© KMS partner

The company we’re going to introduce today is KMS partner, a manufacturer of compact-size beam projectors that enable people to project pictures or videos on to a screen or wall. Let’s hear from company CEO Kim Jong-dae. 

KMS partner was founded in January of 2013 to develop, manufacture and sell mini beam projectors. KMS means Korea marketing sales, but it also represents the initials of my daughter’s name, which has a very special meaning to me. My daughter was born 12 long years after I got married. I named my company KMS partner, in the hopes that it will flourish in cooperation with its partner firms, just as my precious child grows well. 

Before setting up his own firm, Kim was an office worker in charge of accounting and funding. While watching his colleagues leave the company in a time of crisis, he found himself hoping to create a lifetime workplace where employees would be willing to stay. So he decided to start his own business. 

As Kim just explained, the company name contains his wish that both the business and its workers will grow well, like his daughter. In fact, he floated a new business idea while hanging around his child. 

I happened to see my three-year-old daughter watching a video on a smartphone. 

Mobile phones are convenient, but frequent smartphone use may cause health problems such as worsening eyesight and turtle neck syndrome. I wanted to protect my child from those risks. I wondered what would be shared by family members in the evenings or during holidays, and I came up with a mini beam projector, which I thought could be used easily by everyone. 

More and more people are cooking, eating, and pursuing hobbies and resting at home. This trend calls attention to new items that can be used and enjoyed at home. One of those products is a mini beam projector that enables people to create their own movie theater. 

These days, mini beam projectors can be connected with one’s smartphone. They allow several people to see something on a wide screen together, while working, camping or relaxing. 

Kim paid attention to the benefits of the device and released a mini beam projector with 100 ANSI lumens, which are equivalent to the light output of 100 candles, for the first time in Korea. 

Other mini beam projectors mostly come with 30 ANSI lumens, under which the screen is only visible on a pitch-dark night or when all the lights indoors are turned off. The screen size is also quite small. But we wanted to make a new, multiple-purpose product that could be used at home, at the office or while camping, regardless of time and place. 

Our first product with 100 ANSI lumens allows viewers to see the screen indoors even when a fluorescent light is on. The screen size is enlarged up to 130 inches when all the lights are put out. Also, the projector supports text coding, so users find it very convenient when watching foreign language movies. 

It can be connected with a USB and other types of connection interfaces to ensure compatibility. 

Thanks to beam projectors, people can watch movies at a campground, play games on a large screen or enjoy a film in their own home theater. 

However, users were often disappointed with small projectors because it was difficult to see the screen properly in any bright place. Even under dim lighting, it was hard to identify colors if the projection was not bright enough. However, boosting the brightness of a mini beam projector would make the device larger and heavier. 

KMS partner was able to remedy the shortcomings by developing a small projector with a high level of brightness. 

© KMS partner

Higher numbers of ANSI lumens mean a larger lens and also a bigger cooling fan aimed at releasing internal heat. We tried to make the lens as small as possible and designed the circuit in a way to minimize heat generation. We also reduced the size of the cooling fan. In this way, we managed to make a smaller and lighter projector. 

Basically, the main features of the device should be kept intact. But we always wondered how to meet the needs of customers. There are countless items we unconsciously use in daily life. Many of them could be used much more conveniently if an improvement was made, though only in a small way. I myself purchase things, use them, wonder how to improve them from a consumers’ point of view and actually try to create a new product. Of course, not every product can be a success. Though we may fail, I believe we should think and work on development constantly. Only then, can we come up with wonderful ideas and create great products. 

Currently, KMS partner is working on a beam projector with 700 ANSI lumens. The new product will be seven times brighter than the early model. Still, it is tiny and light enough to be held in the palm of one’s hand. The company’s mini beam project featuring the sophisticated design was chosen for “Curation by Kim Young-se,” a selection of products with excellent designs jointly picked by the Seoul Business Agency and renowned industrial designer Kim Young-se. Thanks to its relentless efforts to satisfy consumers in every aspect including technology, size, weight and design, KMS partner accounts for 9 percent of the domestic mini beam projector market. On the back of the customer confidence it has built, the company is moving toward the next stage. 

It’s already been nearly seven years since our Zeus mini beam projector hit the market. Customers who once used our early model have been willing to purchase new products, and I’m very proud of that. Users of the Zeus mini beam projector are pretty satisfied with its quality and affordable price as well as the follow-up management that is as good as the ones offered by large companies. I would rate our product a 9.5 out of 10. We’ll continue to endeavor to make up for the remaining 0.5 when developing new products. 

SWVGA display resolution is a standard commonly associated with mini beam projectors. But our future model will transcend these limits to provide full high-definition or HD resolution, despite its compact size. I guess many customers will be eager to get the new product with full HD resolution. 

KMS partner has been developing mini beam projectors that deliver sharp video resolution and also provide convenience and mobility. We believe that the company will continue to grow well and that its beam projectors will afford people greater pleasure in life.