Refer Report

Advanced metals are essential for space and aviation equipment parts. This is because materials with high strength and heat resistance that can withstand high temperatures and pressures are needed. Recently, as private companies have entered the space and aviation industry, the demand for advanced materials is also increasing.

Listed on the KOSDAQ market
HVM
It is a company that has localized advanced metal manufacturing technology that was monopolized by a small number of global companies. In 2012, it developed an alloy material for the combustor used in the Naro launch vehicle with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

Moon Seung-ho, CEO of HVM, said on the 2nd, “Previously, we mainly produced materials for semiconductors, displays, and general petrochemical products, but in the future, we plan to expand our business area to supply materials to the space, aviation, and defense industries.”

The background to President Moon’s firm business direction was influenced by the history of supplying materials to a U.S. global private rocket development company in 2022. He emphasized, “The U.S. is the largest market for space business,” and “We have already passed the first hurdle as we have a history of supplying to major U.S. companies.” He continued, “If we establish mass production facilities and maintain quality in the future, we will be able to achieve sales of 100 billion won in 2026.” Last year’s sales were 41.5 billion won.

In response to the increase in orders, the company began construction of a second factory measuring 7,603㎡ (approximately 2,300 pyeong) in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, last month. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of January next year, and sales are expected to begin in earnest in the second quarter. President Moon explained, “If factories 1 and 2 are combined, annual production capacity will increase approximately fourfold from 5,420 tons to 22,000 tons.” Earlier, HVM announced at the time of its KOSDAQ listing in late June that it would invest the public offering funds in expanding facilities.

As the company has been conducting joint research and development (R&D) with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Hanwha Aerospace, CEO Moon expressed confidence in achieving sales of 100 billion won. In the first half of this year, the company jointly developed titanium alloy materials for aviation and defense with KAI and listed them on the KAI Qualified Products List (QPL). It is currently developing aircraft engine materials with Hanwha Aerospace with a target date of 2027. CEO Moon said, “The jointly developed materials are expected to be applied to various projects promoted by KAI and Hanwha Aerospace in the future.”

We will also continue to develop our existing business area of ​​metal materials for displays. In May, we domestically produced fine metal masks (FMM), an essential material for displays. FMM is a thin metal plate used when depositing organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display light sources on a substrate. Previously, we imported all of it from Japan. President Moon said, “We will begin full-scale mass production of the material in the second half of next year at the earliest.”

President Moon’s goal is to domestically produce various advanced metal materials through continuous R&D. He emphasized the company’s R&D capabilities, saying, “The number of R&D personnel is 23, which is 17.8% of the total number of employees (129),” and “In terms of proportion, it will be higher than most mid-sized metal companies.” He continued, “Advanced metal materials have been imported mainly from advanced countries such as the U.S., Germany, and Japan,” and predicted, “If we increase orders through steady R&D, we will be able to achieve sales in the trillions by 2030.”

Anyang = Reporter Lee Mi-kyung capital@hankyung.com

Source: Korean