TSG Co., Ltd. is a company that has played a significant role in opening the era of domestic grinding machines with homegrown technology. Based on its highly experienced workforce, extensive experience, and superior technical expertise in the grinding machine development and manufacturing sector, the company is developing specialized grinding machines that meet market demands. Recently, it developed a 2-roll 1-shoe type internal grinding machine capable of mass-producing thin and small products with an internal diameter of 10mm or less as a national project. Furthermore, it is accelerating the development of a grinding machine product line that enables predictive maintenance through the integration of AI technology.
Leading the Localization of Grinding Machines
South Korea’s machinery industry established the institutional foundation for the localization of machinery starting with the enactment of the Machinery Industry Promotion Act in March 1967. Subsequently, with the enactment of the Industrial Development Act in January 1986, it began in earnest to build a self-reliant foundation and increase the localization rate. However, the IMF financial crisis that broke out at the end of 1997 dealt a fatal blow to the Korean machinery industry, which had been on a winning streak until then. For the first time, a decline was recorded in all aspects, including the number of business establishments, employees, and production scale. In just over a year, the average monthly number of employees in the general machinery sector decreased by about 18,000.
The reason our country’s machinery industry was able to overcome this period of hardship and adversity was due to the strenuous efforts made throughout the industry. In particular, the machinery manufacturers who took the lead in localization during this period, when foreign machinery was the mainstream, contributed significantly to the improvement of operational productivity.
TSG Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as TSG), founded in 2000, is one of them. The company has developed various specialized grinding machines, such as internal/external grinding machines, centerless grinding machines, and super-finishing machines, using domestic technology, thereby playing a role in the era of localized grinding machines. +2
CEO Lee Byung-soon of TSG recalled, “At that time, Korea relied on imports for most specialized grinding machines. In a situation where Japanese and European equipment were dominant, the necessity for localization emerged, and it was a time when companies using grinding machines also needed the technical skills for maintenance and repair.” He added, “I founded TSG in 2000 based on the technology I had developed for grinding machines at my previous company. Currently, we are supplying our machines to various fields, such as bearings, automotive engines and transmissions, compressors for home appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners, and hydraulic components.”
▲ Internal Grinding Machine ▲ External Grinding Machine ▲ Centerless Grinding Machine ▲ Super Finishing Machine
Domestic Grinding Machines Realizing 300% Productivity
A common feature of TSG’s specialized grinding machines is that they are capable of grinding high-precision parts in a short time and can operate 24 hours a day, making them particularly suitable for mass production. This characteristic is even more prominent in cases where the company has successfully delivered products. For example, Customer A, which produces parts for hybrid automotive engines, achieved a productivity improvement goal of over 300% by completing a task in 1 minute and 30 seconds that previously took 4 minutes and 30 seconds with an imported grinding machine.
Furthermore, by advancing to an automated system, the defect rate, which had reached 20%, was improved, and the time and manpower required for the total inspection of produced items were significantly reduced. TSG has already completed patent registration related to the equipment and is also preparing to obtain the New Excellent Technology (NET) certification.
Differentiation through Strong R&D Capabilities
TSG’s core competitiveness lies in its high-level R&D capabilities. In a domestic industrial structure where it is generally difficult to secure experience in developing and manufacturing various specialized grinding machines, the presence of experienced personnel with more than 20 to 30 years of experience in grinding machine development and manufacturing is one of the company’s differentiated competitive strengths. CEO Lee Byung-soon emphasized, “The specialized personnel at TSG possess the technical skills and pride to manufacture the best grinding machines, from the development and manufacturing of specialized grinding machines to the integration of new technologies and rapid improvement of problems by reflecting feedback from production sites.”
TSG’s solid R&D capabilities have led to the launch of various new functions and products. Recently, it successfully developed a 2-roll 1-shoe type internal grinding machine as a national project.
CEO Lee Byung-soon stated, “Products that are small in size and thin in thickness are difficult to process because the workpiece can be crushed during chucking. Accordingly, it was difficult to find a grinding machine suitable for mass production, but our 2-roll 1-shoe type internal grinding machine enables excellent chucking even for small products with an internal diameter of 10mm or less, especially thin products and non-magnetic products, proving its outstanding performance in grinding automotive parts as well as small miniature bearings.”
In addition, TSG announced the addition of more advanced new functions to meet the changing manufacturing environment. First, it plans to develop a super-finishing machine that requires excellent surface roughness like a mirror surface to respond to the demand for high-precision equipment that is difficult to handle with general grinding machines.
Second, it plans to minimize the customer’s production loss by adding a predictive maintenance function that self-diagnoses the current operation status of the equipment by integrating AI into the existing grinding machine lineup.
Meanwhile, CEO Lee Byung-soon shared the company’s goal, saying, “We will respond to user demands through continuous development of new products and functions. Furthermore, as inquiries are continuously occurring from India, Indonesia, China, and Vietnam recently, we will begin in earnest to reinforce our export capabilities starting from this year.”
Reported by Jeong Dae-sang (press2@engnews.co.kr) Lee Byung-soon, CEO of TSG Co., Ltd.
