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Native name | 화천기공주식회사 |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| KRX: 000850 | |
| Industry | Machine tools, industrial castings |
| Founded | December 20, 1945 |
| Founder | Kwon Seung-gwan |
| Headquarters | 123-17 Hanamsandan 4beon-ro, Jangdeok-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, South Korea |
| Key people | Kwon Hyung-seok, Kwon Hyung-do (co-chief executives) |
Number of employees | 311 (2026) |
| Website | www |
Hwacheon Machine Tool Co., Ltd. (화천기공주식회사; 貨泉機工) is a South Korean manufacturer of metal-cutting machine tools and industrial castings, based in Gwangju. The company dates its founding to 20 December 1945 and has been listed on the Korea Exchange since 18 November 1999.[1] It built what Maeil Business Newspaper reported in 1977 as the first numerically controlled lathe made in South Korea, and in 1980 became the first South Korean firm to export NC lathes.[2][3]
History
[edit]The founder, Kwon Seung-gwan, entered the machine trade in 1932 as an apprentice at a Japanese-run foundry and operated a scrap-iron workshop from 1945.[4] The company gives 20 December 1945 as its founding date and states that its original purpose was the manufacture of metal-cutting machine tools and kitchenware.[1] In 1952 Kwon established the partnership Hwacheon Machine Works (화천기공사) in Gwangju.[4]
In May 1977 Maeil Business Newspaper reported that the firm had developed a numerically controlled automatic lathe, describing it as the first produced in South Korea.[2] In October of that year it established a subsidiary, Hwacheon Metal, to manufacture special castings.[5]
Exports and expansion, 1978–1983
[edit]In April 1978 Hwacheon made its first machine tool export, shipping US$260,000 worth of lathes to Australia through an American intermediary.[6] In July 1979 it began producing machine tool chucks through an affiliate, Hwacheon Chuck Industry, under a tie-up with the Japanese manufacturer Teikoku Chuck.[7] That September it exhibited its NC lathe at a machine tool fair in Milan as a first step into the European market,[8] and in October it agreed to supply 100 general-purpose machine tools a month to Japan, a country that had until then been South Korea's principal source of imported machine tools.[9]
In July 1980 the company exported NC lathes to West Germany, reported as the first such export by a South Korean manufacturer,[3] followed later that month by five milling machines, also described as a first for a Korean-built machine of that type.[10] In October 1980 it became the first South Korean company to exceed US$1 million in monthly exports of a single machine tool product,[11] and signed a long-term contract to supply general-purpose lathes to the Italian firm Salerno.[12] At the 1981 Korea Machine Show the company presented a compact computer-controlled NC lathe.[13]
Hwacheon Machine Works absorbed Hwacheon Metal in July 1983 and took its present name. It moved to a new plant in the Hanam Industrial Complex in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, in January 1989 and opened an attached research institute that September.[4]
In 1995 a Hwacheon CNC piston machining machine received an IR52 Jang Yeong-sil Award, a South Korean industrial technology prize.[14] The company passed the stock exchange's listing review in October 1999[15] and was listed on the Korea Exchange on 18 November 1999.[1][4]
The company acquired the component manufacturer MTS in 2019 and established Sirius Investment in 2021.[1] In March 2022 its materials division moved to a new plant in the Daema Industrial Complex in Yeonggwang.[1]
Operations
[edit]Hwacheon Machine Tool operates two divisions. The machinery division produces CNC lathes, CNC milling machines and machining center components, and the materials division produces castings used in robot components, machine tools and industrial machinery. In the first half of 2026 the machinery division accounted for 83.0 percent of consolidated revenue and the materials division for 17.0 percent.[1]
Machine tools are made at the company's main plant and its Pyeongdong plant, both in Gwangju, and are sold domestically through the affiliated company Hwacheon Machinery. Castings are produced at the Yeonggwang plant for the domestic and Japanese markets.[1]
The company sells overseas through six regional subsidiaries: Hwacheon Machinery America, based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, covering the United States, Canada and Mexico; Hwacheon Machinery Europe in Germany; Hwacheon Asia Pacific in Singapore; and further subsidiaries in Vietnam, India and Dongguan, China. A separate Indian subsidiary, Glotech Mold India, manufactures moulds using the company's machine tools.[1][16]
As of 30 June 2026 the company employed 311 people.[1]
Finances and governance
[edit]Consolidated revenue was ₩225.7 billion in 2023, ₩222.2 billion in 2024 and ₩221.8 billion in 2025. The company recorded an operating loss of ₩741 million in 2024, between operating profits of ₩4.56 billion in 2023 and ₩4.22 billion in 2025. Net profit was ₩10.6 billion, ₩8.65 billion and ₩11.4 billion in those three years respectively.[17] Share capital is ₩11 billion, divided into 2.2 million ordinary shares of ₩5,000 par value.[1]
The largest shareholder group, consisting of Kwon Young-yeol and seven others, held 48.78 percent of the company as of the end of 2025.[17] The board has six members, four executive and two outside directors, and is chaired by one of the two co-chief executives.[17]
Group companies
[edit]The Hwacheon group comprises Hwacheon Machine Tool, Hwacheon Machinery, Seoam Machinery Industrial, TPS Korea and the Seoam Cultural Foundation. "Seoam" (서암) was the founder's art name.[4]
Hwacheon Machinery Co., Ltd. (화천기계; KRX: 010660) was established in June 1975.[4] In 1999 Maeil Business Newspaper reported that Hwacheon Machinery held a 20 percent stake in Hwacheon Machine Tool, and characterised the two as making lower-priced and higher-priced products respectively.[18] It is headquartered in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, with its plant in Changwon,[19] and distributes machine tools made by Hwacheon Machine Tool.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 반기보고서 [Semi-annual report] (Report) (in Korean). Hwacheon Machine Tool. 2026-08-14 – via DART, Financial Supervisory Service.
- 1 2 "화천기공 수치제어 자동선반 개발" [Hwacheon Machine Tool develops numerically controlled automatic lathe]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1977-05-30. p. 4.
- 1 2 "화천기공 NC선반 대서독 수출 성공" [Hwacheon Machine Tool succeeds in exporting NC lathes to West Germany]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1980-07-01. p. 3.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "화천기공" [Hwacheon Machine Tool]. Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies.
- ↑ "화천기공 화천금속 설립 특수주물 생산 본격화 위해" [Hwacheon Machine Tool establishes Hwacheon Metal to begin full-scale special casting production]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1977-10-25. p. 6.
- ↑ "화천기공 공작기계 호주 첫수출 26만불 규모" [Hwacheon Machine Tool makes first machine tool export to Australia, worth US$260,000]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1978-04-05. p. 6.
- ↑ "화천기공사 공작기계 척 생산 일 제국척과 제휴" [Hwacheon Machine Works to produce machine tool chucks in tie-up with Japan's Teikoku Chuck]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1979-07-26. p. 3.
- ↑ "화천기공사 유럽기계전 참여" [Hwacheon Machine Works takes part in European machine exhibition]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1979-09-14. p. 3.
- ↑ "범용공작기계 일에 수출 화천기공 매월 1백대씩 계약" [General-purpose machine tools exported to Japan: Hwacheon Machine Tool contracts for 100 units a month]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1979-10-25. p. 3.
- ↑ "화천기공 밀링기 5대 서독에 수출" [Hwacheon Machine Tool exports five milling machines to West Germany]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1980-07-26. p. 3.
- ↑ "화천기공 공작기계 수출 월 백만불 돌파" [Hwacheon Machine Tool machine tool exports pass US$1 million a month]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1980-10-06. p. 3.
- ↑ "화천기공 이태리 살레노사에 공작기계 수출계약" [Hwacheon Machine Tool signs machine tool supply contract with Italy's Salerno]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1980-10-20. p. 3.
- ↑ "'81 한국기계전 신제품 소개 소형 NC선반 화천기공사" [1981 Korea Machine Show new products: compact NC lathe, Hwacheon Machine Works]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1981-09-26. p. 8.
- ↑ "IR52 장영실상 화천기공 CNC 피스톤가공기" [IR52 Jang Yeong-sil Award: Hwacheon Machine Tool CNC piston machining machine]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1995-01-16. p. 15.
- ↑ "기라정보·화천기공 등 3사 내달 상장 거래소 상장심의 통과" [Three companies including Hwacheon Machine Tool pass exchange listing review]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1999-10-07. p. 21.
- ↑ "Hwacheon Machinery America". Hwacheon. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
- 1 2 3 기업지배구조보고서 [Corporate governance report] (Report) (in Korean). Hwacheon Machine Tool. 2026-06-01 – via Korea Exchange.
- ↑ "화천기공 등 6개사 상장 채비 투자가치 따져보세요" [Six companies including Hwacheon Machine Tool prepare to list]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 1999-09-30. p. 25.
- ↑ "화천기계" [Hwacheon Machinery]. Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies.
External links
[edit]Category:Machine tool builders Category:Manufacturing companies of South Korea Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1945 Category:Companies listed on the Korea Exchange