President Lee Jae-hee of KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Co. (KNF).

KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Co. (KNF) keeps in mind the ancient saying: “A crisis means an opportunity.” Despite the hard times KNF experienced last year, the company established a roadmap to tackle challenges anew and parlay them into opportunities in a bigger-picture perspective. That is the gist of “Vision 2030,” a new long-term management strategy the company established in order to swiftly cope with future uncertainties and changes for the purpose of achieving the goal of localizing nuclear fuel and technology self-sufficiency by ramping up KNF executives and staff members’ determination.

The vision calls for KNF's rising to a “global leading nuclear energy partner” by expanding its business portfolios as a nuclear energy company, expanding the size and areas of overseas businesses as well as establishing a sustainable management regime. 

Specifically, KNF will strive to expand nuclear cycle businesses and strengthen  business development and engineering capabilities, while widening the portion of its overseas business revenues to 25 percent by supplying its own nuclear fuel to the global market by 2030. The company aims at being a full-fledged global nuclear fuel player with 670 billion won in annual sales. The company has a diverse action plan to realize the goal. They are a unified force through which KNF executives and staff members proactively interact. They also have a mid- and long-term change management roadmap. 

With its exporting of nuclear fuel to nuclear power units being built by Korea in the United Arab Emirates this year, KNF is poised to embark upon a “leap forward” as a global nuclear fuel company. By 2030, the company will have made a splash in the global nuclear fuel market, KNF officials said. 

KNF is the one and only professional nuclear fuel design and fabrication company in Korea. As a government reinvested company, KNF is responsible for providing high-end and safe nuclear fuel to all 25 local nuclear power plants in Korea, both PWR & PHWR (CANDU) type, contributing to ensuring nuclear power safety and efficient operation of nuclear units. Currently, KNF produces 550 ton-U for PWR reactors and 400 ton-U for PHWR reactors annually. 

KNF is also a global technology development company that conducts research on nuclear reactor core designs and functions related to safety evaluation, as well as research on the development of its own next-generation nuclear fuel. The company also exports core parts based on technology and expertise it has accumulated to such countries as the United States, China, Japan and Brazil. 

It was in 1988 that the company introduced foreign nuclear power quality guarantee systems. KNF has evolved itself by overhauling them in accordance with Korean regulations on nuclear safety and quality management for meeting certification conditions. In particular, the company established and operated its unique KEPCO NF Innovative Production System (KIPS) in 2010. The system is designed to ensure high-efficiency and low-cost production with the goal of producing defect-free nuclear fuel, boasting the world’s top-rated quality and high performances. 

“KNF will upgrade its management system to international standards and devote itself to ensuring a stable supply of nuclear fuel in Korea and abroad,” KNF President Lee Jae-hee said in his New Year’s message he delivered during a ceremony to kick off the 2016 business year on Jan. 4. He urged his executives and staff members to make KNF a company loved by the people.

KNF officers and staff members pledged to make an aggressive New Year start to realize the new vision.

KNF’s headquarters in Daejeon. (Photos:KNF)