Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn gets a briefing from an executive of Hanwha Q Cells’ plant in Gidong, Jiangsu Province, China, during his inspection tour on Dec. 12.

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim shows a raised fist along with employees with Hanwha Q Cells’ plant in Gidong for a group photo session. (Photos: Hanwha Group)

In his New Year’s message, Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn called for improved fundamentals to maximize future competiveness through across-the-board innovation.

Chairman Kim made the remarks at a ceremony to kick off the 2018 business year at the group’s headquarters in downtown Seoul on Jan. 2. Quoting Confucius’s, he said, “If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.”

He added, “Subsidiaries will have to look into how many of them could retain their competiveness 10 years later and have world-class capabilities enough to command the future market.”

Kim urged his executives and staff members to solidify tomorrow’s foundation by trying to explore future strategies and make up for wants compared to rival companies. He also called for them to bring about practical changes in the advancing of its business portfolio, developing products and technologies, and yielding outcomes. 

“Hawha family members are advised to tenaciously increase their innovation temperature one degree higher,” Chairman Kim said. 

Chairman Kim stressed “principle management” in conducting corporate activities and urged them to put into practice the group’s management tenet “Together, Far Away.” 

“Principle management cannot be yielded and negotiated for sustainable growth of Hanwha,” he said. Commanders fight a battle at the risk of their lives, whereas companies depend on credit, Chairman Kim. He added that companies need to put faithfulness with customers before profit-making. 

Chairman Kim toured Hanwha Q Cells in Qidong, Jiangsu Province, China on Dec. 12 and gave words of encouragement to the plant’s staff. He urged them to further ramp up a foundation as a global photovoltaic power business leader by securing premier quality and competitiveness. Chairman Kim’s tour to the plant came for the first time in about three years since December 2014 when he visited Hanwha E&C’s construction site of the Bismayah New City Project in Iraq. 

Aafter getting a briefing from photovoltaic power cell and module products and the operation of the plant, Chairman Kim emphasized that product power needs to be further upgraded by making the most of the successful operation of the plant to have the plant be armed with the world-top competitiveness. 

Hanwha Q Cells’ plant in Gidong was acquired by Hanwha Group in August 2010 when the group ventured into the photovoltaic power business. The plant has served as a stepping stone for the group to rise to the world’s top photovoltaic power company. 

The plant, which had a capacity of 500MW cell production and 800MW module production at the time of its acquisition, has seen its capacity surge to 2.5 GW. 

The plant had a defect rate of about 50 percent, but now boasts of the lowest defect rates among locally incorporated companies. 

Hanwha Group acquired the German photovoltaic power company Q Cells in 2012. Advanced technology exchanges with Q Cells has improved unit price and quality competitiveness of Hanwha Q Cells’ plant in Gidong.