Industrial packaging firm expands venture investment arm

Musinsa, APR, Furiosa AI, Figure AI among portfolio companies

Returns secured and stakes held; medical device unit also delivers

Building foundation to grow from mid-size to mid-tier company

Wonrim's factory in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province (left), and a range of industrial PP and PE bag products. [Wonrim]
Wonrim's factory in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province (left), and a range of industrial PP and PE bag products. [Wonrim]

Wonrim, an industrial packaging company, is drawing attention for the performance of its subsidiaries — particularly the strong portfolio and returns of its venture capital arm, Hanbit Investment.

Founded in 1990, Hanbit holds a stake in Musinsa ahead of the fashion platform's anticipated initial public offering. With the valuation rising sharply in recent months, the firm expects substantial returns once the listing takes place. Hanbit also invested in K-beauty platform APR and recovered 3.3 times its original investment after APR went public.

The portfolio extends into advanced industries including AI, semiconductors and robotics. Hanbit holds stakes in AI chipmaker Furiosa AI, industrial AI firm MakinaRocks, humanoid robot company Figure AI and robot AI firm Skilled AI.

Investments in biotech and medical devices are equally notable. Hanbit has fully exited its positions in AI drug development firm Oncocross and medical device company DR.TECH. It also sold part of its stake in 3D-printing dental materials firm Graphy after its listing, booking strong gains. Other portfolio companies include ocular implant maker Sangmyung Innovation, medical device firm Kotras, medical AR company Medithink Q and drug development firm Aptabio Therapeutics.

"We focus on investing in promising pre-IPO companies and weigh both growth potential and stability when making investment decisions," the company said.

Starbio, which became a subsidiary through an equity investment in 2003, is also drawing notice. It handles domestic distribution of artificial joints made by global medical device company Stryker.

Starbio has since expanded its business to cover orthopedic medical devices more broadly, including the surgical robot Mako. Sales grew 28 percent over two years, rising from 26.1 billion won ($19.5 million) in 2023 to 33.4 billion won in 2025. Sales in the first half of this year climbed 12 percent to 18.3 billion won.

As demand for orthopedic devices such as artificial joints rises with the country's rapidly aging population, Starbio has extended its sales network from the greater Seoul area to Gangwon Province and the Gyeongsang region. The company is actively pursuing new clients at large general hospitals and specialized orthopedic clinics.

Wonrim has reinforced its core business while building a broader growth foundation through years of diversification, channeling surplus cash from its packaging operations into new ventures.

Since its founding in 1968, Wonrim grew through the 1970s by producing polypropylene rice bags to replace traditional straw sacks. Today it manufactures a range of packaging materials — including PE film bags and large flexible intermediate bulk containers — and supplies them to petrochemical companies. Its clients include LG Chem, Lotte Chemical, Hanwha Solutions, Korea Petro Chemical IND, SK Geocentric, Kumho Petrochemical, Hyosung Chemical and DL Chemical.

Wonrim holds an estimated 60 percent share of the domestic PP and PE bag market. It is regarded as the largest single manufacturer of industrial packaging in South Korea, with the highest-grade production facilities in the sector. To strengthen its packaging competitiveness, the company has also built production lines for reusable PE film bags and FFS bags with reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Consolidated earnings are on an upward trend. Sales reached 89.7 billion won in 2025, up 8.8 percent from the previous year. In the first half of this year, sales rose 4.3 percent to 43 billion won, while operating profit climbed 26.4 percent to 2 billion won. The company is aiming to cross the threshold from a mid-size firm to a mid-tier enterprise.

"We have expanded from industrial packaging into medical devices and specialized finance and investment over the past 30-plus years," a company official said. "We will continue to sharpen the competitiveness of our existing businesses while staying active in investing in growth industries."


freiheit@heraldcorp.com