Steel is the main material of construction. Since this subject is closely related to our daily lives, quality becomes the most important factor. However, in the case of structural materials, they aren’t directly visible to the users — and even looking at the exterior, it is hard to recognize whether the materials are low-cost or of high quality.
These days people consider various criteria carefully, for example, environmental standard, when purchasing even household items like furniture and decorative items. For construction materials, stricter standards should be applied, one would think. This is why POSCO came up with ‘INNOVILT’, a premium brand of steel products for construction that applies POSCO steel. It’s a brand everyone — from workers to end-users — can recognize and trust.
l Why Did POSCO Launch a Construction Material Brand?
Since POSCO mainly produces flat products, its performance didn’t stand out in the construction market, which mostly consists of rebar and section steel. Instead, POSCO worked with its client companies to create solutions for premium steel products for construction. As a result, lighter, stronger, more aesthetically pleasing and cost-efficient products were developed. Since ‘High-end’ steel is no longer used just in automobiles and home appliances, POSCO’s world-class technology began to stand out in the construction field as well. However, since most businesses are carried on in B2B (business to business) form, POSCO was unable to deliver these solutions directly to end-users.
At the same time, new changes were detected in the construction market in Korea. As the value of safety and sustainability became higher, the end-users’ opinion, as well as the direct business parties’ — such as builders and contractors — had a greater impact on material decisions. Noticing this change, POSCO concluded that the B2B strategy is no longer viable in the domestic construction market. Hence, to make better steel products for construction than other competing materials such as wood, stone, and nonferrous metals (aluminum, etc.), changing the communication strategy was crucial. The new strategy would be B2B2C (Business to Business + Business to Customer), which actively engages the general public as well as the specialists.
On account of all these events, POSCO launched ‘INNOVILT’, a construction material brand. POSCO intends to increase customer value by expanding the premium technology and expertise — accumulated from other industries — to the construction market. Additionally, the public, who were unable to access construction material information, can easily comprehend the value and credibility of the material by recognizing the brand.
l ‘INNOVILT’ Let’s Bring the Value of Steel Into Construction
▲ ‘INNOVILT’ brand concept
‘INNOVILT’ is the brand name. It stands for innovation, value, and built and aims to innovate the value of construction through POSCO Premium Steel. The brand slogan is — “Built the next, Let’s INNOVILT”. The core values of the brand are as follows: Hi-Tech, Creativity, Sustainability, and Partnership.
It is a known fact that POSCO’s Hi-Tech steel is used as a premium material in automobiles, home appliances, and mobile phones. And in these kinds of consumer goods, the end-user can easily judge and distinguish materials. For example, when someone says that a refrigerator made of black stainless steel is significantly better and is more expensive than other products, most people would agree.
Let’s think about it. There are hundreds of steel grades produced by POSCO, and POSCO hadn’t developed this cutting edge steel technology just for the automotive and home appliance industry alone. So 51 years of POSCO’s technology is in practice in construction steel products, making them more innovative than ever. Then how about adapting this technology into our homes? Actually, this is what ‘INNOVILT’ is trying to communicate across. “Embrace and invite INNOVILT into your house.”
l ‘INNOVILT’— Made With POSCO Steel 100%
So does this mean all POSCO steel becomes INNOVILT products automatically? The answer is No. To become an ‘INNOVILT’ product, the manufacturer of the steel products for construction must submit an application to POSCO. POSCO then reviews this application with its experts. Using POSCO steel 100%, such as WTP (World Top Premium) product, is essential. The selection criteria include the product technology, marketability, and also the stability and management ability of the client company. If the client company passes the evaluation, the company is given the right to use the brand name, and the product can be sold under the name ‘INNOVILT’.
Such a case — a steel company branding and managing client companies’ products — is unprecedented. Also, client companies who produce steel products for construction with POSCO steel or need strategic partnerships with POSCO will have mutual exchange as members of the ‘INNOVILT Alliance’.
▲ ‘INNOVILT’ brand system
The first INNOVILT product will be selected in December, but that doesn’t end there. POSCO is set to hold a brand committee every quarter and manage the INNOVILT brand continuously. The committee will look into whether the INNOVILT products are causing any quality issues that harm the brand reputation and whether the client companies continue to adopt POSCO steel 100%. POSCO will also hold meetings where solutions, applied technology, and co-marketing methods could be discussed so that INNOVILT products — just like its name — can keep being innovative. Putting up its name for this, POSCO aims to make INNOVILT completely credible to consumers.
l End-users : Experience Says It All
How can the brand ‘INNOVILT’ be applied in the real market? The following is an example showing how it works with ‘Steel Curtain Wall’.
▲ End-users, as well as business parties, can opt for the ‘INNOVILT’ brand.
Let’s say POSCO produces the WTP steel PosMAC and supplies it to a company N, an ‘INNOVILT Alliance’. Company N produces steel curtain walls which are INNOVILT and then promote and sell the products under the name ‘INNOVILT’. Architectural design and construction companies compare general steel, aluminum, and ‘INNOVILT’ for curtain wall materials. As a result, premium material ‘INNOVILT’ is chosen and applied. The end-user may also express preference knowing that INNOVILT has a good price, and is distinctively safe.
Consumer’s experience of the benefits INNOVILT offers is the most important part of the brand. End-users can now proactively recognize, select, and enjoy the materials by themselves unlike before. For example, in the past, consumers used to be passive, regarding steel curtain walls to be just aluminum. But in the future, through INNOVILT they can make more informed decisions. With INNOVILT, such information previously unknown to customers, as the durability and insulation of the material, is now at consumer’s disposal.
As seen here, INNOVILT buildings and infrastructures will naturally become a safer, more sustainable, and cost-efficient space. If the concept of INNOVILT as a premium construction material is firmly established, end-users can make active requests for INNOVILT material like in apartment interior & exterior and so on. Some might even say, “My house is INNOVILT built.”
l “My House Is INNOVILT Built.”
INNOVILT is a construction material made of steel from the world’s most competitive steel maker. Now, through INNOVILT, users can explore values they had never experienced before in their lives.
An INNOVILT ‘PosMAC Barrier’ has an excellent corrosion-resistant and rainwater storage function, enabling the roadside trees to grow in an eco-friendly way. An apartment building can use INNOVILT ‘Stone-like Panel’ instead of cheap stone materials. It’s safer and there’s no need to worry about harmful substances. These are some examples of INNOVILT that consumers can experience in their daily lives.
INNOVILT continues its innovation to embrace all the values in construction that can’t be compromised — like economic feasibility, stability, and sustainability. In recent years, especially, sustainability is the most valuable idea across all industries. Steel is infinitely recyclable since it’s made from natural raw materials. Accordingly, utilizing INNOVILT means choosing the best technology and material that ensure economic feasibility and sustainability.
In terms of industrial ecology, the credibility of POSCO steel can be extended to the products of client companies, creating greater business value. POSCO also created the INNOVILT Smart Platform(link) where you can look at steel products for construction including INNOVILT. 3D planning and designing are also possible here using BIM (Building Information Modeling). On November 29, INNOVILT will be exhibited at the ‘POSCO E&C’s the Sharp Gallery’, located in Seoul. POSCO plans to fully support various promotion and marketing so that INNOVILT can play a substantial role in expanding the sales of its client companies.
‘Construction’ is a familiar yet difficult subject to comprehend. This is why POSCO presents a new paradigm with INNOVILT — a single name that users can rely on while choosing construction material. Build the Next. Let’s INNOVILT!