As soon as I entered the building, there was a subtle scent of mint. Everyone thought, "It's a place to make pain relief patches." Although many pharmaceutical companies are struggling due to the legislative conflict, the factory was in a lively atmosphere. "Since the first operation in 2020, the number of employees has increased by 30%, and the production has increased by 5% compared to last year," said Jongmin Lee, executive director of the Sejong plant. "Pass is a product that is steadily purchased without going to a hospital, so there is little impact on legislative conflicts."
He also added, "Most of the pas production lines are currently operating 100%, and we have plans to expand additional production, such as expanding lines for ointment systems." About 200 people are on duty, and production is high enough to have to work overtime until 8 p.m. three days a week. In fact, Shin Shin Pharmaceutical's pain relief sales rose about 33% in three years from 44.2 billion won in 2021 to 58.9 billion won last year.
To enter the factory, you must wear a dustproof suit and a dustproof hat. It was thoroughly managed like when entering a semiconductor factory, and it was hard to find even a small dust. The mint scent that vibrated at the entrance became stronger because of the work of mixing raw materials bought from domestic and overseas (India, China, etc.) such as mint oil and methyl salicylic acid (pain treatment material) with rubber. Executive Director Lee explained, "Unlike other competitors, the biggest feature is that it is skin-friendly because it adds natural rubber."
The raw material for pain relief mixed with rubber becomes a sticky solid mass. When heat is applied to the fabric (non-woven fabric) while coating it, a huge pain relief shape is formed. If you put it in a cutter, cut it, and package it, it becomes a pain relief patch-like product that consumers buy at pharmacies. Executive Director Lee said, "The representative product, 'Alex', is produced 700,000 copies, and a total of 1.4 million pieces are produced per day."
Shin Shin Pharmaceutical also released a new product called "Flex" last year that reduced skin problems as much as possible. Executive director Lee, who had been putting and removing flex pain relief patches directly on the reporter's hand, said, "It can be put on and off several times because it has strong adhesion even without using a close-up cloth. We plan to launch TV commercials next month and start selling them in earnest," he said.
Shin Shin Pharmaceutical's Sejong plant, which invested 50 billion won in the company, is equipped with the latest facilities. According to the company, this is the only factory in Korea that has been certified by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's Manufacturing and Quality Control Standards (GMP) related to the production of aerosol drugs (spraying drugs).
Recently, export volume has also been on the rise. Executive Director Lee said, "We sell to more than 40 countries around the world, including the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Uzbekistan. As of 2023, about 13% of all sales are related to exports."
They are also active in serving the community. Executive Director Lee said, "We donate health functional foods and medicines such as pain relief patches and bands to local seniors every year, and we also run a factory tour program for teenagers." Due to this contribution, Shin Shin Pharmaceutical was selected as the "2024 Sejong City Enterprise Awards" selected by Sejong Special Self-Governing City at the end of last year.
[Reporter Park Junhyung of Sejong]
