WhatsNext_feature - Window Film

Volume 15, Issue 5 - September/October 2011

feature

What’s Next?
Nexfil Execs Shares Plans for the Future

In January 2011, Window Film magazine editor Katie Hodge visited Nexfil headquarters in Gyeonggi-Do, Korea. Nexfil president and owner ShinSoon Lee and Nexfil USA president S.W. Choi with Hodge to talk about the company and what the industry can expect to see from them in the future.

Window Film magazine (WFM): Tell me a little about the company and the type of products you provide.
Choi: We have grown quite fast. We produce from high-end to low-end films- specialty, Nano IR, dyed, metalized, one-ply, two-ply, glue-dyed, decorative, safety and solar films. We also produce all kinds of film for solar applications. Nexfil started producing window film for the global market in 2001-2002. Since then, the company has invested a lot of money to expand our manufacturing facilities in Korea. There is also a plan to establish a metalizing line and other lines in the U.S.
Lee: Once we began developing all of our new products, our sales have increased almost 50 percent every year. Until seven years ago, we were very concentrated on the Chinese market, but now we send film to countries around the world and now have a presence in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, as well as North and South America, and Asia.

WFM: I understand the company has an international presence. Are certain products more popular in specific countries?
Choi: Countries in South America and Central America are buying a lot of our products, in all of our lines. Southeast Asia also buys a lot of different product lines from glue-dyed, to chip-dyed, to the high-end products like specialty, Nano IR, one-ply, and two-ply. We are selling of lot of these high-end products to the Chinese market as well. People there are spending a lot of money to buy window film because they believe that their cars are a very valuable asset so they will spend the money there. We have a large market for architectural films in these countries because of the movement for energy conservation.

WFM: How is Nexfil organized?
Lee: We produce the raw materials here in Korea and can distribute to other locations throughout the globe.
Choi: We have two manufacturing locations in Korea with a national distribution there as well. We also have a Chinese and German branch for distribution, as well as the U.S. branch. The global market is regionally divided among the sales managers. There are five sales managers in the Korea office. Under Mr. Lee there is the operations director in Korea, then there is me, the financial director, products director and then the lab director.

WFM: I know you had planned to open a plant in the U.S., but that has been delayed.
Lee: We wanted to make a brand that would be “made in the USA.” I wanted to expand so that around 50 percent of our sales were coming from the U.S. We hope to open our US facility late next year and we want to expand our facility in Korea as well.
Choi: Since I established this distributing branch, I have been trying to arrange and establish a manufacturing facility [in the U.S.] as well. We recently commissioned a German company to begin building one of our new production lines that will be used in the U.S. manufacturing facility. Because of the crisis in the Middle East and Japan, gas prices have been crazy so we have been a bit delayed in our final plan. As things settle down, we will establish the manufacturing facility possibly by the end of next year. It’s just a matter of time.

WFM: What do you think sets your company apart from other manufacturers?
Choi: I can’t say our product is perfect, but we have a good product and good service and that makes us different. Good service and good quality sets us apart.
Lee: I am thirsty for new products all the time. Our response and our actions all show this. If we have an idea we just do it as we think of it. Our development is very fast.

WFM: What does the future hold for the company?
Lee: We are open to everything. We are not sure about what we will see in 5-10 years, but we are preparing many items for the upcoming SEMA show. After we set up our solar window film we wanted to make some other products for the IT industries.
Choi: Once we establish the facility in the U.S. we are going to establish a new dyed extrusion product there as well. Once we are producing the product in the U.S. we can provide it in all of North and South America. We have a really great future because we know how to reduce cost and improve the quality of the product. We don’t charge a lot or make a huge profit when we sell our products. I cannot disclose the information, but we supply a lot of our products to other manufacturers. We have a great financial structure because of all of this and look forward to the future.

Fast Facts
• President and owner: ShinSoon Lee
• Nexfil USA president: S.W. Choi
• Employees: Around 110
• Locations:
Manufacturing- Korea
Distribution- China, Germany, U.S.
• Size of Korean manufacturing facility: 40,000 square meters
• Location of U.S. distribution facility: Gardena, Calif.
• U.S. distributing facility annual sales: $15 million
• Korean manufacturing facility annual sales: $80 million
• Nexfil is a private company

Katie Hodge is the editor of Window Film magazine.