Whenever you come across an old car on the street, it reminds you of the 1990s when the car launched.

Grandeur, the byword of luxury sedans; minivan Santamo and Carstar, which were spacious for the whole family… Old cars bring back so many memories just by saying their names aloud. These models are no longer produced, but sometimes you get to see them still going well on the streets. You can’t help but to feel happy to see the nostalgic old cars but on the other hand wonder where these discontinued cars get their components and repairs.

Owners of old Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation cars need not worry, because there’s ‘Hyundai PARTECS’, which was established in 2005 to produce discontinued old car components, which is a first in Korea. Hyundai PARTECS will do its best to produce components for the last standing old car out there. Let’s take a look into the remarkable business philosophy.

Hyundai PARTECS factory, where old car ‘molds’ are gathered together

What are these for? Molds are neatly piled up in a huge space.

You will be reminded of a Tetris game in Hyundai PARTECS. This is the ‘mold storage’. It’s the place that best shows the professional value of Hyundai PARTECS, ‘manufacturing discontinued car components’. In the mold storage, there are 5,089 units of molds as of 2019. Mold refers to a frame for each component of automobile, like a bread pan. Not only does it store recently discontinued car components but also those of nostalgic models we call ‘old cars’, all 124 types of them. There are 1,134 components for such old cars.

Respond the 1990s, meet the old cars through their molds

What does the text engraved on the mold mean?

If you take a careful look at each of the mold, you will see alphabets and numbers. This refers to the type of car, product name, and process order. Each mold is managed according to different size, form, and color for efficient production.

New Grandeur LX, with the 3.5ℓ V6 engine, used to be the most luxurious model of the time symbolized with its ‘red emblem’.

Do you remember the 2nd generation Grandeur mode, the New Grandeur LX? Hyundai PARTECS has kept the component mold for the 1992 Grandeur LX after nearly 30 years. Grandeur series has been the household name for ‘luxury sedans’ for a long time, and among all models, the New Grandeur LX was recognized as Kora’s first automobile to have air bag for the driver’s seat and ice box installed inside. These days most cars have these, but at the time, the latest technology AV system and motor operated side mirrors in this car were sensational. It was certainly a dream car for the automobile manias of its time.

Hyundai PARTECS has cherished the Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation old car molds in great form.

It’s not just the New Grandeur LX we are glad to see. There are molds for familiar old cars including TIburon, Visto, and Atoz. There was also the mold for Korea’s first 7-person LPG minivan, Santamo.

Great time and cost is required to maintain and store molds to make the final product.

New cars are launched each season, and outdated cars are discontinued. Making molds costs about 100 million KRW. Storage and maintenance are no easy feat either. In the 4th industrial revolution era where technology, people, and everything change so quickly, Hyundai PARTECS walks the road of ‘small size production for rare items’ which goes completely against the businesses that go for the goal of ’profit making’. What’s behind Hyundai PARTECS that allows it to go for such a bold goal?

For that one component that completes an old car

A single component goes through 4 production processes.

You cannot overlook the effort that goes into producing a single component. Hyundai PARTECS analyzes the ‘old car’ automobile registration status list each year to prioritize their components of focus.

Producing components and getting them delivered to customers requires 4 thorough processes. Firstly, automobile external and internal panel products are produced in the press line, and then components that form the frame such as door, hood, roof, etc., are assembled and produced through the layout automatic design system, Hemming line. All work is completed when the produced components are painted and packaged. A/S ratio for component production and supply for cars that have been discontinued from 2013~2018 is near perfect.

Hyundai PARTECS was established to create immaterial values rather than to pursue profit.

There are insurmountable memories embedded in old cars, like ‘the first car I bought with my salary’, ‘the car that had been around for the birth of my child, first day at school, graduation, and every important day of your life’. This is the reason why all executives and employees at Hyundai PARTECS work hard, to keep such ‘happy memories’ that enrich our customers’ lives rather than ‘economic efficiency’.

Technology and service that can be guaranteed after decades, recreated and upgraded quality to fit the modern trend. Hyundai PARTECS creates not just discontinued components but ‘trust’ itself, for the consumers to have them keep riding any Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation cars in the future.