LS Group held a meeting for its R&D personnel concurrently with the exhibition “T-Fair 2015” at the LS Tower in Anyang, Geyonggi province Sep. 21-22.
The group has been holding the annual T-Fair since 2004 to strengthen its group-level technological competitiveness, with the group showing off its core technologies at the exhibition, including such sections as the Industrial Platform, Intelligence and Innovation. The exhibition’s theme was “R&D Speed-Up” in reflection of the group’s commitment to boost its R&D activities. Under strengthened ties with the group’s affiliates, the companies will improve their effectiveness through “open innovation.” The group also wants to train its personnel, improve its organizational culture, securing the latest information on technological trends and strengthen its ability to predict the changes ahead by holding the T-Fair annually.
Chairman Christopher Koo attended a meeting held on the first day of the T-Fair exhibition with members of his core group. The meeting, led by Chairman Koo Ja-yeop of LS Cable and System Co., consisted of CEOs and CTOs of the group’s affiliates, where they were informed on their strategies to develop the technologies through R&D activities in the future.
The chairman told the meeting participants, “the starting point and the core of operation for a B2B business group like LS has to be the technological competitiveness attained through R&D activities. The R&D activities should lead the second take off of the group by catching up with advanced companies in terms of technology advancement and developing new products that can be sold at the world market.”
He said that the group should speed up its R&D activities from now on so it isn’t a follower any more. It must synchronize its business strategies and direction with its rivals, he said, in order to lead the creation of value and nurturing group-wide technological competitiveness. Priorities include super high-pressure cables, undersea cables, electric equipment, power systems, tractors and electronic parts, which will be backed up with huge investments, the chairman said.
On the second day of the meeting, representatives of its 60 cooperative firms and vendors were invited to a meeting to strengthen partnerships and resolve continuous growth going forward.
LS Group, a cable-to-power conglomerate, said it will seek new business opportunities abroad by making the most of its technology and talented workforce.
Chairman Koo pledged to make inroads abroad at the beginning of the year. "We will stop growing if we remain only with our domestic business," he said at the time.
He accompanied President Park Geun-hye on her visit to China, India, Europe and Central Asia this year as a member of a presidential business delegation.
Koo sought cooperation, meeting high-profile business leaders in those countries.
He has also been leading the company's expanded presence in foreign markets.
Koo visited his firm's subsidiary, Superior Essex in Germany, and its tractor production corporation, LS Mtron, to encourage his employees there. He also participated in CESCO Week, an international exploration forum in Chile to meet business partners of the global mining and smelting industries.
The chairman then visited Silicon Valley in the U.S. to make a presentation to introduce the technology that LS possesses to potential investors, during the LS Partnership Day.
He pledged to strengthen business partnership with companies based in Silicon Valley in the future.
LS Group invests 800 to 900 billion won in the R&D sector every year as part of its plan to expand overseas.
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