A strong earthquake struck Fukushima, Japan last March. Even though the earthquake was a natural disaster, the resulting radiation leak was a disaster of human make. The radioactive isotopes including iodine and cesium from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant spread around the globe by wind, and it became an international problem. What Japan really needed in this disaster was a seismic isolation system that could even endure a 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
Seismic Isolation system
For Japan, a country that regularly experiences extra-strong earthquakes, the best seismic isolation system would be not to build any nuclear power plants. However, Japan is not the only one that fears earthquakes. Lately, an earthquake occurred in the East Coast of the United States. Most of US nuclear plants are concentrated in the East Coast because of its relatively stable geological features, so this earthquake raised safety concerns in people.
Lee Taek-won, the president of Wonst (www.wonst.co.kr), had put efforts into developing a seismic isolation system prior to these events, as if he foresaw them. Seismic Isolation is a technology that alleviates the physical shock of an earthquake, so it is different from quake-proof technology. Lee explained the principle of a seismic isolation system with a simple physics formula: F=MA. While the quake-proof system supports a building to endure the force (F) of an earthquake, which is the multiplication of the building's mass (M) and its vibration speed (A), the seismic isolation system reduces vibration energy itself by slowing down the building's vibration speed. Wonst invested 2.1 billion KRW, including 1.6 billion KRW funding from the government, to developed this system which is evolved from the rolling isolation. Korea used to import all of its isolation system from Japan and the development of this system is a fruitful result of Wonst's efforts. Lee proudly explained, "Our system has superior bearings that are ten times as resilient as Japanese ones. That is because we had mechanic engineering experts developed it while Japan's system was developed by architects."
He continued to explain why he insisted on developing the seismic isolation system, "Korean small and medium enterprises need to read global market trends and anticipate demands." He argued that investing in R&D and technology persistently will help enhance not only corporate competitiveness but also national competitiveness, even if it takes several years for the investment to pay back. He also emphasized that "the ideal management is to create an R&D-oriented structure that continuously develops a new growth engine while increasing revenue with a cash cow." In Wonst's case, the cash cow is their parts product line, and the new growth engine is the seismic isolation system for construction.
Wonst has been awarded the KOTRA Seal of Excellence since 2009.
