SEOUL, KOREA - Nongshim Co. will nurture its "Baeksan-su" mineral water brand as one of the main brands as important as its flagship "Shin Ramen." The company announced on June 19 that it would invest up to 200 billion won to expand the drinking water plant near Baekdu Mountain on the border between North Korea and China. It held a groundbreaking ceremony on the 18th at Erdao Baihe, a town near the mountain.

 

 

The newly built 84,000-square-meter plant, on the site of 300,000 square meters, will be completed by September 2015. The plant will have a capacity of 1 million tons a year, in addition to the current capacity of 250,000 tons.

 

The investment volume of 200 billion won is double that for the whole company's operating profit of 92.6 billion won last year. Park Joon, president of Nongshim, a Lotte Group company, said, "Up until now, the ramen and snack businesses have led our company. The next growth engine for the following 100 years will be the mineral water business."

 

The company aims to sell most of the water produced there in China. Of the 1.25 million tons of drinking water, as much as 870,000 tons will be sold locally. Once the business in China gains a momentum, Nongshim will increase the output to 2 million tons. Last year, Nongshim's share in the mineral water market in Korea was 3.3 percent. But its first-quarter sales revenue increased 55 percent from the same quarter a year ago.