Buhmwoo’s clients say that it possesses a special ability in developing specifically-tailored products that can address their exact business needs.

The company’s Super Clean rolling oil, jointly developed with the leading steelmaker POSCO, provides an example of such a high degree of product customization.

Back in 2006, POSCO wanted to secure Asia’s leading automaker Toyota Motor Corporation as a new client for its steel plate products. The steel company had just finished setting up a production line of steel plates for automobiles, with an annual capacity of 6.5 million tons.

POSCO believed that it would fail to win orders from Toyota without making significant improvements in product quality, as the Japanese auto company was known for its stringent quality control and assurance procedures regarding the steel plates.

POSCO wanted to focus on improving the quality of the surface of its steel plates, as lubricity and smoothness of the plate surface have a direct impact on the overall exterior design of the vehicle.

To this end, the steelmaker contacted Buhmwoo Institute of Technology Research (BIT) in 2007 to request the development of a rolling oil with superior cleaning function and better lubricity. Rolling oils are used during the steel rolling process that thins the metal alloy uniformly.

In April of the same year, a task force has been formed within BIT to lead the development of the new type of cold rolling oil for POSCO’s auto steel sheets. The task force team was headed by the senior manager Kwon Goo-jun, supported by the researchers So Kwang-chul and Kim Shin-ae.

The project team set up three technological objectives:

First, the new rolling oil must maintain high lubrication performance and at the same time ensure the safety and stability of POSCO’s overall manufacturing process.

Second, the oil must improve the cleanability of the rolling mill and the steel strip, control the amount of oil and iron substances that adhere to the steel strip surface, while at the same time be able to break up and discharge worn iron fines.

Third, they must develop an oil emulsion technology advanced enough to keep the rolling mill in a clean condition.

Through almost endless days of research and testing, the task force eventually found the appropriate materials and the right mix ratio for the rolling oil that offered the optimum level of lubricity.

But right after producing the prototype, the team ran into an unexpected error, forcing it to dispose of the entire quantity of the prototype volume.

After carefully reviewing and fixing the error, BIT’s task force could finally conduct an on-site inspection with POSCO representatives, who showed extreme satisfaction with the final product.

The new rolling oil not only succeeded in minimizing the friction between the rolling mill and the steel strip but also filtered out wastes created during the work process. Even after several hours of operating the steel manufacturing facilities, Buhmwoo’s rolling oil remained clean while maintaining its original lubricity.

Thanks to using the newly developed Super Clean rolling oil, POSCO could make a quantum leap as a steelmaker by successfully setting up a production system for defect-free, high-quality cold rolled steel coil in its plant in Gwangyang city.

After the development of the cold rolling oil, Buhmwoo has been recognized with POSCO Supplier Quality Certification (POSQC) three times. POSQC is an award given to the company’s top suppliers that made significant contributions in improving POSCO’s product quality.

The new rolling oil has improved the cleanliness of the steel strip surface by 30%, reduced the usage volume of rolling oil by 10%, and also reduced the deposit amount of the steel strip by 40%.

Buhmwoo says that the rolling oil also provides a better work environment for clients by improving the stability of the machinery and reducing the cleaning cost for the rolling mills.

The company’s game-changing fluids have been highly acclaimed by the relevant government bodies as well.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) selected Buhmwoo’s cold rolling oil and anti-rusting oil for steel sheet as World Class Products of Korea and its wet temper fluids as Next Generation World Class Product of Korea.

Based on its technical know-how and research experience in the B2B metalworking fluids sector, Buhmwoo Group has expanded into a B2C segment focusing on hygiene in households.

Since its foundation in the 1970s, the company has accumulated a deep understanding of the properties and applications of water, from its track record of developing and manufacturing water-soluble MWFs.

Based on such knowledge, Buhmwoo’s R&D unit BIT started conducting research as early as 2001 to develop a unique type of water with high detergency by reducing its surface tension.

After 17 months of relentless research, the institute successfully developed antioxidant alkaline water that boasts a strong cleansing power against any pollutant. 

This particular water is 99.7% made up of anionic water that is created as a result of a special type of electrolysis. The anionic water has smaller water particles than regular water, allowing it to penetrate deeper into the surface of the items that need to be cleaned.

Highlighting the water’s strong ability to clean out pesticide residues and germs on food surfaces, Buhmwoo launched the antioxidant alkaline water solution as a fruit and vegetable wash in 2003 under the name of VegeAqua.

VegeAqua stands out among similar products as it contains no chemicals, not even the surfactants that are commonly used in the industry. As VegeAqua is colorless and odorless, it does not affect the food taste either.

When washed with the regular tap water, only 14% of pesticide residues were removed from the tested fruits and vegetables. But when VegeAqua washed the same fruits and vegetables, around 90% of the pesticide residues were removed and also eliminated harmful germs and bacteria on the surface.

VegeAqua’s detergency and safety has been certified by the relevant academic and government bodies including Seoul National University, National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service of Korea, Japan Food Research Laboratories as well as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In 2013, VegeAqua also entered the US-based premium, natural foods supermarket chain Whole Foods Market. VegeAqua is the first household detergent made in Korea to be sold at Whole Foods, which is known for offering products that do not contain any artificial additives, sweeteners, coloring or preservatives.

According to Buhmwoo Group, VegeAqua has further expanded its sales channel by signing up as an Amazon.com vendor in 2019.

In China, VegeAqua’s sub-brand BabyAqua is marketed as the main product. BabyAqua is a detergent for baby products such as toys, and like VegeAqua it does not contain any chemicals or toxic substances.

In addition to the usage on food sanitation and baby hygiene, Buhmwoo Group is expanding the application of its antioxidant alkaline water to other areas including cosmetics, medical products as well as electronic device cleaners.

Buhmwoo Group Chairman Kim Myung-won says that he had long dreamed about creating a company that provides love to all kinds of life in clean and eco-friendly ways, under the keywords of “green”, “clean”, “love” and “life.”

To realize his entrepreneurial dream, the chairman established GCL FARM, an agricultural company named after the four keywords, in November 2018.

The agricultural company specializes in vertical farming, which grows crops indoors in vertically stacked layers within a controlled environment.

This advanced type of farming adopts smart technologies to optimize plant growth by controlling and adjusting various conditions including temperature, humidity, airflow and light.  

In May 2020, GCL FARM has completed the construction of Korea’s largest vertical farm plant, with a total floor space of 3,800㎡, at a site sized 10,000㎡ in Hwaseong city near the capital.

Kim highlights that his new company and its vertical farm plant will be offering clean food ingredients that can promote public health, at a time when soil contamination, water pollution and air pollution are making it increasingly difficult to secure uncontaminated food.

The vertical farms are reported to have multiple advantages over more traditional farms:

First, they can provide a stable supply of crops by being independent from weather conditions including natural disasters.

Second, such stability of supply enables these farms to avoid price fluctuation in the market.

Third, the consumers can enjoy the farm produces without worrying about pesticide residues and metal toxicity, which are common issues for traditional farm crops.

Last year, GCL FARM was selected to receive financial and technical support from the Korean government’s Rural Development Administration on its vertical smart farm modeling project.

After having successfully cultivated the state-funded project’s pilot crops in October 2020, GCL FARM plans to also grow functional crops, which can be used as the base material for various health products, cosmetics, as well as medical products. 

The company says it also hopes to export vertical farm plant technologies overseas, after accumulating the relevant technical expertise in Korea.

Buhmwoo Group says that it could sustain business growth for almost 50 years largely due to its unique corporate culture driven by two key management philosophies.

The first is humanism. Buhmwoo founder Kim Myung-won believes that people are the most important of all. Kim says he was a firm believer in the humanist philosophy even prior to the establishment of his company 47 years ago, and that these ideas were infused in its founding principles.

Based on the management philosophy that puts people before everything else, Buhmwoo Group has never had a layoff in the company’s long history, even during the first and second oil shocks in the 1970s, the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.

Kim’s people-first philosophy, unflinching even during the Asian Financial Crisis when the group’s management team argued that a layoff was inevitable, earned him the deep trust and respect from employees and clients alike.

His second guiding philosophy is social contribution. From the very start of his company, Kim dreamed of building a better society through business.

To this end, Buhmwoo Group has not only been providing top-quality customized products to its clients but has also engaged in various social responsibility activities since 1990.

Kim donated part of his private fortune to establish the Buhmmyung Scholarship Foundation in 1990, which so far has provided support of around 15.5 billion won ($13.9 million) to students in need.

Also since 1990, Buhmwoo has been reaching out to remote villages in Gangwon Province, located in the eastern end of the country, and South Jeolla Province, located in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, in the form of a sisterhood relationship.

The group has been helping its sister villages with scholarship support, direct sale of local produces, as well as funding for field trips to overseas farm sites with more advanced levels of agricultural development. Moreover, Buhmwoo employees are making yearly visits to the villages to help out with farm chores.

Last year, the country’s Ministry of Health and Welfare added Buhmwoo Group to its list of companies making a significant contribution to local communities.

In 2017, the company earned the Dongbaek Medal -- the third-highest grade among five -- of the Order of Civil Merit awarded by the South Korean president to individuals or entities that have shown “outstanding meritorious service in the area of politics, economy, society, education, art or science in the interest of improving the welfare of citizens and promoting national development.”