Visit to Huvis 'Duralon-Cool' Manufacturing Site, Korea's No.1 Cooling Material [Report]

[Financial News]  


【Jeonju (Jeollabuk-do) = Reporter Park Shin-young】Huvis Plant 1 located in Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do. As soon as I entered, I was hit by a wave of hot air. The interior of Plant 1, which produces 'Duralon-Cool' cooling yarn, was ironically recording 38 degrees, no different from outside. Due to the use of hot water to increase yarn strength, the temperature does not easily drop even with the air conditioner on. The factory line was running non-stop, reflecting the surge in demand for cooling fibers due to the heatwave, making the internal air feel even hotter. 
On the 11th, Choi Jong-min, head of Huvis New Material Production Team, said, "It takes time to make fabric and complete the finished product after taking the yarn, so May is usually the peak for summer orders, but this year, due to the increased heatwave level and the expectation of a longer summer than usual, orders are still continuing this month." 
The 'Duralon-Cool' produced here is a summer cooling material that provides a cool touch similar to rayon and is applied to major domestic bedding brands. It applies the principle of 'contact cooling' that provides immediate cooling upon contact, and its main ingredient, polyethylene (PE), has a higher thermal conductivity than cotton or nylon, quickly lowering the user's body temperature.
Since its full market entry in 2022, 'Duralon-Cool' has been steadily increasing in sales every year, currently occupying about 70% of the domestic cooling fiber market. The annual production scale is also 1200 tons, making Huvis undoubtedly No.1 in Korea. Although the proportion of 'Duralon-Cool' in total sales is still only single digits, it is a so-called 'specialty' with high added value that will be responsible for Huvis' future.
To maintain the pride of being the No.1 company, factory employees are also working hard to achieve zero defect rates. The current defect rate is about 2%, but the goal is to eliminate even that. Choi Jong-min emphasized, "A defect in yarn means a micro-fiber, and if there is a micro-fiber, problems such as needle breakage occur in the fabric-making process," adding, "We conduct precise inspections in two stages to show that 'Huvis products are definitely different.'"
Recently, another concern besides defect rates has emerged to trouble employees. This is because Chinese counterfeits are being imported indiscriminately. Employees are trying to make the best quality products, but they say they are losing energy as the number of cases where low-quality Chinese products are disguised and sold as 'Duralon-Cool' is increasing.
Lee Sang-min, a business team assistant manager, said, "There are many cases where only a part of the 'Duralon-Cool' yarn is used and it is pretended that the entire yarn was used, or it is sold as if it was used even though it was not used at all," adding, "Chinese copy products are difficult to expect cooling properties and have many quality issues such as easy discoloration or pilling, but the number of cases where they are disguised as our products has increased sharply this year."
As the situation is like this, complaints are pouring in from partners who use 100% 'Duralon-Cool'. Lee said, "To block Chinese copy products, we have introduced a new tag (Tag) for each use that is applied only to 100% Duralon-Cool fabric from this season," adding, "We plan to strengthen the monitoring system at all times and respond with strong legal measures to violations." 
As differentiation strategy is important, the use of Duralon-Cool, which was limited to bedding, is being expanded to the clothing field. Generally, PE material has a limitation of being difficult to dye, but Huvis has developed 'original yarn' that puts dye in the yarn, 'dyed yarn' that can be post-dyed, and 'soft yarn' with a soft touch, making it possible to implement various colors and designs.
From this year, Duralon-Cool for clothing is being officially applied to cooling clothing and hats of domestic and international outdoor brands. The T-shirt with 'Duralon-Cool' recently introduced by Umbro sold out its first batch. Lee Sang-min said, "Recently, major domestic outdoor brands are also showing interest, so it seems that various 'Duralon-Cool' clothing products will be introduced." 
padet80@fnnews.com Reporter Park Shin-young