LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol gives a speech at a 

ceremony to kick off the new year at the LS Tower in Anyang on Jan. 2. (photo: LS)

LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol, in his New Year’s message, said his group will make the year 2014 the first year of renewing itself for a new leap forward.

Chairman Koo said despite the recovery of the global economy, uncertainties, including the growth slowdown of newly emerging countries, including China, foreign currency woes, declining copper prices and expanded price ranges are expected to worsen the business conditions of the group’s mainstay businesses, power and energy sectors. He went on to say that the group will have to do its utmost to look forward for the future and make preparations for new growth.

He unveiled the group’s 2014 priority tasks: enhancing business competitiveness through substantial management,; acceleration of preparation for future growth,; restoring the trust and image of the LS brand. In order to translate into action these, Koo said, major subsidiaries need to focus more on their mainstay businesses, ramp up business capabilities of their overseas operations, and yield tangible outcomes in the group’s new growth business arenas, including underwater cables, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) and electric vehicle parts.

“All subsidiaries will have to make concerted efforts to continuously explore new business opportunities and secure core manpower by diversifying manpower recruitment and cultivation systems in order to guarantee a sustainable growth after the next decade,” Koo said. 

Chairman Koo, declaring his determination to focus on law-abiding management, said, “I will sternly deal with unfair and unlawful practices. He said the supply of faulty cables to nuclear power units, blamed for the desires for short-term profit-taking and the past’s illegal practices, caused trouble to people and the LS group suffered huge difficulties as well.

LSIS, Welcron Hantec Sign Strategic Partnership to Take Over Biomass Power Plant Market 

LSIS Co., Ltd. (represented by Vice Chairperson Koo Ja-Kyun), a professional service provider in the industrial plant market, has signed a strategic partnership with Welcron Hantec (represented by Chairperson Yeong-Gyu Lee) as its first step to penetrate the Southeast Asian market, where investments in biomass power plant are constantly being expanded.

LSIS has signed an MOU with Welcron Hantec for a “Partnership for the Construction of Biomass Power Plant,” which details the cooperation on the technologies of both companies such as power plant control system, power-generating facility solution, etc. Bong-Hyeon Kwon, A&D Project Team Chief of LSIS, and Yeong-Gyu Lee of Welcron Hantec were present at the signing ceremony held at the headquarters of Welcron Hantec in Guro-dong, Seoul on January 13. 

Based on comprehensive technological cooperation regarding new construction projects including biomass-based plants, the two companies will set up a consortium to improve turnkey construction capacity for power plant and take active steps in the eco-friendly power plant market.

LSIS will provide its major electricity control solutions such as power transmission/supply facilities, power plant control system, and high pressure inverter. On the other hand, Welcron Hantec will be responsible for power facility-related plant technologies including water processing system, incinerator, boilers, and surfer recovery unit for power plant.

Biomass power generation burns or ferments living organisms to get energy such as methane or methanol, and it is applied to thermal power plant in general. Power plant with biomass technology is fueled with fine chips of agricultural byproducts or forest resources in the neighborhood for cost reduction, stable operation, and environmental protection.

Because of such benefits, biomass power plant is drawing attention from countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, which have wide territorial base and abundant resources but no oil to use as energy source. Discussions are underway for investment in those markets.