Model Solution is the company that makes its clients’ visions a reality, but now they are beginning to realise their own visions.

Model Solution was founded in 1993, to later be acquired by the Hankook & Company Group in 2018. This combination of Model Solution’s unrivalled technology and Hankook & Company’s financial and management capabilities would prove to be a winning combination.

Model Solution has made a name for itself supporting new product development and mass-production for world-leading companies in the fields of electronics, medical and healthcare devices, consumer goods, robotics, and the automotive sector.

“We provide high-quality solutions including product design, high fidelity appearance models, precision CNC machining, quick-turn tooling, injection moulding and contract manufacturing,” says Byungil Woo, Model Solution’s CEO.

Today Model Solution works with more than 500 leading global companies with sales teams and manufacturing facilities in Seoul, South Korea where its headquarters is located, as well as a sales team in Silicon Valley, USA. The company has been growing steadily in recent years, recently achieving an annual sales revenue of $50 million.

Listening to Woo, it is clear that as proud as Model Solution’s history is, it has even more exciting things in store for the future.

“Facing the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, we have adopted a growth strategy to develop into a business specialised in mass production and contract manufacturing,” Woo says. “Our design and engineering competencies have made it possible, and the complete solutions we provide with advanced hardware technologies are gaining recognition from innovative companies worldwide.”

Making Vision a Reality

What has made Model Solution such a success is that it is the chosen partner not only for professional industrial designers but also start-up founders with plenty of ideas but who have difficulties implementing them into actual products. To both start-ups and established entrepreneurs, Model Solution offers a one-stop production platform and system.

“All the ideas planned and designed in one’s imagination can be realised as complete products of the highest quality at Model Solution,” Woo says.

Model Solution manufactures the best quality products with cutting-edge technology. The company’s quick response time enables the effective time and cost-saving critical to projects with a short deadline. Model Solution also has the capability to execute even difficult projects involving complicated processes seamlessly with its one-stop solution.

But its real competitive edge lies in the field of high-fidelity appearance models. Model Solution taps into a world of artisanship that cannot be reproduced even with expensive 3D printing.

“When new products are presented to the world for the first time, the prototypes are usually higher quality than the product to be mass-produced, so that every department involved in the production process can rely on and refer to it,” Woo explains. “Model Solution is specialised in introducing this type of elaborately crafted prototype, which allows designers to come in with an idea sketch and leave with a finished product.”

Model Solution has established an efficient production system with its ‘Seven-Day Principle’, a doctrine of accurate and quick production so that clients receive the final products within seven days of their initial order.

“If it had ended there, it would have been just another fast, inexpensive service, but we took a step further,” Woo tells us. “That step is in maintaining the high quality at the same time.”

Model Solution has been able to save as much as 75% of production time compared to other companies, which will often set the development period for a similar product at about a month.

However, as well as providing excellence in the execution of other people’s designs, Model Solution is now turning that expertise to realising its own.

“In addition to simply supplying our customers’ products, we started a business where we design, develop, manufacture and brand our own innovative products,” Woo says. “As a partner of many leading companies, we have produced prototypes ranging from smartphones to car interiors. Now we are applying the CMF design capabilities we accumulated while making prototypes with world-class companies to more diverse fields.”

CMF stands for Colour, Materials, and Finish, the three key elements of design. Designers find it especially challenging to apply CMF design to prototype design, as even with the same colours, depending on the materials used, and the finishing technique used, the final outcome may vary greatly.

But as Woo points out, “We have built our own CMF LAB, an exhibition platform run both online and offline where we provide industrial design trends and inspiration for product development.”

Homegrown Innovation

By nurturing Model Solution’s own innovation, Woo is readying the company for the next big transformation across the sector- the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“Change in the industry is accelerating at an unprecedented speed,” Woo says. “Again, the biggest challenge is how quickly you can adapt. We aim to go one step further and become a trend-leading company.”

To stay ahead of the competition, Model Solution is investing in R&D with innovative design and technologies, expanding its portfolio and participating in collaborative projects with leading technology companies.

“As well as achieving a significant position in the CMF sector, we have signed an MOU with the world-renowned British design studio ‘Chris Lefteri Design’ in 2019 and introduced the ‘Master CMF Trend Package’ as the outcome of our first project together,” Woo points out. “The ‘Master CMF Trend Package’ gives insights in the industrial design field by proposing mood boards in line with global megatrends, colour chips applicable for each theme, and material chips reflecting the actual weight and texture.”

It is a concept derived from vast research and analysis on data of various companies as well as social, economic, and cultural trends. Designers who have encountered the ‘Master CMF Trend Package’ have given amazing feedback, allowing designers to assess the colour spectrum, texture, and weight of materials directly rather than relying on visual materials.

Model Solution is also reaching into the sectors of augmented reality (AR) and personal mobility, which it considers to have great potential for development in future industries. Some of these new market directions have been introduced at the CES 2021.

“We have been producing entries for companies participating in the CES for a long time, but this year was the first time we participated as Model Solution with our own products,” Woo says. “For AR technology, we are focusing on industrial applications. As for the personal mobility area, we are under progress to keep pace with the rapidly changing perception of transportation means and the evolution of technology in transportation. The prototype of a premium designed e-Scooter that we showcased at the CES event is equipped with airless tires for excellent stability and driving experience. It’s also foldable in standing posture so that it won’t take up much space.”

We are looking forward to seeing what else Model Solution produces now it is designing for itself at the CES 2022.