spotlight on KOREA
spotlight on KOREA Region Harold Park Moneual CEO Park Hong-Seok Educated in Washburn State University, USA where he became a BA in Computer Information, Park Hong-Seok gained his MBA at California Polytech State University. Before becoming Chairman of Moneual Inc. in 2005, he began his career as Senior Sales Manager at Samsung Electronics America in 1989 before becoming Vice President of Max Group in 2001 and then Vice President of BenQ America in 2003. Park Hong-Seok was awarded Samsung Best Sales Award 1995-2000, BenQ Rapid Growth Award in 2004, the Microsoft PC Innovation Award 2007-2009 and the KITA USD 100M Export Prize in 2010. About Moneual Moneual was one of the world’s first companies to develop Home Theater Personal Computers in 2004, and has since successfully expanded from specialising in high quality HTPCs, desktop and laptop PCs, to award winning robotic vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, and healthcare and beauty products. In 2010, Moneual released the Sonamu PC, with a builtin power saving module. Presently, Moneual has been operating with five business units which are IT system, network solution, software, robot home appliances and ESCO. Moneual is now focusing on IT technology convergence. Destination Europe European expansion is main focus for Moneual Moneual CEO Harold Park tells IFA International about the latest products his company is bringing to IFA, his plans to grow the European business and why the company has opened an office in Germany … [ Interview by Richard Barnes ] For IFA 2012, Moneual's key products are the vacuum cleaning robots and the Anion facial moisturizer. The vacuum cleaning robots are designed to provide cleaning efficiency and powerful suction with every clean. The Anion facial moisturizer is the beauty care product that keeps your skin moisturized all day using nano-sized water particles plus anion. is why we opened a German branch, through which we are also targeting France and Italy as prime sales targets. Added to that, we are planning to aggressively expand into other European markets. How important is it to impose your brand in Europe? And are you also doing OEM deals? Moneual is actively working on building its OEM-based business in order to break into new markets and European territories are currently our main objective. However, in the long term, we aim to release many products under our own brand. To achieve this, our plan is to make more direct contact with customers in order to establish trust. of the year. So, we have high expectations for the Anion facial moisturizer, and our intention is to create a whole new market for Korean beauty care products in Europe. How important is IFA in terms of your global marketing? Angel Juicer IFA is one of the important trade shows in the world, and so of course we participate at every year. It has provided us with an opportunity to generate new business, to make contacts and also to see examples of every kind of new technology. Hall 8.1 Stand 208 For the first time at IFA, Angel Co. from Korea presents a high-end, elegant, stainless juicer that compresses healthy, high enzyme juices from fruit and vegetables. Already selling in 28 countries, this stylish, high-quality machine comes in consumer and commercial models, is entirely metal with no plastic parts, and employs the world’s first twin-gear system for high-yield extraction of nutritional juice packed with life-giving enzymes and minerals. “The juice produced is 5-17 times more nutritious than from conventional blade or single screw juicers,” says Kwang Lee, Manager of Angel. Lee looks forward to meeting buyers at the Angel Juicer stand 105 at Hall 7.1b. According to GfK, vacuum cleaning robots are a fast growing category in most European markets. What are the best territories for Moneual? We are fully focused on the European market, and that Please tell us more about your beauty care products and how you plan to roll them out in Europe. Interest in skin care is increasing regardless of the age of the user, and throughout every season www.angel-juicer.com 36
Green Page The Greening of Cleaning Kärcher raises the bar in eco-friendly, resource-efficient products HARTMUT JENNER Hartmut Jenner joined Alfred Kärcher in 1991, on completing his studies in business administration and engineering at the University of Stuttgart. Starting as Assistant to the Managing Director of Finance, Accounting and HR, he moved up through the ranks to become, in 1998, CEO of Kärcher North America. In 2000, he was appointed Managing Director and, a year later, took on the role of CEO of the Kärcher Group. Since 2001, he has also served as Chairman of the Alfred Kärcher Foundation. ALFRED KÄRCHER Kärcher employs more than 9,000 people in its 93 subsidiaries in 57 countries. The family firm manufactures its cleaning machines in Germany, Italy, Romania, the US, Brazil, Mexico and China. In 2011, the cleaning specialist posted its highest-ever sales revenues of euro 1.7bn, and sold 8.25 million machines — more than ever before it its 77-year history. We set great store in economic efficiency and environmental protection. We pay attention to sustainability throughout our corporate processes, from development and choice of materials to production and sales. Kärcher was the first company in the cleaning industry to be ISO 14001 certified [in 1996], which means it meets internationally recognised standards for environmental management systems. How environmentally aware are your clients? Our customers are looking increasingly for products that are eco-friendly and resource-efficient. We are satisfying this requirement with, for example, our DS 6.000 vacuum cleaner with water filter, which we are showing here at IFA for the first time. It runs on just 900 Watts, so it consumes 35% less energy than machines with comparable cleaning power. That benefits the “Although the number of units we produce has risen continuously in recent years, our impact on the environment has barely increased” Passage Hall 2.1 / 4.1 Stand 101 With a strategy geared towards long-term success rather than instant solutions, sustainability has been at the heart of Alfred Kärcher for the last 77 years. Group CEO Hartmut Jenner tells IFA International how respect for people and social responsibility impacts the German cleaning giant’s thinking… environment and reduces electricity costs. And its performance is always constant, since there is no loss of suction as the dust bag fills up. What impact has Kärcher’s green philosophy had on its manufacturing processes? Although the number of units we produce has risen continuously in recent years, our impact on the environment has barely increased. Indeed, in some areas we have greatly reduced it. This is due to the use of energysaving technologies and renewable energy sources, the systematic avoidance of waste and various other measures to protect the environment. As a result, Kärcher has reduced its carbon emissions by more than 1,500 tons at its German sites. Specific measures include operating a woodchip power plant, recycling the waste heat from plastics manufacturing, employing modern building technology and insulation, the use of geothermal heat, and the introduction of solar and photovoltaic systems. We achieve sustainable resource savings by recycling water — for instance, in machine-function tests — processing alternative materials and optimising logistics. We also recycle more than 95% of all waste and the rest is disposed in an environmentally friendly way. What percentage of Kärcher’s products are made of recycled materials? We increase the proportion of recycled materials in our products constantly. For example, with our eco!ogic series of pressure washers, up to 60% of the materials used are recycled plastic. Furthermore, Kärcher has voluntarily stopped using PVC and phthalates [softeners] in the materials used in those models. We place great emphasis on the environmental characteristics of packaging, too. Ours consists entirely of recycled cardboard and paper from sustainable forestry. Overall, almost all our machines are over 90% recyclable. Hartmut Jenner: CEO of the Kärcher Group In what other areas are you striving to become greener? Reducing energy consumption when using a machine while simultaneously enhancing its cleaning performance and user-friendliness is certainly a central aspect of our activities. But there are other important areas of action in addition to this. Reducing water consumption and noise emissions play an important role, as do the efficient use of cleaning agents and the optimisation of products with regards to durability and repairability. www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 3 rd September 2012 37
