Hyundai Heavy Industries Group Kwon Oh-gap gives his New Year’s speech at HHI building in Gyedong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Jan. 3. (Photos: HHI Group).

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group’s Chairman Kwon Oh-gap said, “HHI Group will retain the standing of the global No. 1 shipbuilder by successfully accomplishing its combination with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).” He made the remarks at his New Year’s message he delivered on Jan. 3.

HHI Group set as the 2020 goals: chalking up 46.66 trillion won in sales and wining orders worth $15.9 billion (18.4 trillion won), the same as last year, he said.

“Projects to build smart factory, employing advanced technologies, has made headway, and ones to collaborate with Korean and foreign companies, including Aramco of Saudi Arabia, have been materialized,” Chairman Kwon said.

This year’s economic outlook in not rosy, but HHI Group can manage to accomplish the targets since it has been ramping up competitiveness, he said. Chairman Kwon called for the transformation of HHI group into an advanced shipbuilding & energy group to brace for a digital future.

“Last year, we had devoted ourselves to exploring new opportunities and laying a foothold to make a leap forward amid uncertainties of the global economy,” he said.

“Albeit economic outlooks are not rosy this year, each business is getting closer in laying groundwork to raise competitiveness, so I’m confident that the group will achieve its sales goal of 46.66 trillion won.”

First, he called for a transformation of the group into an advanced shipbuilding & energy company to brace for the ushering in an era of digital transformation.

“Our group has already been implementing smart shipyards via 5G, ICT convergence and big data and digital transformation like smart factory, and we have to make all-out efforts to speed up the process,” he said.

Second, he urged his executives and staff members to settle autonomous, responsible management. “In the past few years, HHI Group has been implementing a project to make each business an independent, separate entity and each now has to make all-out efforts to become a primer company in each business sector,” he said.

Lastly, he called for the group to be armed with a standing committed to contributing to state and society. “The group will be reborn into a new group by establishing a global R&D center in 2022 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary,” he said.

“HHI, DSME, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, and Hyunidai Samho Heavy Industries will retain the standing of the Korean shipbuilding industry as the global No.1 shipbuilder with the Korea Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. centering around after successfully acquiring DSME.”

Meanwhile, in his New Year’s message, DSME President Lee Sung-geun said, “DSME will have to make all-out companywide retrenchment efforts.” DSME ought to build a virtuous cycle in which a two-year backlog of shipbuilding orders needs to be secured for sustainable management and profitability is rising, he added.

An bird’s eye view of HHI Global R&D Center, to be built in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, by 2022.