Daedong and TYM Co., the two pillars of Korea's agricultural machinery industry, are securing growth engines by focusing on talent acquisition and a push into the North American market, respectively. While Daedong is accelerating a shift in its business structure by bringing in outside experts, TYM Co. is strengthening brand marketing in North America.
On the 17th, according to the agricultural machinery industry, Daedong recently moved to strengthen future business competitiveness by successively recruiting outside experts across its affiliates. It is an attempt to expand its product lineup, which had centered on agricultural machinery manufacturing, into an artificial intelligence (AI) platform. For example, Daedong Gear, a powertrain specialist, is expanding its electric vehicle core parts business under CEO Seo Jong-hwan, who spent 30 years at Hyundai Motor overseeing global sales and channel strategy.
Daedong secured 262.8 billion won in new orders in the first half alone. Its accumulated order backlog since 2024 amounts to 1.8644 trillion won. Recently, it also signed a 71 billion won transmission supply contract with a major global agricultural machinery company.
Daedong Agtech, an agricultural AI platform company, likewise put emphasis on business expansion through organizational restructuring and outside talent recruitment. Late last year, it reorganized around precision agriculture and smart farming and recruited executive vice president Chung Ju-yung, formerly of KT, as head of the AF (AI-FARM) Business Planning Division.
Based on this, the Daedong consortium was selected in May as the preferred bidder for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' national agricultural AI transformation (AX) platform project, with a total project cost of 254.6 billion won.
While Daedong has put the emphasis on new businesses, TYM Co. is placing more weight on its push into the North American market. Marking its 75th anniversary this year, TYM Co. expanded its sponsorship of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing). NASCAR is popular among U.S. farm owners, the key buyers of agricultural machinery. It has a strong fan base in agricultural regions, especially in the South and Midwest.
If last year it partially displayed the TYM Co. logo at select races, this year it entered into a partnership with "ThorSport Racing," which competes in NASCAR. It participated as the main sponsor for driver Ben Rhodes, a former champion.
As a result of bolstered local marketing, the sales mix also increased. TYM Co.'s U.S. sales ratio rose from 56.1% in the first quarter of 2024 to 64.6% last year, and expanded further to 68.4% this year. Over the same period, the Korea sales ratio fell from 32.7% to the 26% range, making its North America-centered business structure more pronounced.
The effects of TYM Co.'s main sponsorship are also becoming visible. Ben Rhodes took first in qualifying and fifth in the final at a race held last month. In particular, he won Stage 1 early in the race to stay among the leaders, and his race car bearing the TYM Co. logo was continuously shown on the broadcast.
Industry watchers say the future competitiveness of agricultural machinery companies will be determined by data utilization capabilities, the establishment of service ecosystems, and dominance in global markets.
An industry official said, "As the agricultural machinery industry enters a mature phase, corporations' investment directions are changing." The official added, "Methods to secure future growth engines are also diversifying," and "whether they can translate into performance, results, and market share expansion will be the yardstick for evaluation."