “The paper desiccant did not succeed from the start. The early products allowed moisture to escape and spread onto clothes, leading to huge compensation costs.”

Using these failures as a stepping stone, after several modifications and improvements, they have now released a recognized independent eco-friendly desiccant.

CEO Lim said, “Focusing on eco-friendly paper desiccants, I realized that the market size is larger than expected.” Ordinary people may find it unfamiliar, but desiccants are even used in the LED traffic signals on pedestrian crossings. They supply paper desiccants to the related professional company New Line Tech and are also trading with major domestic manufacturers like Toshiba laptops.

In pursuit of more active business development, this year they developed a specialized brand for paper desiccants called ‘Dehum’ and established their own factory in Hwado-eup, Namyangju. They plan to establish a corporation under the name Dehum Korea next year.

This company’s main items include not only eco-friendly desiccants but also special sub-materials and household goods. The shower towel developed by dyeing the leftover fabric known as Jiji-mi (seersucker) in purple has ranked first in non-food sales on Market Curly.

CEO Lim stated, “I thought that utilizing leftover fabric for recycling is also environmental protection. The unexpectedly large response was due to the unique texture and purple color I applied, which was different from the existing products.”

He added, “There have been many difficult hurdles along the way, but the Tex+Fa educational program I fortuitously participated in helped me greatly. When I wanted to give up because it was so hard, the Tex+Fa fellows encouraged me not to give up, saying that eco-friendly products have a bright future, which was a great source of strength.”

Moreover, “In order for water to boil, it must reach the boiling point of 100°C, but just before that at 99°C, I almost gave up; however, I gained the strength to raise that 1°C through Tex+Fa,” he stated.

Director Yoo Myung-cheol of IRO International (8th cohort)

“Recently, as overseas production has increased, the demand for finished factories has also grown higher.”

This is the explanation from Yoo Myung-cheol, Director of IRO International (CEO Lee Jeong-ok). The tasks done at finished factories, such as product inspection, classification, contamination removal, simple repairs and washing, residual chemical processing, and label attachment, are very diverse.

Through such work processes, improving overall completion quality is the core area of IRO International’s business.

IRO International has operated as a finished goods center since changing its status from a men’s clothing promotion company established in 1999 in 2013. They have about 200 million clothing inspection operations annually, with one factory located in the Seoul Southern Prison and another in Gasan-dong.

It is rare for finished factories to be led by someone with a background as a designer, including their representative, who has also worked as a planning MD and production team member for a well-known domestic brand, making communication with clothing companies advantageous.

Director Yoo stated, “The high price competitiveness and quality assurance that cannot be compared with other companies stem from IRO International's systematic production system.”

Displaying pride in their own processed products, Director Yoo observes that the quantity of products produced overseas is increasing. Recently, it is estimated that there are more than 300 finished factories in the metropolitan area alone, and IRO International is considered one of the top three among them.

Being evaluated as a leading company in the increasingly competitive field of finished processing is due to its ability to demonstrate the level of completion that buyers can acknowledge. Based on buyer trust, since transitioning to a finished center, it has shown the capacity to grow twice each year.

This competitiveness has been maintained by operating its first factory with model inmates from the prison escapee system and the second factory with skilled staff working efficiently together. Currently, 25 employees work at the first factory, while 15 are employed at the second.

IRO International has been recognized for its excellence in realizing social objectives, social contributions, and job creation, and has been selected as a social enterprise certified by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Active in MD meetings in the fashion sector for 25 years, Director Yoo is a graduate of Tex+Fa 8th cohort.

Director Yoo hopes that “Tex+Fa serves as a platform for information exchange among companies, fostering active inter-stream exchanges through such networking.”

CEO Jang Eun-jeong of Jang Eun FNC (11th cohort)

There is a young company gaining attention for its unique steps in a somewhat unfamiliar field merging fashion and ICT (Information and Communication Technology). Jang Eun FNC (CEO Jang Eun-jeong) is that protagonist.

Founded in 2018, the company, less than 10 years old, is targeting a blue ocean of smart clothing by introducing functional fashion fusion products that attach heating elements to garments.

CEO Jang Eun-jeong said, “Our representative product, the eco-friendly heating wear ‘Smart Heating Vest’, is designed to allow easy attachment and detachment of heating pads for easy washing and can accurately control temperature through Internet of Things (IoT) sensors.”

She also described that “the updated new product this year allows convenient temperature control using Bluetooth.”

This product has advantages like the ability to track position with smart devices and can take prompt safety measures if an accident occurs in industrial sites or outdoors.

To develop ICT fusion products, they currently hold 34 intellectual property rights, including patents, designs, trademarks, and utility models, while also filing for an additional 4 patents. Recognized for continuous technological development efforts, they received the ‘Technology Innovation Award’ at the Korea Industrial Awards this July.

Having served as the design manager and executive director at Youngone Corp, CEO Jang explained the background of the birth of fusion products by stating that after quitting Youngone, she felt the potential for merging IT technology with fashion while lecturing on convergence design at the university.

CEO Jang shared, “Initially, there were many cultural mismatches between the two industries, and there were many areas where they could not understand each other, leading to challenges. However, continuous efforts for product development eventually allowed us to introduce detachable heating vests in collaboration with KAIST researchers.”

The heating vest, which became a stepping stone for the growth of this company, is evolving and being released each year. Previously, there was only one heating pad, but the product developed this year includes two in the front and one in the back for enhanced warmth. It received a strong response, selling out within a month, prompting a reproduction.

The cooling pads first created during the COVID-19 period have been upgraded this year to feature detachable small fans, receiving an excellent patent award as well.

As a member of the 11th cohort of Tex+Fa, CEO Jang stated that “they serve as a hub for synergy among the streams and hope for further activation.”

Tag#Tex+Fa#Tex+Fa#Korea Textile Industry Association

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Reporter Na Ji-hyun

Source: Korea Textile News (http://www.ktnews.com)