Greetings. I am Rawin Imchalee Dave, the General Manager of Production Department at POSCO-TCS in Rayong, Thailand’s largest industrial complex. As a manager overseeing factory production, I am responsible for everything from operational status to equipment troubles, managing non-conforming products, and on-site safety activities. Additionally, as a department head, I also delve into my employees’ concerns and personal issues. Living by the motto “Don’t fear failure and always be ready to take on challenges,” I would like to introduce you to my rewarding journey at POSCO-TCS!

The happiest moment of my life was when I got accepted into the POSCO GMP (Global Mobility Program)*. Growing up watching Korean movies and dramas, I have always wanted to visit Korea. The news of being selected for this program, which allowed me to participate in training programs in Korea, filled me with immense joy. During my four months in Korea, I deeply learned about POSCO’s history, steel production technology, and equipment technology. I also created unforgettable memories with my GMP colleagues and the Gwangyang Works Surface Treatment Department employees. This experience nourished my growth as the General Manager of Production Department of POSCO-TCS and immensely helped me understand Korean culture.

The most memorable part of the GMP training was learning about POSCO’s history and Korea’s industrial development at the POSCO History Museum. I was genuinely moved by the story of how POSCO produced steel in Korea, which was then an industrial wasteland, laying the groundwork for the growth of other industries. Hearing the stories of the POSCO founders who succeeded in producing their first steel, I would recall the “Miracle of Yeongil Bay” whenever I faced challenges in Thailand, inspiring me to redouble my efforts. Also, visiting the National Museum and Cheomseongdae in Gyeongju and experiencing Korean history and culture left me with joyful memories.

My first encounter with POSCO employees wasn’t through the GMP program. I joined POSCO-TCS in 2016 and then went to POSCO India PC CGL to benchmark the factory’s equipment commissioning and mass production operations. Even then, I learned much from the POSCO expatriates and local employees at POSCO India PC, including operational know-how and equipment management techniques. After returning to POSCO-TCS, I was a commissioning engineer responsible for equipment installation and testing. My colleagues from POSCO India PC and GMP have continuously stayed in touch, supporting the successful operation of POSCO-TCS. The strong camaraderie, sense of belonging, and overwhelming feeling of professional growth I experienced then are still vivid in my mind.

POSCO-TCS, established in 2016 in response to the demands of global automobile manufacturers, operates as a premium galvanized steel sheet producer in Rayong, Thailand’s largest industrial complex. As the person overseeing production at this plant, which boasts an annual capacity of 450,000 tons, I manage the entire production process, from inspecting product and material conditions at the stockyard to ensuring that the final output meets the specifications required by our clients.

In March 2022, POSCO-TCS signed an MOU to supply 24,000 tons of sustainably produced galvanized steel sheets annually to Sahaviriya, a leading steel company in Thailand. Founded in 1983, Sahaviriya is Thailand’s largest hot-rolled steel producer, with a capacity of 5 million tons annually. I distinctly recall the time our team put their heads together to optimize the operational process, aiming to supply galvanized steel materials reduced in carbon to Sahaviriya through cold annealing technology. The thought of increasing the use of sustainably produced steel materials in Thailand’s construction industry and contributing positively to the environment filled me with pride. Our goal this year is to unearth various improvement projects with my team, identify waste factors at the site, and reduce costs to enhance the profitability of our automotive steel plate products. Additionally, we plan to create a safer working environment where employees can work with peace of mind in continuous collaboration with the safety department.

Having experienced various tasks, from material procurement to optimizing operational processes and product quality control, I understand that each task has unique challenges. Currently, I believe the most demanding task is on-site safety management. Our dedicated safety department supports many aspects, from employee safety training and inspection of unsafe facilities to identifying and preventing early signs of various accidents. Safety, directly linked to colleagues’ lives, is of utmost priority and demands a profound sense of responsibility from all factory members.

We conduct annual safety innovation training and a Golden Bell contest at POSCO-TCS. Participating in practical safety training and preparing for the Golden Bell contest with my colleagues through study groups proved much more effective than studying safety theories and cases alone. Particularly memorable was the post-contest discussion last year, where representatives from each department came together to renew our work safety standards and critical practices, consolidating them into a booklet and further reinforcing our commitment to safety.

The myriad colleagues at POSCO-TCS with whom I work in the field are the solid pillars that have enabled me to work, grow, and take on new challenges. We strive to collaborate and grow together, serving as role models for one another.

I am particularly grateful to Jang-hoon Song, who completed his four-year tenure as a Production and Quality Coordinator at POSCO-TCS this January and returned to the Pohang Works, and Tae-young Kong, the current Equipment, Safety and Innovation Coordinator.

Once, we had to bring in a new piece of equipment from a supplier to the factory. Installing this new equipment and getting it operational involved a complex process with many unfamiliar elements, presenting significant challenges. There was also an incident where part of the galvanizing equipment was replaced, leading to errors and damage to the machine. I remember spending two days wrangling with Korean employees, using body language to facilitate communication during that time. Precise communication was necessary, even translating various technical terms for discussion. We anticipated that resolving this unexpected problem, compounded by communication issues, would take over a week. However, thanks to the Korean expatriates’ passionate focus and leadership, we solved the problem in just two days.

The greatest joy in my life is spending time with my beloved family. In 2020, I married Bo, a colleague in the Quality Technology Department at POSCO-TCS! I’ve heard there are many couples within POSCO. While working at the same company as your spouse may have its downsides, for me, in these sweet early days of marriage, going to and from work together every day is true happiness.

Especially last August, the birth of our beloved son has brought us immeasurable happiness. POSCO’s maternity leave and childbirth support policies are much more generous than those of other Thai companies, allowing us to welcome our child with peace of mind. Although I’m still a novice father facing many challenges, I’m doing my best, just like I’ve been responsible for looking after my employees as a department head. At work, I strive to be a reliable manager, and at home, a loving husband and a wonderful father.

What I really want to achieve!

Thailand is a representative tourism giant of Southeast Asia. The country has a beautiful natural environment represented by Phuket and Chiang Mai and cultural heritage and has been loved by tourists from all over the world thanks to its night markets and spectacular performances in Bangkok and Pattaya. However, due to COVID-19 that came without notice, there have been unimaginable changes in the landscape of Thailand where previously was overcrowded with tourists.

As the country controlled the entry to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the tourist business of the country that accounted for most of Thailand’s GDP has collapsed, and people who lost their jobs in Bangkok returned to rural areas. As such, stores and famous places in downtown Bangkok that were overcrowded with tourists closed doors and only dark shadows and silence linger now in the streets that were lit up with colorful lights until late at night.

The morning of Thailand, a Buddhist country starts with the parade of monks who go out into the streets or villages and obtain foods for ‘mendicancy and offering’.  The long parade of monks holding a begging bowl barefoot is not much different from before, but you can easily see them wearing masks and even face shields due to COVID-19. As there are not many open stores compared to before, the merchandisers who make an offering also have reduced a lot. However, the eagerness of those who make an offering wishing the recovery from COVID-19 is closer to our hearts.

COVID-19 has brought about lots of changes to the daily life of Thailand people.  As the Thai government proclaimed a state of emergency to prevent the spread of the pandemic and took lockdown measures in major cities, public facilities except for convenience stores/supermarkets and drug stores, restaurants and department stores stopped their operation, and thanks to that, delivery services, such as Grab, Lineman, and Food Panda, has benefited a lot.

Another change is that Thailand people have started to show their hidden cooking skills. Thailand has a tropical climate, and thus tropical nights continue for a long time throughout the year. Moreover, as the foods sold in markets and restaurants are various and low-priced, Thailand people rarely cook at home unless there is a special occasion.  However, as buying food became difficult due to the lockdown measures and social distancing, more and more Thai employees cook and take a packed lunch to this branch office. Before COVID-19, the company cafeteria was noisy, with employees seated together and having meals and coffee during lunchtime. However, eating packed lunch alone at their seat became common at some point.

As tourism suffered a heavy blow due to COVID-19, the overall economic situation of Thailand became more difficult. However, business conditions have greatly improved as automotive and home appliance industries recovered, POSCO-TCS operated stably, and aggressive marketing campaigns were executed.  POSCO-TCS practices a variety of corporate citizen activities, hoping that the steel market condition and the entire economy of Thailand has recovered and thus Thailand people take smile back. POSCO-TCS leads saving regional farmhouses and environment improvement by making fertilizers with sludge generated during the manufacturing process, which was an idea of its employees, and supplying them to regional farmhouses. Also, it delivered masks, protective clothes, and lunch boxes to the medical staff at the forefront of COVID-19. And recently, POSCO employees in Thailand donated goods, including food with donation money from 1% Sharing for flood victims in Thailand.

Back in September 2016, 28 ASEAN heads of state, education ministers and representatives of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization gathered together and committed to tackling the problem of youth without regular education. The Project for Out-of-school Children in ASEAN is a follow-up to the declaration, and it’s the first project that UNESCO is carrying out this year alongside an enterprise.

The POSCO 1% Sharing Foundation is aiming to leverage the Flexible Learning Strategies (FLS) program developed by UNESCO, to provide alternative education for the children of the underprivileged, ethnic minorities and migrants in cooperation with the education ministries of individual countries.

The 3-year project will be supported by the POSCO 1% Sharing Foundation, using the donated 1 percent of members’ salaries. The project will kickstart in Thailand, where they have the highest percentage of out-of-school children in ASEAN (7.6 percent). POSCO plans to cover 2,000 children in 4 regions (Chiang Rai, Ranong, Songkhla and Rayong) where POSCO Thainox, POSCO-TCS and POSCO-TBPC are based, and expand the project to Indonesia and Myanmar.

Jeong-sik Kwak, head of the ER Office of POSCO, and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay signing the agreement.

“I hope that this partnership with a world-class steelmaker like POSCO will become a model of providing opportunities for quality education to underprivileged children and youths,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “I hope that these activities will spread throughout the world, and everyone will make concerted efforts to make sure that the notion of out-of-school children will become a thing of the past.”

At home, one of the core focus areas of the POSCO 1% Sharing Foundation is facilitating the self-reliance of future generations. Starting this year, the foundation increased the number of people eligible to receive support from the Chinchin Rainbow project to 70. The customized career project will support 70 children of migrant families such as multicultural families and North Korean defectors. Last December, it also entered into an MOU with the Children’s Self-Reliance Support Team of Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health & Welfare to help children transition smoothly from welfare facilities and foster homes to society.

Cover photo courtesy of UNESCO.

More than 100 people attended the dedication ceremony, including Jeong-sik Kwak, the head of POSCO’s External Relations Office, the vice-governor of Rayong, Thailand, the representative of Habitat for Humanity Thailand, the POSCO Group Employee Volunteer Corps and members of the local community.

Jeong-shik Kwak, head of the ER Department of POSCO said, “The Thailand love houses are especially meaningful because the employees of POSCO Group donated 1 percent of their salaries and participated in the construction process. I hope that these love houses will give hope to locals in need.”

POSCO representatives and locals at the dedication ceremony of the love houses in Pluak Daeng, Thailand.

The construction was completed by 50 volunteers of the POSCO Group Employee Global Volunteer Corps from Korea, and 30 employees of POSCO Thainox, POSCO-TCS and POSCO-TBPC.

New resident Tun Kedwarin was moved to tears and stated, “In my old house made of wooden boards, water kept leaking and the house was in danger of collapsing. I was always worried, but now I can sleep without fear, and I am truly happy. I am grateful to POSCO and the government who built me a house.”

POSCO Group Employee Global Volunteer Corps members and Pichamon, a new resident of the love house.

POSCO Group Employee Global Volunteer Corps was established in 2015, and consists of employees of POSCO Group and outsourcing partners who donate 1 percent of their monthly salary. It’s all a part of POSCO’s unique culture of volunteering and giving back to communities.

This year, the members spent 8 days in Thailand starting from August 5, during their personal vacation days and also visited a local school to introduce Korean traditional culture to the students.

OSCO Group volunteers and Thai global staff members worked together for the construction of the love houses.

POSCO also completed 104 houses in Vietnam last May, and donated them to low-income families. In Korea, POSCO constructed steel houses made from PosMAC and donated them to victims of fires and low-income families around the country, all as part of the effort to give back and build stronger communities around the world.

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POSCO continues to contribute to the growing steel industry by producing large amounts of high-quality steel for its partners, and has its sights on non-steel businesses as well. The continued efforts to stay ahead of global trends, provide solutions to partners as well as to produce the highest quality steel are what keep POSCO in the top ranks.

Here are 6 more memorable highlights from 2017 so far.

1. POSCO’s First Lithium Extraction Plant

On February 7th, POSCO opened its first lithium extraction plant, PosLX at Gwangyang Works in Korea. It is expected to produce 2500 tons of lithium carbonate per year, making POSCO the first company to produce lithium on a commercial scale in Korea.

The opening ceremony of PosLX

Traditionally, the process of extracting lithium takes 12 to 18 months. In comparison, POSCO’s new, sustainable technology only requires as little as 8 hours up to a maximum of one month to extract high-purity lithium. The materials produced at PosLX will supply LG Chem, Samsung SDI and POSCO ESM, a subsidiary company that specializes in cathode materials for secondary batteries.

2. Leading Supplier of Electric Steel Plates

On February 20, POSCO opened its newly-expanded, non-oriented silicon steel facility for producing environmentally-friendly electric vehicle drive motors. The expansion increased POSCO’s output of non-oriented silicon steel (Hyper NO) from 80,000 to 160,000 tons, making POSCO the leading supplier of electric steel plates both domestically and internationally.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon at the non-oriented silicon steel facility (Source: MK News)

The demand for environmentally friendly vehicles is growing, and with it the demand for top-grade electric steel plates. In 2020, the projected demand for such parts will reach more than 1 million tons. POSCO has its eyes on the market, aiming to develop high-quality, customized materials for electric vehicle manufacturers.

3. Release of POSCO’s GIGA STEEL Ad

In March, POSCO ran a nationwide TV ad for POSCO GIGA STEEL in Korea to showcase the superiority of POSCO’s next-generation automotive steel material. This is the first time POSCO put out a specific steel product and not the company brand at the forefront of an ad campaign. In order to convey the strength and light weight of the product, the advertisement included a strength test comparing GIGA STEEL to aluminum. The test proved POSCO GIGA STEEL to be over three times stronger than aluminum.

4. Commercialization of a High Manganese Steel Production Technology

In April, POSCO commercialized the world’s first high manganese steel production process technology using molten manganese ferroalloy (FeMn). This technology takes place at PosLM (POSCO Liquid Manganese), a heat insulation facility that can store high-purity molten ferromanganese alloy. The technology boosts profitability by reducing the processing time by half and increasing production efficiency by more than 10 percent using a non-solid type of molten iron.

Hot Liquid Steel

5.  Completion of 7CGL for POSCO GIGA STEEL

On April 26, POSCO completed the world’s first steel plate factory specifically for GIGA STEEL. 7CGL, which has an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons, is attracting attention as the world’s first factory to produce both GA (hot-dip galvannealed) and GI (hot-dip galvanized) steel plates among 1.5-class automobiles. POSCO secured its position as a global automotive steel plate maker through the completion of 7CGL, its 12th steel plate factory. POSCO has been able to reduce investment costs and secure cost competitiveness by carrying out both factory design and construction internally.

Opening ceremony for 7CGL (Source: Business Korea)

6. Completion of POSCO’s Steel Forming Laboratory

On May 11, POSCO completed their Steel Forming Laboratory at the POSCO’s Global R&D Center in Songdo, Korea, built to provide customized support for partners. POSCO is building a one-stop development system from technology development to production verification. At the core of this program is the advanced customer-oriented research infrastructure that can evaluate products in advance and develop leading technologies in a production environment similar to that of POSCO’s customers. This development will further strengthen POSCO’s solution marketing 2.0.

The Steel Forming Laboratory at POSCO’s Global R&D Center

Despite a difficult market environment, POSCO continues to provide high-quality steel products for its partners through close cooperation and customized research. Additionally, POSCO’s expansion into non-steel sectors will not only bring added value, but help POSCO stay ahead of the changes the fourth industrial revolution will bring.