Namaste. This phrase might be familiar to many people as a greeting used in India. The literal meaning of this is, “I pay my respect to the gods in you,” so this can be a greeting to the user as well. India is filled with respect for each individual’s beliefs and ideals and is a place people want to visit at least once in their lifetime.

POSCO Newsroom presents to you the story of a POSCO expatriate in India who is working to enhance the status of global steelmaker POSCO. Today’s star is POSCO’s Yang-Su Lim, working in POSCO India PC (Processing Center), Ahmedabad. Meet Lim’s vivid story that he had gone through since the completion of the Processing Center.

Hello. I’m Yang-Su Lim, and I work at the Processing Center in Ahmedabad, India. Here in India, POSCO operates POSCO-Maharashtra (Maharashtra), a Cold Rolling subsidiary, POSCO-ISDC (India), a distribution subsidiary, and four Cold Rolling Processing Centers (Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Pune).

The Ahmedabad Processing Center is located in the Sanand Industrial Complex, Gujarat, about 900 kilometers southwest of New Delhi, the capital of India. The area has recently emerged as an automotive manufacturing hub in India.

The Center, in charge of processing Cold Rolled steel, opened in April 2016. I came here as a POSCO expatriate in June 2015, while construction was still in progress.

▲ In 2018, POSCO merged three Indian processing centers — Delhi, Chennai, and Ahmedabad — into POSCO India PC to maximize operating synergy.

The Ahmedabad Processing Center is divided into three sectors — a factory with processing facilities, an office building, and a cafeteria — and has an annual processing capacity of 120,000 tons. As of 2019, there are a total of 200 employees, including two expatriates, 77 local employees, and 128 employees of partner companies. Our main task is to process materials from POSCO headquarter and overseas manufacturing subsidiaries into the forms desired by clients. We are also actively engaged in other affairs and contribution activities for the local community.

The best selling product at our company is automotive steel plates. Global automakers such as Ford, Suzuki, Tata, M.G Motor, and domestic automotive part markers such as JBM, Victora, and Vee-Gee are our major clients. Home appliance companies, including JCI-Hitachi and Highly Electric, and manufacturers of solar panel support structures are also some valuable clients.

When the processing center opened in Ahmedabad in 2016, sales stood at a mere 26,000 tons. Expectations were high, so it was a little disappointing. However, last year, as a result of all the efforts of our employees, we could boost sales to 140,000 tons, which is a growth of nearly six times — all within four years.

l Out in the Wild: Cutting Costs

I’m a general manager in the sales department, so I am in charge of all sales-related tasks, including client and demand development, material purchase, and bond management. At times, I have to switch between several roles, such as a ‘manufacturing manager’ in charge of production and quality, ‘a personnel manager’ in charge of the labor and human resources sector, and a ‘representative’ in meetings with local government agencies.

Five years have passed since I came to Ahmedabad. Sometimes I’m reminded of when I first arrived here. There was nothing but a container officer where I had countless meetings with architects to design the plant and optimize specifications of facilities. I also made numerous phone calls to my seniors in POSCO, Korea, who had much experience in the construction area. I remember talking with them on the phone the whole day.

To cut construction costs, all purchase orders for the construction were placed according to individual parts, so from the beginning, I had to meet separately with seven companies, including electricity, civil engineering, and interior companies. Since most of the construction work proceeded at the same time, there were some challenges because a delay in one sector led to a complete stop in the construction itself.

However, it was all worth it. We succeeded in saving investment costs by more than 1 million USD, and also we were able to understand the entire construction process of the processing center. Frankly, I couldn’t understand why I had to go through all the trouble during the construction period. But as the construction came to an end and I could see the plant and office building on the site, I felt really rewarded and proud.

▲ The Ahmedabad Processing Center under construction

l “It was perfect!”: Pioneering a New Market

Another memorable story would be “expanding sales by pioneering the high carbon hot-rolled steel (HR) market.”

In 2016, at the beginning of its establishment, the processing center faced difficulties in expanding sales since it supplied to global automakers solely. The center needed a breakthrough to survive in areas where demand for carbon steel was relatively low. While on market research at companies in various industries, we learned that there were several client companies nearby who were using high carbon steel.

To pioneer a new market, we conducted market research and sought to discover potential clients from December 2016. But it wasn’t easy at first since the steelmakers in the area already dominated the high carbon steel market. Client companies hesitated, saying that POSCO steel was excellent but expensive. Their existing partnership with the steelmakers was another problem. Six months passed without any significant outcome.

Amidst all the rejection and frustration, a Korean saying, “Dig a single well,” struck my mind. This proverb means that focusing on something wholeheartedly will yield satisfactory results. So the next day, I set off straight away to Ahmedabad Strips Pvt. Ltd. (ASPL), which is located near the center. I met with the person in charge every day and tried to form a close relationship, talking about Indian politics, current market conditions, and personal life. One day, something surprising happened. On a rainy day in July 2017, ASPL placed a trial order of POSCO’s high carbon hot-rolled steel and contracted 25 tons. How did I feel? It was as if I completed a full marathon.

“It was perfect.” This was the response we got from ASPL. After constant persuasion, we succeeded in getting additional orders. We were introduced to new client companies, and in 2017 alone, the contract volume reached a total of 300 tons. With new clients and a successful quarterly contract with ASPL, the contract quantity increased as well. As a result, in 2018, the center recorded sales of 3,000 tons, which is ten times higher than the previous year.

And this was just the beginning. The client said that it wished to increase the proportion of POSCO products. It was a moment when the efforts of our staff finally paid off. In April 2019, POSCO signed an MOU with ASPL to supply 10 thousand tons per year. We continued to develop and attract new clients and finally, in 2019, we were able to sell more than 6,000 tons.

▲ POSCO and ASPL signing an MOU in April 2019

The high carbon hot-rolled steel project is a typical example of POSCO’s philosophy, ‘Business with POSCO,’ which pursues shared growth with client companies. As of 2019, the high carbon hot-rolled steel acclaimed for approximately 5% of total sales at the Ahmedabad Processing Center, while ASPL was able to reduce costs and improve productivity with POSCO products. “Using POSCO products has improved the rate of error by more than 30%, and the productivity of rolled products by more than 1.5 times compared to the local products of India,” said an ASPL production manager.

l The COVID-19 Issue

With the rapid spread of COVID-19 and its impact on the economy, the Ahmedabad Processing Center is also doing its best to overcome the difficulties it faces. The center has formed a TF as a response to the COVID-19 issue. The TF manages the health of employees, quarantine status of the plant, transport vehicles, and partner companies as well, to prevent any case from occurring.

According to the guidelines from the Indian government, all companies within the nation had to shut down, and the Ahmedabad Processing Center also ceased operation temporarily from March 23. Currently, the center has resumed operation, but owing to the decrease in domestic demand, a reduction in sales seems to be inevitable.

The Indian government has announced four series of lock-down regarding COVID-19 from March 24 to May 31. However, in the case of ^*Lock-down 4.0 (May 18-May 31), measures have been relieved comparatively, allowing transportation and deliveries within the country. In the Lock-down 5.0, which is in effect from June 1, the central government has granted more authority to the state government resulting in the reactivation of local companies. However, restrictions are expected to continue in major cities, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Ahmedabad, where some confirmed cases are occurring.

As a measure to overcome the immediate crisis, all the employees at the center are doing their best to advance into the market and cut costs. Each employee is working with responsibility and ownership for the company. I hope that the economy will recover soon, and I am confident that this will give us a valuable lesson, and we can get through this situation and Jump-Up together.

I will definitely miss this place when I return home. But before then, I will do my best with the employees here at Ahmedabad to secure POSCO’s place in India.

April 22 was a memorable day for POSCO-Vietnam — Linh, the General Manager of Domestic Sales 1 Department, was announced as the winner of the 2020 POSCO Award. Linh was honored with the award in recognition of contribution to expanding the market share in Vietnam. Linh was the only POSCO Global local employee who made it on the list. POSCO Newsroom got a chance to interview Linh at POSCO-Vietnam.

Q1. Congratulations on receiving the 2020 POSCO Award. Tell us briefly about yourself.

Q2. How did you become to join POSCO? What do you think enabled you to achieve the POSCO Prize?

Q3. Do you have special tips to enhance business performance?

Q4. Domestic steel demand in Vietnam is the highest in the construction field as of present. What are your prospects for the future of the Vietnamese market?

Q5. Are there any high value-added steel products expected in the future of the Vietnamese steel market?

▲ A group photograph with the POSCO award at the Ho Chi Minh City Office. The award was presented here due to the COVID-19 issue. Linh in the middle with POSCO-Vietnam President (right) and Head of Marketing Office (left).

Q6. Let’s move on to the COVID-19 issue. How did the current situation affect you and POSCO-Vietnam?

Q7. Many coworkers might see you as a good model to follow. Do you have any advice for the staff?

▲ Click the image and find out more about POSCO overseas affiliates.

However, with closed borders and flights canceled, how could POSCO deliver face masks to its overseas subsidiaries? POSCO Newsroom looked into the details of this seemingly impossible mission.

CASE1. Indonesia
POSCO Group shipped 100,000 USD worth of COVID-19 test kits and relief supplies as well as 900,000 USD worth of face masks to Indonesia where PT.Krakatau POSCO (PT.KP) is located. The supplies helped in quarantine activities carried out by local communities and governments. The employees at PT.KP joined forces and took preventive measures against the COVID-19. As a result, PT.KP was able to continuously operate its plant without closing its facilities at all.

Irfan Afandi, the chairman of the labor union of PT.KP, expressed his thanks to POSCO CEO Jeong-Woo Choi through a letter describing how the face masks from the headquarter were well-distributed to all PT.KP employees and also to partner companies. He on behalf of all employees at PT.KP, also mentioned that all employees were deeply moved because the company supplied masks for their family members as well.

▲ The letter from Irfan Afandi (the chairman of the labor union of PT.KP)

Other than PT.KP, there are a total of nine POSCO Group companies expanding their businesses in Indonesia, including POSCO International’s PT. Bio Inti Agrindo (Palm oil farm) and PT.POSCO-Indonesia Inti (PT.PII), a Jakarta-based trading company.

The first death from COVID-19 in Brazil occurred in March. At that time, POSCO headquarters in Korea had already decided to provide face masks to all employees working at local business entities, business partners, and contractors, as well as all of their family members, and was striving to secure the supplies.

CASE2. Brazil
Must reach faster than the virus!
The first death from COVID-19 in Brazil occurred in March. At that time, POSCO headquarters in Korea had already decided to provide face masks to all employees and families, including group companies, partners, and joint ventures, as well as overseas subsidiaries, and was focusing on securing the supplies.

It was a race against time. With COVID-19 spreading rapidly since the beginning of April, acquiring new face masks was a difficult task, and employees in Brazil were using disposable masks for a week. While POSCO and POSCO ICT run offices in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo respectively, many employees from POSCO, POSCO E&C, and POSCO ICT are working at CSP(Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém), a joint steel company in Brazil. POSCO secured more than 10,000 face masks for all employees and their family members including those from Dongkuk Steel, a business partner in CSP, and shipped them via air on April 14.

The masks arrived at Miami Airport, U.S. on April 15, but faced another challenge. All flights to Brazil had been canceled. POSCO decided to deliver them by land transport — traveling 14.887 km from Miami to Fortaleza, Brazil.

Transporting 14,887 km: from Miami to Fortaleza
To safely transport the mask, POSCO quickly contacted the most reliable company in the region. The specially packed face masks traveled through Miami, Panama, and Colombia, and reached its final destination, Fortaleza. After going through three days of the complicated customs clearance process, they were finally handed over to CSP on April 25. Three days after the arrival of the masks, the number of deaths in Brazil reached 5,000 and exceeded 10,000 on May 9. As of June 2, the toll stands at 30,000.

A CSP employee, who received the mask, expressed his gratitude on PBN, POSCO’s internal broadcasting station. “We appreciate all the efforts POSCO has put into providing the face masks — not just for the employees but also for the whole family.”, he said.

CASE3. India
New confirmed case occurs at airport customs, delivery delayed for 15 days.
In India, strong preventive measures were being taken due to the spread of COVID-19, including the closure of the country. In fact economic activity was paralyzed across the country. The number of airline flights decreased dramatically, including road closures, making it difficult to secure flights. POSCO managed to secure a flight but faced another challenge — customs. The multi-use face masks needed a guarantee from the local government, stating that they were relief goods. POSCO resolved the issue by closely cooperating with the customs and local government. Just when all seemed to go fine, a new COVID-19 confirmed case occurred in the airport customs. The entire airport was shut down, and the face masks were retained there for 15 days. After overcoming these series of challenges, the airport was reopened, and delivery resumed. The face masks arrived safely to the Indian subsidiary on May 8.

CASE4. Europe
Drilling through closed borders, into Europe.
The virus is on a rapid spread in Europe, especially in Italy and Spain. In the case of Italy, all borders of the country were closed, and all businesses faced temporary closure, except for essential industries. In this situation, POSCO-ITPC, a local processing center, urgently requested face masks. Although all borders were closed, fortunately, cargo planes from Korea were operated once a week. After several requests, POSCO succeeded in shipping the goods to Italy.

“Getting certification is nearly impossible if there’s no record of export to Europe.”
For other European countries, getting certification required for customs clearance was a major issue. The face masks were already exported to the U.S. and Hong Kong, but it had no record of exports to Europe, making it difficult to get a certification. It seemed that the procedure would take several months, However, acknowledging the urgent matter, the local customs finally accepted POSCO’s request in the end. At last, the face masks were delivered to various parts of Europe, including Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, and Slovakia.

What kind of face masks were delivered to POSCO Overseas employees?

▲ Multi-use face masks that were shipped to the POSCO E&C office in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Under the pharmaceutical law, face masks are designated as non-medical products and thus approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). There are two types of face masks: a surgical mask is one and respirators (anti-dust masks) the other. The MFDS restricted exports of two types of masks that have a KF certification (respirators), so POSCO secured multi-use masks that are as efficient as KF94 masks and distributed them to all employees both in Korea and abroad. The multi-use masks made with new copper materials have an antibacterial effect. They can be reused up to three months, and are able to retain its effectiveness.

CASE5. America
The confirmed case of a dispatched employee & the rapid spread of COVID-19
In March, POSCO-America, POSCO’s business office in the U.S., requested for multi-use masks. It reported that a dispatched employee working at POSCO-AAPC, a local processing center, was confirmed of the virus, and two more employees at POSCO-America and POSCO-Mexico were being tested. There was a great deal of difficulty in securing a flight to the United States, but POSCO accomplished the task once again. On March 29, the masks were sent on a night flight and arrived at Atlanta airport the next day. After going through customs clearance, the masks were distributed to Atlanta, Washington, Houston, Detroit, and Mexico City.

In March, POSCO-America also donated eight devices for video calling to the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center (Fisher House), where veterans who participated in the Korean War reside, in Augusta, Georgia. (See article)

POSCO-Mexico supplies automotive steel to automotive makers in Mexico — including Volkswagen, GM, Kia Motors, and Chrysler — and the Southern United States. About 500 employees in 12 different departments are working here. POSCO Newsroom got a chance to listen to the stories of the local employees at POSCO-Mexico.

Q1. Tell us briefly about yourself.

Q2. How did you decide to join POSCO? Is there anything special about working in a Korean company?

Q3. Tell us about the most challenging task that you’ve done here at POSCO-Mexico.

Q4. Tell us about the company changes made at the beginning of the year.

Q5. How would you manage the company if you become the President of POSCO-Mexico?

Q6. What could POSCO offer to grow more in the Mexican market?

Currently, many residents in Mexico have lost their jobs due to the recent spread of COVID-19. With the 1% Sharing Fund, the President and expatriates of POSCO-Mexico stepped forward and provided 100 kits of daily essentials, including rice, beans, and other food products for low-income residents. The POSCO Hope Center — which was originally completed in February to support the education of the underprivileged — is currently operated as the “COVID-19 Emergency Situation Room” by the Altamira city government.

POSCO-Mexico is taking care of the health of its employees as well. Considering the difficulty to secure face masks, the company provides two masks per week to all employees, and thoroughly monitors their health conditions. To ensure a hygienic work environment, POSCO-Mexico has installed hand sanitizers and non-contact thermometers.

Though living in different time zones and climates, POSCO-Mexico is taking the same path of POSCO’s “Corporate Citizenship” and building a better future together. POSCO Newsroom sincerely hopes that their future shines brightly at POSCO and that their positive influence would expand throughout Mexico.

＊As of April 21, Mexico raised the national COVID-19 alert level to its highest, “Fase 3”. This interview was conducted before the alert, and POSCO Newsroom would like to thank the three employees for joining the interview amid difficult circumstances.

* Related Article: Meet POS-AMI of POSCO-Mexico

*This footage was taken before the outbreak of COVID-19.

In the first series of ‘How Do You Like POSCO?’ POSCO Newsroom sat down with the employees of PT.KRAKATAU POSCO in Indonesia. This time, the newsroom headed to Thailand to meet the special guests of today. Thailand is known to be the largest automobile market in Southeast Asia and one of the world’s Top 10 automobile manufacturers.

Among the three manufacturing subsidiaries that POSCO operates in Thailand, POSCO-Thailand PC(Processing Center) is the oldest. Launched in 1997, POSCO-Thailand PC is still under operation and supplies automobile and home appliance steel products. In 2011, POSCO acquired Thainox, the sole stainless rolling mill in Thailand, to expand the product range. POSCO ventured further by establishing POSCO-TCS in 2016 to meet the demands of global automobile steel products. POSCO-TCS manufactures premium galvanized steel for automobiles.

All three subsidiaries sit in ‘Rayong,’ Thailand’s largest industrial complex located 170 km away from the capital, Bangkok. POSCO Newsroom met with four employees of POSCO-Thainox online and got a chance to hear their stories.

■ “Making History with POSCO-Thainox!”

Q1. Tell us briefly about yourself and how you became to join POSCO-Thainox.

Q2. Tell us about your job in detail.

Q3. How do people around you react when you tell them you work at POSCO-Thainox?

■ “Growing Together with the Best Colleagues”

Q4. What makes POSCO-Thainox special compared to other local companies?

Q5. How are your Korean colleagues? How do you get along with the local employees?

Ever since POSCO and Thainox came together in 2011, POSCO-Thainox has grown into Thailand’s No.1 stainless steel plate producer. POSCO Newsroom hopes the four employees here — along with the 568 employees working at POSCO-Thainox — will grow with POSCO and become the leaders of tomorrow. At the end of the interview, Paiboon, Prateep, Sujira, and Ji-Yeon expressed their hopes for the company.

•Meet SV Min Keun Bae – The Master of POSCO-Thainox

POSCO-VST, POSCO’s manufacturing subsidiary in Vietnam, was selected as Vietnam’s Top 10 Companies for Consumer Rights Protection this year – the annual award recognition is jointly administered by Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office which is under the auspices of Ministry of Science & Technology of Vietnam and Consumer Protection Association.

In 2009, POSCO merged the local cold-rolled manufacturer ASC and established POSCO-VST to acquire and expand the stainless steel market across Southeast Asia. POSCO’s subsequent investment boosted the company’s annual production capacity to 235,000 tons, thereby solidifying its position as the number one stainless steel cold-rolled product manufacturer in Vietnam.

▲POSCO-VST’s high-quality stainless steel cold-rolled products and excellent client services earned them the recognition as the Top 10 Companies for Consumer Rights Protection

The award ceremony was held at Vietnam Performing Arts Center on March 31. One hundred companies who advocated for consumer rights attended the event – as one of the Top 10 companies, PSCO-VST was also present to collect the award certificate and medal.

POSCO-VST’s top-quality stainless steel cold-rolled products and customer services contributed to the expansion of steel-consuming industry in Vietnam. In 2018, the company hosted a seminar on the stainless steel industry, together with the Vietnam Standards and Consumers Association (Vinastas ). There, POSCO-VST showcased high-quality stainless steel that can help provide safe and sanitary water for the public. POSCO-VST’s effort eventually led to its selection as the ‘Top 10 Companies for Consumer Rights Protection’ for contributing to the improvement of public health in Vietnam.

The award ceremony was live-broadcasted through channel H2, Vietnamese major public broadcaster. The Vietnamese Consumers Association will also feature POSCO-VST’s logo on its homepage for one year. Publicity through such prestigious organizations is likely to boost the company’s profile in the country.

Propelled from the various professional connections built at the award ceremony, POSCO-VST plans to further-strengthen its public profile in Vietnam.