Gold Medal for LS Cable CEO

Chmn. Koo C.Y. wins kudos for boosting company among top 3 in world and expanding overseas operations

Chairman Koo Cha-yeol of LS Cable Co. won the Industrial Service Merit Gold Tower Medal for his successful merger of Superior Essex, the largest cable company in North America to lift LS Cable among top 3 cable makers in the world and expanding the number of the company's plants overseas to 7, the company said recently. The LS Cable CEO got the medal during the 44th Electricity Day ceremony on 'April 10 held at the grand auditorium of the Korea Electric Power Corp. in southern Seoul. He was given credit for boosting the international reputation of Korea's power industry after his election as a standing member of the International Cable Federation. The citation for his achievement also noted his leadership in running the cable maker, in particular, the development of undersea cable and the super conduction wire, only the fourth company to do so in the world. He was also credited with obtaining various international quality certificates for the company's cable including TQM and TPM and introducing 6 Sigma Management program. In the meantime, LS Cable Co. succeeded in clinching the right to supply undersea cable for the first time for a domestic cable company beating its German and Japanese rivals, which dominated so far the undersea cable market in Korea, the company said recently. LS Cable signed a contract with Korea Electric Power Corp. to supply undersea cable worth 330 billion won to KEPCO to be used in the power company's project to lay undersea power lines between Jin Island off the southwestern coast of South Jeolla Province and Jeju Island on Jan. 5.
The power company launched a project to build the undersea cable extending for 122 km between the two islands to supply more power to Jeju Island, whose power needs have increased lately due to the development of the island's economy leading to the construction of tourism facilities and commercial buildings and the power lines will be completed by 2011, the company said.
LS Cable had to beat a number of international cable production companies including Nexance of France and JPS of Japan in a bidding and the company plans to enter international markets for undersea cable such as those in Indonesia and the Philippines. The value of the international cable market is estimated to reach 1.5 trillion won, which has been growing 30 percent annually as more plants including those using wind power are being built on islands and isolated areas around the world, the company said. LS Cable has become the first Korean cable company to win an international bidding for cable, which is significant in that the company's power cable was produced with its own technology and the company expects the import-substitution effect would amount to 700 billion won per year. The company expects its cable would totally replace imports of foreign undersea power cable. The undersea cable is being called, the "flower" of the cable industry as it is the collection of various cable production technologies and three cable companies such as Nexance of France, Prisymian of Italy, and ABB of Sweden have cornered over 90 percent of the undersea cable market in the world. The French power cable maker supplied Korea's first undersea cable project linking Haenam, South Jeolla Province and Jeju Island, a distance of 101 km in 1997.
LS Cable began construction of its first undersea power cable plant in Tonghae City, Gangwon Province, in April last year for completion in May. The company first developed undersea power cable for 180 Kv and 250 Kv in 2007 and plans to develop 22.9 Kv undersea cable used especially for power distribution undersea in the near future.
In the meantime, Chairman and CEO Koo Cha-yeol stressed that the power cable industry is a futuristic growth engine, not on the decline during his speech at the company's meeting for new employees' mentoring tie-up. The chairman told the new employees they said people have been saying the industry will soon be finished even two decades ago, but it will go on as long as people live, changing its forms and functions as time changes. "You have to work continuously putting in all of your efforts and passion, and come up with creative ideas to create chances to upgrade the industry after becoming a professional," the chairman said.
LS Cable hired 57 new employees including three foreigners, 40 percent more than the annual average number this year. nw

Chairman Koo Cha-yeol of LS Cable Co. receives the Industrial Service Merit Gold Tower Medal from Vice Minister Kim Young-hak of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy at the Electricity Day ceremony on April 10.

A sample of power cable produced by LS Cable.