The bottom of the Gram 15-inch – made with POSCO’s ‘E-Form’ magnesium alloy sheet

In 2015, POSCO developed the ‘E-Form’ magnesium alloy, which significantly increases magnesium’s ability to be molded at room temperature (magnesium is known to have poor forming ability at low temperatures). The alloy was applied to the bottom of the Gram 14-inch and 15-inch.

Instead of stopping with the ‘E-Form’ alloy, POSCO continued to make further improvements and rolled out its ‘E-Form Plus’ alloy which demonstrated improved formability. LG Electronics incorporated the use of the alloy into the 13, 14, and 15-inch Gram in 2017, further solidifying their partnership.

The 2017 version of Gram features a battery life of up to 24 hours, a 40% larger cooling fan against heat, a backlit keyboard for enhanced ease of use and dual-channel memory slots for more convenient memory upgrading. In addition to these improvements, the 2017 Gram laptops recorded a lower or equivalent weight compared to the existing models [940g (13.3-inch model), 970g (14.0-inch model) and 1,090g (15.6-inch model)]. The Gram 15-inch won the 2016 iF Design Awards’ Gold Award and a Red Dot Design prize, and was also named the world’s lightest 15.6-inch laptop in the Guinness World Records.

The 2017 LG “All Day Gram” (courtesy of LG Electronics’ official blog)

The growth of the entire laptop market is slowing down due to the emergence of smartphones and tablets but ultra-light and slim laptops are enjoying growth at a rate of 15% to 20%, respectively, each year. According to market research firm, Juniper Research, when Intel announced its ultra-light laptop concept in 2011, shipments of ultra-light laptops throughout the world amounted to only 3.7 million units in 2011; but in 2016, they soared to 178 million units. And in 2017, ultra-light laptops are expected to account for 42.7% of the entire laptop market.

By steadily developing customized materials and processing solutions for its customers, POSCO is working to position magnesium alloy sheets as a valuable material for a variety of mobile products.

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 Pictured here: The first production using eco-friendly FINEX method at POSCO’s plant

For the 11^th consecutive year, POSCO has been named one of the ‘Most Respected Companies in Korea’ by the Korean Management Association Consultants (KMAC).  POSCO topped the list in the steel industry category for its 11^th straight year. In addition, POSCO ranked second in the overall ‘All Star Company’ category for 8 straight years. The ‘Most Respected Companies in Korea’ ranking is the only comprehensive survey model in Korea and was developed in 2004 by KMAC to evaluate and publish the value of Korean companies.

Lessons from one of Korea’s most respected companies

The importance of corporate reputation has achieved all-time highs nowadays. POSCO was recognized on this year’s Interbrand’s Best Korean Brands list for its second consecutive year. It must be doing something right.  A great company does not just excel because of its products, but because of its values and other initiatives. Fortune annually publishes its World’s Most Admired Companies list  and 100 Best Companies to Work For list to distinguish the best from the rest. What lessons can be learned from Korea’s leading steelmaker?

POSCO was highly rated for its CSR activities, reliability, values, talent fostering, employee welfare, and eco-friendly management in addition to ethical management. It also gained recognition as Korea`s leading company in fulfilling social responsibilities through internal activities, resulting in increased profitability and decreased production costs, volunteer activities with all employees participating, 1% sharing activities for the socially disadvantaged, and support for multi-cultural families.

Pictured here: POSCO’s women employees participating in Women’s Mentoring Day, held since 2011

 Pictured here: Joint effort between POSCO’s global volunteering program, Beyond, and Habitat for Humanity

Methodology

The ‘All Star Companies’ category includes the 30 most respected Korean companies regardless of industry and is based on a survey of 5,920 industry officers, 230 securities company analysts, and 4,560 general consumers between  October 2^nd, 2013 through January 6^th, 2014. Companies are surveyed based on the following six factors:

1)     Innovation capability

2)     Shareholder value

3)     Employee value

4)     Customer value

5)     Social value

6)     Image value

See below for the 2014 top 10 ‘All Star Companies’ list:

1.     Samsung Electronics

2.     POSCO

3.     Yuhan-Kimberly

4.     Yuhan Corporation

5.     Hyundai Motors

6.     Incheon International Airport

7.     SK Telecom

8.     LG Electronics

9.     Samsung C&T

10.  Samsung Life