Now it’s time to take a close look at a small but competitive business making a difference for the Korean economy. This week we present the second installment of the series about the businesses that stood out at the 2016 Small Business Marketing Fair held recently in Seoul. This week’s spotlight is on Konimax, a pioneer in dust mite vacuum cleaners. Here’s Konimax CEO Son Hyuk손혁 to tell us more about the company.

The brand name “Konimax” comes from the term “konimeter,” a device for measuring fine particulates in the air. It’s been about 13 or 14 years since vacuum cleaners for bedding were introduced in Korea. Konimax was the first one in the business. Product development began in 2002 and we have obtained about 8 patents so far.


When Son Hyuk founded Konimax in 2002, the idea of a vacuum cleaner to remove dust mites from bedding was a novel one in Korea. Having majored in mechanical engineering, Son saw how much his wife suffered from allergic rhinitis and began thinking about developing a vacuum to clean bed sheets, mattresses, blankets, and pillows. Then he came to develop a unique product after years of studying dust mite cleaners in advanced nations.

I came to focus on convenience when I was developing a vacuum cleaner for beddings. So we removed the motor from the machine and designed it to be connected to the conventional vacuum cleaners people have at home. The absence of a motor made the device lightweight. Also a Hepa filter affixed on the vacuum head allowed for a complete filtering of fine dust. Moreover, three nozzles are provided with our vacuum. Each vacuum brand has a different opening size, so we provide three nozzles of varying sizes to fit any hose or pipe.




Most bedding cleaners used at homes are equipped with motors of their own. A mattress vacuum cleaner with a motorized head eliminates the need to exchange parts since the vacuum head and the cylinder are connected. But the downside of the integrated type vacuum is that it’s too heavy to operate easily. This is what sets Konimax vacuums apart from others. The Konimax bedding vacuum cleaner can be attached to the existing vacuum used at home. The Konimax connecting pipe developed in-house is compatible with any vacuum cleaner. Simply detach the head from the vacuum cleaner you have at home and attach the Konimax main body to suck up dust mites and dirt from your bed. Also, the Konimax vacuum has eliminated the ultraviolet lamp and brush from the head part, cutting the weight down to a mere 600 grams and making it more affordable with the price ranging between 50,000 and 60,000 won, or between 43 and 52 dollars. But the biggest merit of Konimax vacuum cleaner is its superior dust-removing capability.

I use this dust mite vacuum cleaner by attaching it to the high-powered machine we have at home. But sometimes it’s so strong that the bedding gets sucked up into the machine. So we installed an air pressure controller inside the head. This device helps prevent the comforter or blanket from sticking to the vacuum, but at the same time sucks up all sorts of fine dust, dust mites and dead skin cells. These are all vacuumed through two filtering systems, the stem filter and Hepa filter and collected in the dust receptacle in the head of the machine. In general vacuum cleaners for homes have at least 500 watts of power, which is strong enough to completely suction up dead skin cells and other fine dust particles from the bedding. This is the function that homemakers like the most.


Ordinary vacuum cleaners can suck up big dust particles, but their filters are sometimes incapable of filtering out finer dust particulates, allowing the fine dust to emit through the vent. Noticing this shortcoming, Konimax added the world’s first detachable dust receptacle in the head and attached a Hepa filter inside the dust receptacle to separate fine dust particles. As a result, the filter in the dust receptacle removes dust and mites and then the filter in the main body does it once again. The dual filtering process eliminates 99.97% of the fine dust particles and house mites. Konimax vacuum cleaner for bedding has a strong sucking power, excellent dust-removing capability, and is lightweight and convenient to use. It’s not surprising that Konimax vacuum cleaner boasts of the highest sales in Korea’s open market. Last year Konimax made it into the Japanese market and won positive consumer reactions.

It’s quite hard for small Korean businesses to enter the Japanese market. In fact, it took us several years as well to export our vacuum cleaner to Japan. There is a trading and manufacturing company in Japan called Teijin Frontier, with an annual revenue nearing 735 billion Japanese yen. Teijin Frontier’s beddings division recognized the exceptional quality of our product, allowing us to venture out to the Japanese market. There is a wide array of cleaning devices in Japan, but the fact that our vacuum head is equipped with a Hepa filter helped us outsell all other brands and take the No.1 spot in Japan.



Having concluded an export deal with Japan’s leading retailer Teijin Frontier, Konimax currently sells its vacuum cleaner at the Rakuten online shopping mall and plans to supply 200,000 units annually. In addition, Germany’s premier pillow and duvet maker OBB conducted an advance product assessment show for the Konimax vacuum cleaner to investigate local consumer reactions.

We also hope to export to Germany. Vacuum cleaners for bedding are still unfamiliar to European consumers. So if Konimax vacuum cleaners make it to Germany, we’re very likely to be the leader in this business. We’re trying to develop new products that are more affordable, more powerful, and better designed. Our next new item will be released later this year.

Konimax has concentrated on developing a fine dust and mite vacuum cleaner since its establishment. Armed with fresh and practical ideas that make our lives easier and exceptional technology, Konimax is now ready to throw its hat into the global bedding vacuum cleaner market.