Starting next year, Korea will enter a super-aging society where 2 out of 10 people will be over 65 years old. As life expectancy increases due to technological and environmental developments, interest is focused on how to spend one's golden years. According to the Korea International Trade Association, the size of the domestic senior industry market is expected to more than double from 72 trillion won in 2020 to 168 trillion won in 2030. As times change, technologies and services that manage and support the health status of the elderly, as well as industries that provide convenience in life, are receiving attention as future industries.

Among them, Seahorse Industries has been attracting attention as a company that specializes in manufacturing construction welfare-related products. We are working to ensure a safe life for the senior class by introducing a product line that provides convenience for actual use rather than simply a product aimed at corporate profit. We met and talked with Woo-kyung Park, CEO of Haehorse Industries, who is leading the change in awareness of honest products and social workers.

Please introduce the company.

Haehorse Industry is a manufacturing company specializing in construction welfare. It was founded in 1990 with the development of ‘Nobon’, a synonym for baseboards, in the early days of the business. Currently, we are focusing on architectural welfare products such as handrails, bumper rails, handrails, safety handles, and non-slip/non-slip, and experts who know exactly about architecture and welfare have gathered to conduct research and development, design support, and site management. < /p>

The architectural welfare industry is a field that is growing every year, but welfare experts do not know architecture and architectural experts are indifferent to welfare. We were frustrated by the fact that there were few experts who truly understood the current architectural welfare, so we wanted to become a specialized company that encompasses architecture and welfare. Accordingly, the unprecedented term ‘construction welfare product’ was coined for the first time. In Korea, awareness of welfare products is often limited to products for the disabled. There is a relative lack of interest in products for the senior class, which everyone will experience. In order to respond to the senior industry, which is expanding due to the aging population, it is time to integrate architectural welfare products, rather than separate architecture that creates space for seniors and welfare products that promote convenience. We are striving to grow into a leading company that presents guidelines in the field and takes the lead in developing construction welfare products essential for seniors.

What is your main business and differentiation

Haehorse Industries classifies items related to welfare among numerous building materials as building welfare products and is developing, manufacturing, design support, construction, and consulting. The company's main products include bumper rails and curtain tracks for hospitals, handrails and railings for commercial facilities, safety handles for the disabled and seniors, diaper changing tables and infant protection chairs for public facilities, and Norbon and non-slip for interior use.

In the past, before Korea's construction welfare industry was properly established, there were no professional welfare products produced domestically, so it had to rely entirely on imports. Mainly in Japan, Europe,Products imported from the United States and other countries were priced too high compared to domestic demand or were not of appropriate specifications for Korean people to use. As a result, demand organizations that needed the product had to visit domestic manufacturers and ask them to develop a product that could be used at an appropriate price. Haehorse Industry, which was producing general building materials such as non-slip, non-slip, handrails and handrails at the time, began developing products to meet these market demands, starting with bumper handrails for hospitals and welfare facilities, curtain tracks for hospitals, high-end safety handles, We succeeded in domestically producing infant protection products.

In particular, diaper changing tables and infant protection chairs, which can be easily found in subway or highway rest areas, are produced entirely in our own factory in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do, and are used in general hospitals, nursing homes, Incheon International Airport, etc. for the disabled and senior citizens. Only Haehorse Industries produces high-end safety handles installed in public facilities with high frequency of use domestically.

Construction welfare products have different regulations in each country, so it is difficult to satisfy various domestic laws with imported products alone. Our company produces building welfare products directly in accordance with domestic regulations, and in addition, we can immediately produce custom-made products at our factory, enabling production in a short period of time at sites where it is difficult to meet regulations with standard products due to various conditions.

In particular, Haehorse Industries acquired venture business certification and established an architectural welfare research center to professionally develop and grow architectural welfare products, and has achieved country of origin certification export qualifications, selection of building materials recommended by the Architectural Association, universal design certification, ISO 9001 certification, etc. We are proving that we are a professional company in this field.

Since 2010, it has maintained the No. 1 market share for building welfare products, and overseas, starting with its participation in the KOICA Vietnam Quang Nam General Hospital aid project in 2008, it has been providing welfare convenience to large hospitals across the country, including Ho Chi Minh University Hospital and Hanoi 108 Armed Forces Hospital. It supplies facility materials and has emerged as the largest local supplier of construction welfare products. Its products are exported to Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Angola, Ethiopia, and Cameroon, and it has established itself as a professional manufacturer of building welfare products that represents Korea both in name and reality. In particular, even during difficult times due to the coronavirus pandemic, we achieved a cumulative export performance of $1 million over three years from 2020 to 2022.

What are your future goals

Haehorse Industries' goal is to lead the industry as an expert-centered company specializing in building welfare products. Through the Architectural Welfare Research Institute, we will develop and produce a variety of architectural welfare products suited to the domestic market and grow into a total solution company in the architectural welfare field that can provide professional consulting to welfare institutions.

In a situation where discussions on the level of universal welfare are needed to revitalize welfare products and establish systems for seniors, Haehorse Industries would like to use the expertise and technology it has accumulated. We look forward to our active role and are strengthening cooperation with companies and associations related to the senior industry. The priority goal is to create the right product so that people who truly need it can use it safely and comfortably.

The secondary goal is to take the lead in changing the perception of social workers. When I greet a social worker with a business card, I often hear, ‘You’re doing a good job.’ It's a good story to hear, but it also feels bittersweet. Social workers are also a profession, but I wonder if they should just be people who do good work. I want to change the world's view that social workers are people who are not interested in money and just need to help others even if they don't receive a proper salary. Of course, social workers are people who help others, but I think they should receive fair compensation for doing the right thing. It seems like too much attention is being focused on non-profits, so I think the perception itself needs to change a bit for it to change in a better direction. In the future, we will not forget this mindset and grow into a company that contributes to the industry and society.I will work hard.

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