LG Chem globe-trotting for talent
CEO Kim globe-trotting for foreign talent
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff reporter
The best companies rely on the best human resources. This is perhaps an overused business cliche for a lot of business executives, but not Kim Bahn-suk, the well-traveled chief executive of LG Chem, whose reputation is based on his desire to stockpile quality talent.
Kim intends to search every corner of the globe to find his next top employees, and will never send lower-rank officials to do his job. Kim was in the United States earlier this month, the fifth consecutive year he has participated in the company's recruiting campaign across American universities, LG Chem officials said.
"Kim's level of involvement in the recruiting process is rarely found among the country's top corporate executives, many of them considering themselves too important to be on the ground hustling to acquire better talent," Song Choong-sup, an LG Chem spokesman, said.
"In our ever-changing business, it's crucial to be preemptive in moving to find and hire skilled industrial talent or people with upside potential. An improved ability to find and identify these people also improves our knowledge in putting them in the right place to optimize their talents."
According to Song, LG Chem is planning to hire 1,000 new employees in 2010, with more than one third of them to be assigned to research and development (R&D) units, which represents the company's biggest hire over the past few years.
The company has been looking to improve its competitiveness in its main markets, which include rechargeable batteries and liquid crystal display (LCD) glass, and also dabbling with new business models to exploit the government support for green tech initiatives.
"This is why we need to be aggressive in hiring talent. Kim, along with his top lieutenants, will attend upcoming recruiting tours in Japan and other countries as well," Song said.
Kim, who was renewed as CEO during a management reshuffle at the LG group of companies late last year, has been credited for his role in improving the company's international profile and enhancing revenue and profit. The company's profit during the first quarter jumped more than a 70 percent from a year earlier.
Strategic approach
Kim would certainly be helped by an injection of new blood as he believes that LG Chem is well-positioned to benefit from the government's commitment to green tech, which could open new opportunities in batteries and other areas. And the rebounding world economy is pushing up demand for digital products, which calls for LCD screen makers to boost their supply.
LG Chem hopes to strengthen its positions across these sectors, through aggressive investment and new partnerships.
The company has certainly been backing its words with action. LG Chem is planning to invest 1 trillion won ($900 million) to build a new vehicle battery plant in Korea, while also looking to build an advanced lithium-ion battery plant in Michigan, the United States, to meet increasing demand.
The company created a joint venture with Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker, in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, and plans to start production during the second-half of the year. LG Chem also boasts a wealthy lineup of foreign allies, which allows it to consistently find markets overseas. LG Chem has already inked business partnerships with China's Changan Auto and America's General Motors and Eaton Corporation, a maker of car components.
The company's number of electric vehicle battery clients will reach 10 by the end of the year, LG Chem officials said.
"We are in talks with other major carmakers to supply hybrid and electric vehicle batteries, and we will be able to make announcements soon," Song said. Although Song declined to give any names, rumors have been linking LG Chem with automotive giants Ford and Volkswagen.
"We have superb hardware, but have yet to prove ourselves in the software side. This is clearly in the mind of Kim when he makes his recruiting trips," Song said.
LCD glass, another growth factor
LG Chem is also looking to boost its LCD glass business. LCD glass is critical in the making of panels, and accounts for more than 25 percent of the production costs.
A shortage in glass substrates have constrained the output of the global LCD sector in the past months, which pushed up the prices of panels. This has glass providers like LG Chem looking to bump up their production.
LG Chem plans to invest 3 trillion won by 2018 to build a new glass facility in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in which the company plans to build seven production lines. The level of investment was higher than its previous plan of 430 billion won through 2010. The new facility will begin production in early 2012, and by 2018 will generate more than 2 trillion won in annual revenue, LG Chem officials said.
To improve its technology, the company is also partnering with Germany's Schott Solar to tap into its advancements in LCD glass production.
"LCD glass is one of our next-generation growth engines, along with polarizers, batteries and materials," Song said.
"We will give our LCD glass units a stronger jolt of quality talent, which will allow us to build better products more effectively and give us a first-mover advantage in an expanding market, while widening the gap with our competitors like Corning."
Kim is expecting the company to build on its strong first-quarter and post robust numbers for the April-June period, with its soaring petrochemical and electronic materials business inspiring confidence.
"We don't see any obstacles toward a strong Q2," Kim said in an e-mailed statement to The Korea Times.