Chairman Christopher Koo of LS Group is on a visit to a booth at Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial technology trade exhibition, in Hannover, Germany, held from April 24-27, this year.

(Photo:LS group)

The Answer for Global Business is the Jobsite,” Chairman Christopher Koo is known to say while he’s on the road visiting the group’s overseas jobsites. The busy leader kicked off his three-nation tour in early April and will wind it up in early this month.

His itinerary took him to Japan, Germany and Iran. The group is a Korean industrial giant composed of numerous affiliates, including LSIS, an electrical equipment manufacturer, and LS Cable & System, a cable and power system provider.

During his trips, the group head met top executives of foreign companies and participated in various business events to discuss mutual cooperation and forge networks, the officials said.

The chairman first headed to Japan and met several executives of local companies including Furukawa Electric Co., and JX Nippon Mining & Metals. Koo met with President Shigeru Oi to take up such matters as creating synergy in the joint purchase of minerals for discussion and also to solidify a business tie up between the Korean and Japanese business companies.

The chairman also called on Mitsubishi Motors and Hitachi Metals in a bid to expand the business cooperation between LS Group and Japanese firms in such key areas as electronic auto parts and the purchase of raw materials. He took a long time to discuss the possible cooperative tie up with Mitsubishi Motors, especially, in technology and business deals. 

The chairman also looked into the possibility of the group’s entry into Japan in such business areas as super conductor cable, solar power generation, Japan’s new leading technology areas including new recycled energy, among others.

His visit to Japan indicates that the conglomerate may seek entry into the renewable energy market there, a group official said.

After Japan, Koo flew to Hannover, Germany, to attend Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial technology trade fair. Koo met Siemens executives and discussed the future of the electricity industry. He wanted to check the latest trends in the development of industrial technology, visiting a number of booths including those of LSIS, Siemens, Schneider and Mitsubishi Motors. He called on CEO Ralph Christian, who is in charge of power transmission and power cable lines for Siemens Energy, to hear to his explanations on such key areas as the integrated power management, integrated auto parts and technology.

From May 1, Koo joined President Park Geun-hye’s visit to Iran as a member of the business delegation. Company officials said the chairman will seek business opportunities in Iran.

The 61-year-old chairman was also part of the business delegation that traveled with President Park Geun-hye during her visit to Germany last month. There, Koo visited employees of Superior Essex’s German branch. LS Group acquired Superior Essex, North America’s largest cable maker in 2008.

On March 2-4, LSIS participated at the “Int’l Smart Grid Expo,” which was part of the World Smart Energy Week (WSEW) held at “Big Sight” exhibition center in Tokyo, Japan. For this exhibition, the company introduced solar energy solutions and its core local business and also presented related Smart Energy Total Solutions. This year, more than 1,500 global companies in electrical power, energy, and power generation industries participated. 

The exhibition was the largest in scale in its history, with various events being held simultaneously with the Smart Grid expo including PV (solar energy), Eco-house, and International Hydrogen Fuel Cell expos.

LSIS installed in its 215-square-meter exhibition space (24 booths) the largest in scale among participating Korean companies; dedicated zones for solutions for smart power generation; solutions for smart power transmission & distribution; and solutions for the optimal management of Smart Energy. 

The company demonstrated its core solutions to capitalize on the growing Japanese smart energy market, such as Korean-style, Energy-independent Island Model, ESS (Energy Storage System), and EMS (Energy Management System).