CEO
A history of challenge built on honesty and sincerity, and a promise to become a world-class company
When I entered the non-ferrous metals business in 1974 by installing a small crucible furnace and a compact extrusion machine in a small factory in Yeongdeungpo, I could not imagine the future not just 50 years ahead, but even one or two years later.
If I go back even further, to 1964, when I came to Seoul without a single coin in hand and worked with a makeshift furnace built from a pot in a small iron shop on the outskirts of the city at the age of twenty, I could hardly predict what would happen a day or a month later.
Daechang’s 50-year history has been a history of challenge built on honesty and sincerity. From its early years, the company led the localization and technological advancement of brass products by becoming the first in Korea to develop and mass-produce copper anodes for PCB plating and create meaningful import substitution effects.
It also strengthened the competitiveness of Korea’s brass industry by adopting advanced technologies and investing in collaborative R&D with universities and research institutes. Later, Daechang established a modern brass production foundation through cutting-edge automated facilities and secured annual brass bar production capacity of 144,000 tons, raising its status as Korea’s leading brass producer and the world’s fifth-largest player in the market.
Large-scale foreign investment from the International Finance Corporation, establishment of the China subsidiary, and expanded sales of eco-friendly lead-free brass for global customers were also major steps now recorded in this 50-year history.
But what I always had was my entire personal capital: an honest heart and a sincere attitude. After founding Daechang, that spirit became a shared corporate philosophy embraced by every member of the company. Because we faced hardship together with sincerity and advanced one step at a time with honesty, Daechang came to dream of not only the next ten or twenty years, but a much larger future. That is how we came to write this precious 50-year history.
As we look back, Daechang now seeks to become a company that looks not merely ten or twenty years ahead, but boldly one hundred years into the future. That dream must connect to a better world in which future generations can live happily. With that responsibility in mind, Daechang has supported the development of the Mid-sized Enterprise Act and related systems, and on the foundation of ESG management is investing in smart eco-factories, pollutant reduction, employment stability through retirement age extension, regional development, and talent cultivation. Since its founding in 1974, the company has recorded annual growth exceeding 30 percent and has now grown into a global mid-sized enterprise after fifty years. As of 2024, it exports brass bars to more than 20 countries and operates 11 affiliates, standing as one of Korea’s representative copper and brass extrusion companies.
I know well that the true protagonists of this meaningful history are our customers at home and abroad who have supported Daechang, as well as every past and present member of the Daechang family. For that reason, I dedicate this 50-year history, containing the meaning of each precious step Daechang has taken, to all of them. Guided by this history, we will move powerfully toward the future goal of becoming a 100-year company and will continue to expand into high value-added advanced materials businesses, including environmental materials, so that we may firmly establish ourselves as a truly world-class company.
Thank you.
Si Young Jo