South Korea’s Autech Group, whose businesses ranging from special-purpose vehicles to home appliances, has been showing an impressive performance thanks to the rising demands for its air conditioners and refrigerators amid record-breaking heat waves during this summer.

Autech Group announced on Sunday that combined sales of its four major businesses, Autech Corp., Carrier Airconditioner, Carrier Refrigeration and Autech-Otis Parking Systems surged 25 percent on year to 326.7 billion won ($292 million) in the first half of this year. Operating profit also rose to 13.1 billion won from 5.1 billion won over the cited period. Sales across the group are expected to reach 900 billion won this year as the record heat waves boost its business of air conditioners and refrigerators, compared to 637.2 billion won last year.

Sales of Carrier air conditioners soared almost 50 percent from June to this month. Its air conditioner manufacturing plant in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, has been operating at full capacity by producing more than 3,000 units per day. The latest Aero 18-step air conditioner is drawing a huge popularity among consumers with its four functions - cooling, heating, air purifying and dehumidifying, and power-saving technology that reduces utility bills by 60 percent.

An official from the company said as it commands almost 20 percent in the market, it would easily maintain its third position in the market following the two home electronics giants Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. He added that its exports would also exceed 100 billion won for the first time this year.

The outlook for the latter half looks also bright. With the rising demands for its heaters for export and inverter hybrid boilers, the sales for this year would amount to 530 billion won compared to 380.5 billion won last year.

With its industry-leading power saving technology, Carrier Refrigeration is also showing a great performance. Its sales of food showcase fridges and freezer parts are expanding around 50 percent. The official said that its power-saving inverter technology allows consumers to save utility bills as much as 49 percent compared to conventional fridges, and it will incorporate Internet of Things (IoT) into its products to enhance efficiency in the latter half. Sales of Carrier Refrigeration exceeded the 100 billion won mark last year, posting 107.8 billion won, and it is expected to reach 150 billion won this year.

Autech Group’s special-purpose vehicle business leads the pack in the local industry. It developed negative pressure ambulances for the first time in Korea, which prevents the spread of pathogens to the outside.

It has recently won many orders of delivery trucks from social commerce companies. Its special-purpose vehicle business is expected to grow more than 20 percent from last year to reach more than 130 billion won this year. Its Autech-Otis Parking Systems established in April this year by acquiring Otis Elevator Korea Co.’s parking system business aims to achieve more than 40 billion won in sales by offering automatic parking facilities of buildings and maintenance services.

The stellar performance is mainly driven by its aggressive investments in research and development that have amounted to more than 10 billion won annually since 2011.

“Autech Group is evolving every year with its focus on offering products that meet the customers’ needs,” said the group’s CEO Kang Sung-hee. He added that the group aims to develop new products every year to stay ahead in the industry.

By Jin Young-tae

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]