Just to name a few, Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia repealed a law that exonerates rapists and allows them to avoid punishment if they marry their rape victims. In Saudi Arabia, women finally gained the right to hold driver’s licenses. In the U.S. and around the world, more than 5 million people took part in the Women’s March in January 2017, to advocate fairness and equality. Then, Iceland set an example for all when it became the first country in history to make it illegal for companies with 25 or more employees to pay men more than women for the same job.

This year, steelmaker POSCO added a big win for women’s empowerment.

POSCO Follows the (Women’s) Lead

POSCO recently welcomed their first female executive, Lee Yu-Kyung, as POSCO’s Chief of Plant, Equipment and Materials Procurement. In a male-dominated industry, Lee’s achievement is a rare sighting, but after taking a deeper look at Lee’s work history and overall attitude, it’s no surprise Lee is a woman who deserves to be at the top.

Lee Yu-Kyung, POSCO’s first female executive employee.

For Lee, POSCO is her second job. She was at her first job in 1990 at an IT company when she saw, spread across the front page of the daily paper, POSCO’s ad calling for female employees.

“When I saw the question on the ad that read, ‘WIll you join POSCO to work towards a promising future today?’ I just thought this is it. It sounds tacky today, but at the time, it was the opportunity I had been waiting for.”

And so began Lee’s 27 years (and still counting!) with POSCO. The first task she encountered was handling exports of cold-rolled steel to Southeast Asia, and she was off on her first business trip to Singapore just months into her job.

“It was a rare opportunity for a fresh rookie 1st year recruit to be able to go overseas. Looking back, I think it was opportunities like these, and the expectations that came with them that built me up professionally.”

Keeping Work Interesting

After her experience in the Export Department, she moved from department to department about once every 3 years, including Machinery Purchasing, Raw Materials Purchasing, Marketing at POSCO M-Tech and even completed a year-long MBA program at Ewha Womans University.

“POSCO has a work-rotation program for its employees, which just goes to show how invested the company is in the growth of individual employees. It’s a lot more cost-effective for POSCO to hire employees to specialize in one position, but instead, we rotate every 3 to 4 years to learn new tasks, gain insight and experience new working environments. This is probably the biggest reason I believe I made the right choice in working at POSCO.”

Vice President Lee was the brains behind POSCO’s Global Information Hub. (Source: 727406 Vimeo)

Lee’s continued learning within the company lead to some impressive results. She set up what is now known as the Global Information Hub (GIH), a process for gathering market information by utilizing the network of global trading companies. Lee was also the first person to apply the concept of total cost of ownership (TCO) to machinery purchasing so the company could make well-informed and comprehensive decisions.

Lee explained, “Whereas before, the price of machinery determined purchase decisions, TCO provides a more accurate cost based on the machinery’s performance and efficiency over its lifecycle.” As such, POSCO is still reaping the benefits of Lee’s hard work.

Lee’s professional achievements are impressive, but it’s not the only thing young professionals can learn from her.

A True Multi-tasker

“To be honest, I don’t recall too many moments where I encountered hardship at work. I just try to do all that I can in the given situation, and I know that’s enough. However, one of my greatest challenges came when I found out I was pregnant with my fourth child. Going through 3 pregnancies was tough enough, and I didn’t know if I could come back from a fourth. The thing I worried about most was what my coworkers would think if I took another maternity leave.”

“I’ll never forget what my boss at the time told me. He said, ‘I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for the company so far, and I know you will do well going forward. I know it’s hard right now, but this time is going to pass.’ Thanks to my boss I found the courage to come back after an 8-month maternity leave and get to where I am today.”

Advice for All Working Women

Just as her chief played a critical role in her career, Lee hopes to coach and foster other women employees at POSCO.

“I’m not going to say that being a working mom is easy. My third youngest once held onto a lamp post on the side of the street and cried all morning on our way to kindergarten. It breaks your heart, but those moments do pass, and then you’ll be glad you held on and fought through.”

Lee Yu-Kyung had plenty of advice for other working professional women.

Besides working through hard times, Lee shared other advice for working professionals.

“You gotta take care of yourself – during weekends, you have to get meaningful rest. You have to fit in time with your friends and enjoy the moments along the way.” Plus, for the past 10 years, Lee has fit in an hour of exercise every morning before work and can’t remember the last time she took a sick day. “Your body is just like the machinery in our factories. You have to take care of it, make sure nothing’s broken and maintain it over a long time.”

“Professionally, it’s important to try and see the bigger picture and work to your competitive advantage. Always watch what the seniors are doing, and be open and willing to learn.”

Going Forward as POSCO’s First Female Executive

When asked what her future plans were in her new role, she replied, “I believe purchasing goes beyond obtaining certain products. It’s about developing the supplier’s technology, business strategy and vision for mutual growth. That’s why we’ve always put an emphasis on fairness, transparency and cost-saving, but in the future, I would like to also work towards finding new technologies with suppliers to lead the market and gain further competitiveness. In order to achieve this, we plan to cut costs internally and continue to cooperate and co-create with our suppliers.”

During her 27 years at POSCO, Lee was able to turn every challenge into an opportunity to become the professional she is today as well as a role model for other women working in male-dominated industries. There is no doubt she will continue to progress and rise to meet new challenges at POSCO.

Cover photo courtesy of The Daily Beast

1. #Winning – competitiveness and sustainability

POSCO was recently named the world’s most competitive steelmaker for the eighth consecutive year by World Steel Dynamics (WSD). POSCO again took home the gold with the highest scores in five categories including innovative technology, cost reduction, skill level of labor, restructuring and investment environment.

POSCO is the world’s most competitive steelmaker.

Not only did POSCO come out on top for competitiveness, the company was ranked 35th among the “Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World in 2017,” by Toronto-based magazine and research firm Corporate Knights. The list was announced in early 2017 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This is the third consecutive year POSCO made the list with outstanding scores in safety, environment and the salary levels of employees.

2. Joining the trillion club

POSCO entered the trillion club twice in 2017 as it recorded USD 1.283 billion (KRW 1.365 trillion) of operating profits in the first quarter, and USD 1.0581 billion (KRW 1.1257 trillion) in the third quarter based on its consolidated operating profit. Even in the midst of global oversupply and governments opting for protectionist policies, POSCO’s profits were unscathed. Much of the credit is owed to the company’s steel and non-steel affiliates overseas with strong sales performances. The consolidated debt-to-equity ratio was the lowest since 2010 and the non-consolidated debt-to-equity ratio was at its lowest ever.

POSCO recorded an operating profit over KRW 1 trillion in the first and third quarter of 2017.

To add, international credit rating agency S&P upgraded POSCO’s BBB-plus credit rating outlook to “stable” last February, and Moody’s also upgraded POSCO’s long-term corporate credit rating outlook to “positive” on October 26.

3. Everything’s bigger in…POSCO

Last June, after 102 days of repair, Pohang Blast Furnace No.3 became the world’s fifth-largest blast furnace. Its internal volume expanded from 4350㎥ to 5600㎥, allowing the super-sized blast furnace to put out 15,000 tons of molten metal daily. POSCO currently operates five super-sized blast furnaces, or blast furnaces sized 5500㎥ or larger.

Pohang Blast Furnace No. 3 under construction.

POSCO further upgraded Pohang Blast Furnace No.3 by adding in AI capabilities. It is now equipped with smart technology that can control the internal state of the blast furnace automatically, and smart sensors can now predict accidents before they happen, extending the lifespan of the furnace. Furthermore, POSCO plans to collect big data from the blast furnace and use it to develop fully smart blast furnaces in the future.

4. The smarter the better

Since his taking up the CEO position in 2014, POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon has repeatedly expressed his vision for securing future competitiveness through smart solutions. The company even started a smartization training course for employees and held the Smart POSCO Forum 2017 last July to share its insights and progress with clients and affiliates.

POSCO is gaining a competitive edge through smart solutions. (Source: Global Trade Magazine)

Moreover, POSCO also supported a smart talent training project customized for SMEs. The program included job training for AI and big data application technologies. Going forward, POSCO plans to build a “Smart Industry” to increase steel competitiveness and create new business opportunities with new, smart technologies.

SEE ALSO: How Factories Produce Steel- the Smart Way

5. Getting in on electric vehicles

The market for electric vehicles (EVs) is an exciting one with so many companies investing in new technologies. POSCO also hopes to extend its customized material and technology solutions to EV manufacturers. Last October, the company held the Global EV Materials Forum to showcase four of its core business areas: lightweight bodies, batteries, motors and charging infrastructure. More than 380 clients took part in the forum to learn about emerging trends and POSCO’s products and services including POSCO GIGA STEEL and commercially produced lithium batteries for EVs.

POSCO is a solutions provider for EV manufacturers. (Source: Bloomberg)

6. POSCO’s new marketing approach

For the first time ever, POSCO created and aired a TV commercial highlighting a specific product, instead of its corporate brand. This marks POSCO’s first B2C marketing effort and features the company’s innovative auto steel, POSCO GIGA STEEL. The commercial compares POSCO GIGA STEEL to aluminum, another widely-used lightweight material in a visual demonstration so that everyday drivers can better understand the benefits of a stronger yet lighter material.

7. Going for 10 million tons of automotive steel

On April 26, POSCO completed 7CGL, a new steel production facility in Gwangyang, Korea, designed exclusively for the production of POSCO GIGA STEEL. 7CGL has an annual capacity of 500,000 tons and is the world’s first plant capable of producing both 1.5 giga-level galva-annealed (GA) and galvanized (GI) steel sheets.

POSCO Completed 7CGL on April 26, 2017. (Source: Business Korea)

In addition, POSCO managed to reduce investment funds and secure cost competitiveness by designing and constructing 7CGL’s core facilities based on accumulated facility technologies and operating know-how. The 7CGL is POSCO’s 12th plant exclusively for automotive steel sheets, and POSCO aims to sell 10 million tons of automotive steel in 2018 globally.  

8. Setting new records with high manganese

POSCO became the first company in the world to commercialize the technology for producing high manganese using fusible ferroalloys. The technology took KRW 5.5 billion of research and development costs and four years to complete.

POSCO is the first company in the world to commercialize its high manganese production technology. (Source: Eramet)

The core part of POSCO’s high manganese production process is PosLM (POSCO Liquid Manganese), a special holding furnace that stores manganese ferroalloys in a fusible state. POSCO’s technology reduces the production time for high manganese steel by more than 50 percent as well as increases slab production efficiency. PosLM was jointly researched and developed by the Institute of Technology and POSCO M-tech.

9. Bringing home the lithium

On February 7, POSCO opened its PosLX (POSCO Lithium Extraction) plant with an annual capacity of 2,500 tons. The plant is the first plant in Korea capable of commercial lithium production. The technology took 7 years to perfect, but it was well worth it. The production process for high purity lithium now takes just 3 months, compared to the previous 12 to 18 months.

POSCO is making lithium extraction more efficient and sustainable. (Source: Mining)

In the past, Korean manufacturers imported the entire quantity of lithium they needed. With POSCO’s PosLX plant, partners now have access to a local supply of lithium. Moreover, POSCO plans to use lithium phosphate extracted from wasted secondary batteries as raw materials, in keeping with the company’s sustainability standards.

POSCO will continue building on a successful 2017 in the new year, by tackling new challenges and continuing to provide its partners with customized and optimal solutions in all business areas.

Cover photo courtesy of Hitech Building Solutions.

In major cities around the world, industrial activity is creating visible damages. (Source: International Business Times)

In order to meet this mark, industries need to find sustainable sources of fuel in the near future, or be met with costly penalties. Up to now, the price of non-renewable fuel was too attractive for clean energy to be competitive. However, tighter regulations, major leaps in technology and state-level commitment have birthed a new era of renewable energy.

Energy you can bank on

According to Bloomberg analysts, USD 10.2 trillion will be spent on new power generation by 2040, 72 percent of which will go towards wind and solar photovoltaic plants. By then, the cost of solar electricity will drop 66 percent, meaning by 2021, solar power will be cheaper than energy from coal in China, India, Mexico and the UK. The cost of onshore wind power will decrease by 47 percent by 2040, and offshore wind power by 71 percent thanks to more advanced and cost-effective wind turbines.  

Renewable energy is getting more and more competitive, and companies who don’t make the switch to clean fuel will be left out of the race.

SEE ALSO: How POSCO Sees a Future of Renewable Energy

However, electricity doesn’t fall from trees.

It falls from steel! Tons of steel (literally) are used to extract and convert energy from renewable energy sources.

Wind Energy

Most wind turbines are made of steel, and for an average wind turbine, 140 tons of steel are used. That accounts for 80 percent of all the materials that go into the tower, the nacelle, rotor blades and its supporting facilities. The majority of steel is used to make the tower which serves as the foundation on which the blades turn to generate energy. There are several types of turbine towers, such as steel-concrete hybrid towers, steel truss towers and steel lattice towers, but about 90 percent of all wind turbine towers are made of tubular steel. Also, steel’s non-corrosive properties maximize the lifetime of wind turbines and minimize maintenance costs.

Solar Energy

Solar electricity is one of the most promising types of renewable energy. By as soon as 2030, it can make up 13 percent of the world’s energy, and by 2050, the sun will be the largest source of electricity on earth. And steel will be soaking it all up – the sunlight that is. Steel makes up not only the frame of the solar panels, but the heat exchangers and other related infrastructure. Stainless steel is a great choice for solar panel frames because it is dense, high in strength and has the greatest corrosion-resistance than other light metals.  

SEE ALSO: India: A Rising Sun in the Global Renewable Energy Industry

Geothermal Energy

Mother earth just keeps on giving. There are about 1400 TWh of geothermal energy in the earth’s core that can be harvested by 2050. Geothermal energy gives off extreme heat, so it is vital for the heat exchangers, condensers, pipes, filters, pumps and valves to be corrosion resistant. Otherwise, maintenance costs would be unsustainable and corrosion can contaminate the water as well. That’s why most of the infrastructure related to geothermal energy is made of iron castings, stainless steel and steel alloys.

Tidal Energy

There’s plenty of energy in the sea as well. In the world’s oceans, there are about 1 million megawatts of usable tidal energy. Steel makes up most parts of the underwater turbines including the nacelles, support structures and underlying piles for a sturdy and sustainable power source. As with other renewable energy, increasing the lifetime and decreasing maintenance costs will determine the competitiveness of tidal energy. Thus, stainless steel is the go-to material for corrosion resistance. The infrastructure related to tidal energy extraction is massive in scale and will call for thousands and thousands of pounds of steel to construct.  

Korea is the largest source of tidal energy in the world, with 552.7 GHw of electricity harvested from Siwha Lake every year. It’s also where steelmaker POSCO is located to provide the necessary types and grades of steel for renewable energy production.

POSCO E&C has its own solar, wind, tidal and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plants, which makes sure even industrial wastes get turned into energy. The company was also the first company in Korea to build a solar power plant in 8 different regions capable of generating 31.2MW of solar electricity.

In order to stay competitive in the market, industries are already using or transitioning towards renewable energy sources to fuel their business activities. As governments around the globe also commit to a greener future, the demand for steel used in renewable energy infrastructure will see a significant boost.

Cover photo courtesy of the National Geographic.

What’s more, manufacturing is no longer a rigid industry that produces uniform, one-sided goods. There is constant communication between customers and businesses for hyper-customization. Not only that, machines and products communicate within a smart factory, and factories exchange data with other factories. Manufacturing is no longer limited to production plants. Moreover, the data generated in the manufacturing process is combined with customer information, and a new service can be created. This combination of manufacturing and services is resulting in creation of added value. In the midst of such drastic change, how can companies stay competitive?

Staying Competitive Through Connection and Convergence

Global manufacturing companies are at the forefront of the 4th Industrial Revolution, as evident in their smart factories. A smart factory collects data generated from the production process using ICT technology, and the system controls all processes from material input to the final product. This has led to flexible production systems with the ability to make various products in one factory or to expand the range of products on the basis of connectivity. Typically, when a company builds a smart factory, it can improve productivity by 20 to 30 percent. A 20 percent improvement in efficiency in the manufacturing sector is a significant, outright increase in global competitiveness.

SEE ALSO: How Smart Factories are Changing the Manufacturing Industry

Siemens Electronics Manufacturing Plant incorporates robotics, AI and IoT to its production processes. (Source: Zawya)

If the productivity of a plant can be improved through smartization, it is important to also think about connectivity with the ecosystem that exists outside of the plant. Once a smart factory is built, all the data from customer orders to production and delivery are collected in a system via sensors. The customer, product and production data create meaningful connections with each other and provide extensive insight. Examples of added value creation through meaningful connections include hyper-customized goods, data-driven after-sales services to customers and collaboration among companies connected within the smart factory’s external ecosystem. Such advancements will lead greater product quality, production stability as well as shortened delivery times between value chain suppliers.

The Adidas Speed Factory and GE Brilliant Factory are examples of successful smart factories. Adidas customers choose the materials, colors and design of their sneakers, and have them manufactured and shipped within 24 hours in an automated factory.

GE has built a system that can produce all of their widely-diverse products in one factory. When the factory receives customer orders, it operates in a flexible production system which starts with the necessary raw materials, inputted by the automated scheduling system that controls the entire production process, including the final distribution system.

The Future of Manufacturing

Overall, the adoption of innovative changes in the manufacturing sector is likely to progress from lighter industries to the heavy industries, from B2C to B2B sectors. Small plants, quick manufacturing and B2C companies can more readily adapt to rapid technological and market changes. On the other hand, heavy industries like steel and B2B companies with continuous and heavy manufacturing, large production volume and numerous linked companies are likely to be slower to adapt to changes.

It is much more difficult for traditional, heavy industries to adapt to changes. (Source: Live Mint)

For example, adapting to the changes of the 4th Industrial Revolution in the steel industry may be slow, but it is inevitable. What’s more, the long-term adaptation process is more likely to be systematic and deliberate.

As a leading company in the global steel industry, POSCO is pursuing a long-term, systematic “Grand Design” to reinvent its systems to align with the changes of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

First, POSCO built a pilot smart factory in their steel mill, Gwangyang Steelworks, in 2015 that is currently in operation. The company used IoT to collect big data on site, analyze it in real time and build a smart factory that enables optimal control through AI and self-learning. As a result, the Gwangyang Steelworks is reaping the benefits of a smart factory not only in cost reduction but also in improved steel quality, minimized malfunctions and a safe and stable production environment. This year, POSCO plans to expand and apply smart factories to all of its production processes.

POSCO built a smart factory in Gwangyang Steel Mill.

Smart factory application throughout the entire steel mill will improve overall efficiency through a flexible production system. In addition, the factory will be able to respond directly to various customers in real time based on platform construction with customers within the connected ecosystem. The customized characteristics and design of the steel grade for each customer can be applied to production in real time.

SEE ALSO: How Factories Produce Steel – the Smart Way

Ultimately, a smart ecosystem that links manufacturing, processing and distribution with customer input will lead to a new, innovative ecosystem within the steel industry. In Europe, some companies are experimenting with material libraries and steel distribution platforms. The material library displays a variety of materials for customers to see, touch and test the workability and performance of the materials, and get information about the characteristics, design and delivery times through the order platform. Customers can designate the shipment date on the spot. This will be one of the new promising business models that steel and other material companies will strive towards in the coming future.

POSCO’s Grand Design includes a step-by-step approach to smart factories to expand the use of IoT, AI and Big Data in its production systems. To this end, POSCO ICT has developed PosFrame, a standard software platform that collects basic data of production processes and collectively manages, controls and analyzes the information.

POSCO uses its software platform, PosFrame, for data collection and analysis.

When the software becomes standardized and reliable enough to extend to other sectors, it will be applied to other business areas such as energy and construction, as well as to POSCO’s affiliates.

Manufacturers will have to take into account the heavy production environment, the slow industrial change cycle and the complexity of related industries and affiliates to implement the most effective, long-term, systematic upgrades to its production systems. This will result in a brand-new production and business model for manufacturing companies that will align with the new environment of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Cover photo courtesy of Sputnik International.