What if we try to sell a snow-making machine in a country that has hot weather?
How about cooking using a heat panel that gives off heat from above, not from the bottom?
Many of Korea's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have penetrated international markets with new ideas that break existing notions.

Snowtech has been exporting snow-making machines to regions with hot and humid weather, such as Southeast Asia and South America. Its main product -- dubbed the “All Weather Snowmaker” -- can produce snow at temperatures of up to 25 C, unlike existing snow-makers that can only make snow when the temperature is under 2 C. It also exports snow machines that specifically make snow outdoors. This snow machine, the "Ice Magic Snowmaker," has also received broad recognition. The Ice Magic Snowmaker was used at a world-wide snowboard competition in Ganghwamun Square in central Seoul for the Snowboard Big Air World Cup in 2009. Snowtech has exported its products to 12 countries, including Australia, Brazil, China, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.



Cookware firm Zaigle has been winning popularity for its "infrared ray grill" that doesn't cause much smoke, smell or splatter oil. The infrared ray grill has a heating panel on top, unlike existing grills that have the heating elements on the bottom. Instead, Zaigle’s grill has a radiating heat panel that helps to reduce cooking time, causes less smoke and fewer odors. It can also work as an oven, microwave, frying pan, toaster or air fryer. Zaigle’s infrared ray grill has been exported to 10 countries, including China, Japan, the U.S. and to some European countries.



Another company, AOG System, has been introducing Korea’s ondol under-floor heating systems all around the world. The firm showed its under-floor heating products, equipped with warm water pipes, to European customers who normally use radiators or electric heaters. AOG tried to differentiate its products by developing under-floor heating systems that have a higher heat proof and which are highly efficient in terms of energy. Its products use triple-layered pipes that can circulate warm water in various patterns and that can work at higher temperatures, as high as 95 C, unlike existing systems that circulate water in a single pattern and work only up to 80 C.

Since 2010, AOG has been exporting its products to 10 countries, including Russia, Mongolia, Belarus and Ukraine. The company has obtained patents in the U.S. and has been negotiating with Italy, Japan and China to expand exports.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Snowtech, Zaigle, AOG System
arete@korea.kr