Plastics Pipeline Blog

Guest Blogger – I.H. Lee

Relationships greatly impact your company. This is a truth that I.H. Lee, President and Owner of Beom Jin Company of Seoul, Korea, has learned and experienced. In a recent interview, Mr. Lee shared how his relationship with the three original owners of Team 1 Plastics has positively impacted him and his business.

Mr. Lee was introduced to Team 1’s original owners, Craig Carrel, Gary Grigowski, and Jim Capo, when they all worked at Celeanese in the 1980s. At the time, Mr. Lee, whose job was in marketing, was stationed in Korea. He was sent to the United States for several months for molding trials and applications training. It was during this time that he became acquainted with Carrel, Grigowski, and Capo, and a friendship was formed. Mr. Lee said that after work hours, the four of them would “mingle together and enjoy talking, drinking, and eating.”

Then, in the late 1980s, Carrel, Grigowski, and Capo left Celeanese and started Team 1 Plastics, a plastic injection molding company for the transportation industry. About the same time, Mr. Lee also left Celeanese and started his company, Beom Jin Company, in Korea, a mold-making business and engineering plastics exporting.

Beom Jin was selling molds, and Team 1 Plastics needed molds for its injection molding presses. And, a strong relationship had already been formed between the two company’s owners. It made good business sense that the two companies would form a business partnership.

And, the partnership has lasted for more than 25 years and has been beneficial for both companies. Beom Jin is a quality supplier for Team 1 Plastics, having provided more than 200 molds for Team 1 Plastics and working with them to solve many challenges.

Mr. Lee shared a story about one specific challenge. Team 1 had contracted with Beom Jin to make a mold for a small part. Things were progressing nicely until the timeline for delivery was changed. The part was needed by Team 1’s customer much sooner than originally scheduled. Team 1 requested that the mold part be rushed overnight and hand carried to the United States. Mr. Lee said that the mold makers worked overnight to finish the mold part, but he still needed to find someone to hand carry the mold to the U.S. This was a challenge because, at that time, very few people in Korea could speak English. Mr. Lee found a friend who “could speak English better than most” and he agreed to accompany the metal part to the U.S. The metal mold part was delivered in time, and Team 1 was able to produce the plastic parts for its customer.

As with every business, Beom Jin has its challenges. Mr. Lee said that the increase of Korean labor costs has made it difficult to obtain orders. Korean-made molds are not cost competitive with molds built in other parts of the world, especially China. Beom Jin continues to get orders for high quality steel-time molds, but many plastic parts makers, including Team 1 Plastics, are sometimes choosing to purchase less expensive molds.

But, even with the challenges, Mr. Lee acknowledges that he is “very happy” with the relationship with Team 1. He stated that “close cooperation, best faith, and mutual trust could keep the long-term benefits.” And, he considers the owners “my best of friends. It was really fortunate for me in meeting the three guys over there.”