What KORLOY does

KORLOY Inc. is a South Korea-headquartered, privately held industrial manufacturer founded in 1966 (originally as Hangook Metallurgy Inc., rebranded to KORLOY Inc. in 1987) that designs and produces cemented carbide cutting tools for metalworking applications. Its product portfolio spans cutting tool grades (substrate and coating materials), turning tools in ISO and FGT formats, multi-function tools for grooving, part-off, facing and forming, threading tools, milling tools, endmills, and drills. The company's core technology is in-house PVD coating for high-temperature, high-hardness and oxidation-resistant grades and CVD coating for high-temperature and wear-resistant grades, supplemented by the patented AK Chip Breaker geometry (US patent granted 2001). Two Korean production sites (Cheongju and Jincheon factories) handle domestic manufacturing, with additional wholly-owned factories in Qingdao, China (established 2012) and India (KORLOY INDIA MANUFACTURING, established 2018).

KORLOY's business model is direct hardware sales of cutting tools to industrial manufacturing customers, supported by 10 domestic Korean sales offices (Seoul HQ, Kyungin, Joongbu, Honam, Daegu, Ulsan, plus Seoul/Gwangmyeong offices) and 14 wholly-owned international subsidiaries across Germany, USA, China, India, Brazil, Vietnam, Russia, Turkey, Chile, Mexico, UK, and Hungary. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Vertical focus is split between aerospace (AS9100D certified) as a primary segment and automotive, general machinery, and dies/molds as secondary segments. Marketing relies on a digital catalog platform (catalog.korloy.com), trade exhibitions such as SIMTOS, technical publications, downloadable brochures and catalogs, and social media (Facebook, Kakao, Instagram, YouTube). Complementary digital services include the KOMS online management system, KTS technical system, and a genuine product certification portal.

KORLOY operates as an independent corporation with no parent company or external private equity or venture capital backing identified in available sources. It is led by Chairperson Hye-Sub Yun and CEO Jung-Hyun Yim (appointed April 2019). Cumulative Export Tower awards from the Korean government indicate export revenue ramping from USD 5M (1998) to USD 100M (2017), and recent geographic build-out (UK in 2025, Central Europe/Hungary in 2026) confirms ongoing international expansion. Certifications include ISO 9001 (1997), ISO 14001 (2009), AS9100D, and ISO 45001 (2023), and the company holds government designations including World Champ Manufacturer (2021), Material·Components·Equipment Technology Specialized Company (2023), and Rising Leaders 300 enterprise (2024).

Name

KORLOY

Legal name

KORLOY Inc.

Website

https://korloy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

KORLOY is a privately held South Korean manufacturer of cemented carbide cutting tools, including turning, milling, drilling, threading, and multi-function tools with PVD and CVD coatings, serving industrial manufacturers worldwide through 14 international subsidiaries and 10 domestic Korean offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Cutting Tools

NAICS

Cutting Tool and Machine Tool Accessory Manufacturing (333515)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Cutting Tools, Tooling & Workholding (Cutters, Inserts, Chucks, Fixtures) (IMAHADAB)

Keywords

• Carbide cutting tools
• Turning tools
• Milling tools
• Drilling tools
• Threading tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Doksansadong

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices22 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Carbide Cutting Tools Sales: KORLOY generates revenue primarily through the manufacture and sale of cemented carbide cutting tools including inserts, endmills, drills, milling tools, and tool holders. The company serves industrial manufacturing customers globally through direct sales and subsidiaries.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

KORLOY manufactures and sells cemented carbide cutting tools, including inserts, endmills, drills, milling tools, threading tools, and tool holders, serving industrial manufacturers globally. The company develops its own cutting tool grades and applies proprietary PVD/CVD coating technology, offering a comprehensive portfolio of turning, milling, drilling, and multi-function tooling solutions for metalworking applications.

Product overview

KORLOY is a manufacturer of cemented carbide cutting tools offering a comprehensive portfolio of precision machining solutions. The product lineup includes Grade (cutting tool substrate/coating materials with PVD and CVD technology), Turning Tools (ISO and FGT format), Multi-Function Tools (for grooving, part-off, facing, and forming operations), Threading Tools, Milling Tools, Endmills, and Drills. The company provides total tooling solutions combining hardware products with digital services including KOMS (KORLOY Online Management System) and KTS (KORLOY Technical System) for customer support. KORLOY serves manufacturing industries including aerospace (AS9100D certified) with products available through digital catalogs and online platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cutting Tool Grades
• Turning Tools
• Multi-Function Tools
• Threading Tools
• Milling Tools
• Endmills
• Drills

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• KOTRAcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerKORLOY was selected by KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) as a mid-sized global resource provider (2020) and for fostering export-oriented medium-sized enterprises (2018, 2019). KOTRA supports international market expansion and export promotion.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves18 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sandvik (Sandvik Coromant): Sandvik's Coromant division is the global market leader in metal cutting tooling, offering inserts, endmills, drills, and tool holders across the same application space as KORLOY. It is the most direct benchmark for KORLOY's product portfolio and serves identical aerospace, automotive, and general-machinery customers.
• Kennametal: Kennametal is a US-headquartered manufacturer of metalworking cutting tools, including carbide inserts, indexable tooling, and tool holders. It competes head-on with KORLOY in aerospace, automotive, and general engineering segments and shares the same cemented carbide technology base.
• Mitsubishi Materials: Mitsubishi Materials' Hard Metal division produces carbide inserts, endmills, and drills for turning, milling, and drilling, with deep presence in Asia. It is one of the closest regional comparables to KORLOY given overlapping product lines and customer base in Japanese-Korean auto supply chains.
• Iscar (IMC Group): Iscar, part of the IMC Group (Berkshire Hathaway), is an Israeli-origin global carbide tooling manufacturer with a comprehensive inserts, milling, and grooving portfolio. It targets the same metalworking customers as KORLOY and is among the top global competitors in indexable tooling.
• Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal: Sumitomo Electric's Hardmetal division manufactures carbide inserts, turning tools, and coated grades, competing directly with KORLOY in Asian and global automotive and industrial machining markets. Both companies leverage proprietary PVD/CVD grade technology as a competitive lever.
• Tungaloy: Tungaloy is a Japanese carbide cutting tool manufacturer offering inserts, milling cutters, and tooling systems. It is comparable to KORLOY in scale and product breadth, both serving Asian OEMs and growing globally through subsidiaries and distributors.
• Kyocera (Industrial Tools): Kyocera's Industrial Tool division produces ceramic and carbide cutting tools, inserts, and endmills. It competes with KORLOY in precision turning and milling, with comparable focus on coated grade technology for high-temperature and wear-resistant applications.
• OSG: OSG is a Japanese manufacturer of taps, endmills, drills, and threading tools, overlapping significantly with KORLOY's product range. It is a global carbide tooling competitor with comparable presence in Korea, China, and Southeast Asia.
• Ceratizit (Plansee Group): Ceratizit, part of the Plansee Group, manufactures cemented carbide cutting tools and wear parts with a strong European footprint. It is comparable to KORLOY as a global carbide tooling specialist competing for the same aerospace, automotive, and general-machinery accounts.
• YG-1: YG-1 is a South Korean manufacturer of cutting tools including endmills, drills, taps, and inserts, providing the closest geographic and product comparison to KORLOY. As fellow Korean carbide tooling exporters with global subsidiary networks, YG-1 is a direct head-to-head competitor in mid-tier industrial markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/korloyinc
• Facebookfacebook.com/Korloyhq
• Instagraminstagram.com/korloy_official
• Xx.com/korloyo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/korloy-turkey-ltd

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KORLOY