SK Signet Inc., a Korean electric vehicle (EV) charger maker mostly known for its ultra-fast charger, aims to achieve 1 trillion won ($773 million) in sales by 2025 based on the large production capacity of its U.S. plant in Texas.

“Our U.S. plant is capable of producing 10,000 chargers per year, which is about the same as our Korean facilities, and we can increase it up to 20,000 units,” said Chief Executive Officer Shin Jung-ho during a recent interview with the Maeil Business Newspaper, as he revealed the company’s sales target.

SK Signet started as Signet System in 1998 and was spun off in 2016, separating the EV charger business to form Signet EV. The company was taken over by SK Group in April 2021 and changed its name to SK Signet in 2022.

The company’s ultra-fast EV charger has earned a good reputation int the U.S. market, according to Shin. “We are the only company in the U.S. that makes 400-kilowatt super-fast chargers,” he said.

SK Signet’s 400-KWh charger can fully charge an EV in 15 minutes and its 30 to 40 KWh, medium-speed charger takes about two hours to fully charge an EV. “We see a growing demand for medium-speed chargers in fitness centers, government offices and shopping malls. We plan to expand our presence here in the U.S. with both our ultra-fast and medium-speed chargers,” Shin said.

Shin has strong confidence in the company’s potential to be a market leader in the U.S. ”There are many charger manufacturers, including Taiwanese companies, that are eyeing the U.S market, but it takes more than 18 months to obtain charging certification. Moreover, supplying chargers without a local maintenance network is not easy here in this market,” Shin said. “We entered this market about two years ahead of our competitors, and this helps us to build our presence in this market.”

Another strength that the company has lies in its technology. “We aim to provide high-end chargers and services based on our technology,” said Shin, displaying the company’s ambition to become a prestigious manufacturer in the EV charger market. Last year, SK Signet posted 162.6 billion won ($126 million) in sales.

SK Signet also has vision for its future business areas, which is megawatt charging systems. “Commercial vehicles and vessels use batteries with much larger capacities than passenger cars, and thus require faster charging,” Shin said. ”We plan to develop megawatt charging products by next year.”

By Song Min-geun and Chang Iou-chung

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