Unison Captures Industrial Order in recognition of Quality Management
- Company's steady pursuit of quality excellence pays off

Unison Co. captured the Order of Industrial Service, Silver Tower at the 30th National Quality Management Convention this year, which is no ordinary feat for a company like Unison. The company became only 20 years old this year, but its officers and staff under the leadership of President Lee Tae-wha have all done their part to help the company become what it is today, matured but a still growing company. President Lee talks about his pursuit of quality excellence leading to the success of the company, with the help of officers and staff.

Q: What have been your thoughts after winning the medal?
A: I am so happy for winning the medal at such a significant meeting of the 30th National Quality Management Convention. What got us the award was the hard work put on by officers and staff of the company more than anything else, although we owe it to our management philosophy of "Quality Management First," unique to Unison and my personal strong push for quality policies played a role. I feel a heavy responsibility after winning the medal.

Q: What would you say were the special characteristics of your company's quality reform activity and what have been the sectors you pushed especially hard?
A: This year marks the 20th year since the company's founding in 1984, which is like reaching adulthood. We have been working to improve the quality of our products since the early stages of the company's business. I inherited the company's management ideal that quality is the only way to win customers' trust since I took over in 1999 and have worked to improve the quality of our products ever since then.
We undertook the 5S activity, a basic to the quality management activity, in addition to the BIG-21 campaign, Unison Topic campaign, the enhancement of competitive power by 5 percent, Mat Machine campaign and Quality Management TFT activity. Our company's quality reform activity has been continuous and steady and changed the quality minds of our officers and staff. As a result, the officers and staff came to be very proud of the quality of our products and the ideas became a corporate ideal, building the special image for product quality for our company in a unique way. Such a quality mind became a standard for judging values and a base for our company's continuous growth.
I am particularly interested in the 5S activity. I feel that the sense of quality comes from one's mind, as you have to have the mind clean, streamlined and cleared up on a habitual basis. When you run, you tend to forget all those on sidelines, looking only forward, raising concerns that you may not be able to reach your goal. That's when strong basics come in. You renew your determination that you should reach the goal relying on those basics and faithfully promote quality management.
As a result of those efforts, the company won the $5 million export tower in 2000 and the grand prize in civil engineering. In 2003, the company captured the Korea Quality Grand Prize, which was followed by the International Standard System Management Award (ISSMA) this year. Since 1997, the company has been selected as the Excellent Enterprise for Quality Management for 8 years in a row.

Q: What has been the strongest point for your company and what has been the core force?
A: Since the company was established, the company became a pioneer in the areas of noise and vibration control and expanded into bridge, roads, plant facilities and new replacement energy. We challenged the new areas endlessly with the development of technology and quality management. We exported our own L.R.B. worth $4.5 million to Turkey in 1999 in connection with the construction of LNG tanks, beating the competition with world-renowned firms. We localized the equipment in 1997 and got assurance for its quality by exporting it to Turkey. Also, our F.P.B. and noise control equipment received very good responses from customers for their qualities.
Since 1999, we have been engaged in building the wind power generation complexes in Yeongduk, North Gyeonsang Province, Daegwallyeong, Gangwon Province and Jeju Island. We are also promoting solar power generation and bio mass power generation facilities as new markets are found with high oil prices and a world weather agreement coming into effect. The growth of Unison and its core force have been based on quality and technology, aimed at challenging its future businesses.

Q: Maintaining continued growth and development would be your main objective and what plans do you have in this connection?
A: In May of 2001, production installations had been moved to the Cheonan integrated plant to seek new business projects. We plan to continue to work on the program to double employees' capabilities for quality reform activity. We also plan to focus our energy on the new energy areas including the wind power generation, solar power generation, and bio mass power generation. This new replacement energy area has a great potential in our country.
We would like to complete the construction of the wind power generation complex in Yeongduk successfully first and then build another such plant and a solar power generation complex in the country. We also plan to complete the localization of the wind power generation system, especially, its core technology by 2007 and enter the world market. We already localized the wind power generation plant for the 750 kw range and is in the process of moving up to a 2,000 kw capacity wind power generation plant.

Q: What is your management philosophy, your views on quality and personnel?
A: I always have been known to be "truthful to basics" in my mind. The need for basics growth as management becomes complex and uncertain. You have to have a sound basic strength physically to over come various changes in an active manner and growth and development are possible.
Quality starts with giving a heavy attention to customers. You have to try to give products and services that customers want, which lead to quality. Quality comes from your mind and you have to have an affection to achieve it. You have always to think in terms of my thought, my job, my company, my product, and my customers to achieve quality.
You have to have talented individuals to work for your company, which is an absolute necessity for the growth and development of a company. When the going gets rough, a company produces talented employees. Continued investment and an organizational culture that recognizes talented employees, are needed to produce talented employees. Persons active in overcoming changes, challenging men with creative ideas and sincerity and a corporate culture that recognizes employees' capabilities and performances in a fair manner are all needed as basics to raise the quality of talented employees. An organizational culture that also takes failures as fertilizers for success also helps to upgrade the quality of individual employees. nw