CIS (CIS Co., Ltd. → SFA Nexel) is a mid-sized secondary battery electrode-process equipment company headquartered in Daegu, which produces coaters, calenders, and slitters all in-house.
1. Company Overview
- Company Name: CIS, Stock Code 222080 (KOSDAQ) — a name change to ‘SFA Nexel’ was put forward at an extraordinary general meeting in June 2026
- Founding/History: First successful domestic localization of calendering (roll press) equipment in 2008
- Headquarters: Daegu
- CEO: Kim Dong-jin
- Parent Company: SFA — acquired equity stake in 2022
2. History and Workforce
In 2008, the company succeeded in domestically localizing calendering (press) equipment, a field previously dominated by Japan — the first such success in Korea. In 2022, SFA acquired an equity stake, bringing the company into the SFA Group, and it is pursuing synergy by broadening its product lineup from battery electrodes through to back-end processes. The CEO has stated that the order backlog is projected to exceed KRW 1 trillion by the end of 2025, and in 2026 the company was the only domestic secondary battery electrode-process equipment maker named to the jointly compiled Time magazine–Statista ‘World’s Top Growth Companies’ list (ranked 622nd overall, 16th among domestic companies, 6th in the manufacturing/engineering sector).
The company is pursuing portfolio diversification to reduce dependence on any single industry by expanding into display deposition equipment and secondary battery/semiconductor/PCB inspection and measurement equipment fields. Detailed workforce composition is (undisclosed).
3. Core Technology and Key Equipment
One of the few domestic companies producing coaters, calenders (roll presses), and slitters entirely in-house, its 2008-localized calendering equipment compresses electrode thickness to within a 1.5-micrometer (μm) error range even under high-temperature, high-pressure conditions. The company also developed the world’s first hybrid coater incorporating laser technology.
- Calender (roll press) — first domestic localization in 2008, guarantees rolled thickness of ±1.5 μm
- Wide-width coater — increases production volume by 100% or more, improves drying technology by 20% or more
- Slitter — cutting quality burr within 10 μm
- Hybrid coater — world’s first to incorporate laser technology
- Solid-state battery materials/process technology, dry coater for LFP (under development)
4. Production Infrastructure and Quality Assurance
The company has production and research facilities at its Daegu headquarters. The CEO has stated it is the only domestic equipment company that exports electrode-process equipment to Japan, a market known for stringent quality control. Detailed plant area and capacity figures are (undisclosed).
5. Delivery Track Record and Partnerships
It is known to have LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and Northvolt among its key customers (per industry reporting). Individual delivery years and amounts are (undisclosed).
6. Financial Status and Roadmap
As of 2024, the company recorded revenue of KRW 132.7 billion (per industry reporting), with revenue share by equipment type at 67% roll press, 14% slitter, and 11% coater. The CEO projected that the order backlog at the end of 2025 would exceed KRW 1 trillion.
The company is focusing on developing solid-state battery materials and process technology and a dry coater for LFP through national R&D projects and in-house research, and plans to strengthen synergy with the SFA Group by changing its name to ‘SFA Nexel.’
This profile was written based on publicly available sources including TheElec (thelec.kr), Seoul Economic Daily, ThinkPool, and VentureSquare, and unconfirmed figures or undisclosed information have not been arbitrarily stated.