A Warmhearted Firm

S-Oil CEO Subaey points out expanded communication, manpower training and social contribution as objectives

CEO Ahmed A. Subaey of S-Oil Corp., right, in Korean traditional clothes, shakes hands with an executive of the company following a New Year ceremony, seeking communication and manpower training.

CEO Ahmed A. Subaey of S-Oil Corp., at a New Year's ceremony at the Company's Ulsan oil refinery complex on Jan. 3, wearing Korean traditional dress, said in his speech that this year will be a significant year for S-Oil to secure a base for sustainable growth as the Onsan expansion project will be completed and the company has moved into its new headquarters building. The CEO said the company will strengthen its communication and manpower training program and continue to carry on with social contribution activities to do its duty in full as a warmhearted corporation.
He said S-Oil starts the new decade as the best company one can think of working for in the future as far as his dream is concerned. Subaey called on every officer and staff member at the oil refining company to create new value through smart, creative, passionate and reformative way of working and to achieve everyone's dreams. The CEO, a Saudi native, expressed his strong will to share common feelings with the employees of the oil refinery. He toured every corner of the oil refinery's production facilities with management officers to encourage the workers and ask them to work for the safe operation of the oil refinery this year.
In the meantime, Subaey participated in a sunrise event and a tea party held on a hill near the Onsan complex's Technology Research Institute with some 2,000 family members of the officers and employees of the oil plant in a display of his ardent effort to share joint understanding with employees through his intensive jobsite visits. "Last year," he said, "the company faced many challenges both at home and abroad including uncertainty in the global economy, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, stiffer competition in the domestic market and stricter regulation. Despite these challenges, we achieved an outstanding performance by increasing operational efficiency in all business areas and actively developing new markets."
Subaey said the winners in the refining industry in 2010 were those who were able to utilize the refining facilities at maximum rates and at the right time. OIn other words, reliability and availability of our refining units were crucial to our performance in 2010. We selected the optimum timing for the large-scale turnaround that included the Bunker-C cracking center while reducing the turnaround period, which allowed us to keep our facilities running to the fullest extent," he said. "Meanwhile," Subaey said, "we reached out to new markets in the region that others had not even thought of through our unique strategies and strengthened partnerships with high-profile global players, based on the companyOs solid overseas marketing capabilities built over the years.
OIn addition, our brand value climbed to a higher level through effective advertising and PR activities together with the management's active communication with external parties and our sincere CSR activities. This created a virtuous cycle that resulted in substantial growth in the domestic market. "The company will continue to strengthen the competitiveness of our core business by developing, examining and executing operational improvement measures and investment opportunities.
"Likewise, this Year of the Rabbit will pave the way for the company's next leap forward. [The year] 2010 was the first year for us to implement sustainable profitable growth strategies, while 2011 will be a crucial year for us to lay the groundwork for future profit generation and to reinforce the company's sustainability in various areas." To this end, he said he would like to make a firm resolution for the New Year, suggesting the following three initiatives that everyone at S-Oil should think over and work together to implement this year.
"First, lay the groundwork for finding a new growth engine for the company's "sustainable profitable growth." "In 2010, carefully and faithfully, the company advanced in three strategic directions -- expanding our refining business, integrating with the petrochemical business and entering into the new renewable energy business -- to achieve our overarching mission of profitable and sustainable growth.
"Internally, commitment and passion for the strategic directions among S-Oil officers and employees are stronger than ever. We also see that the external business environment, including both short and long-term business outlooks and the government's strong drive for green growth appears to be in support of our strategic directions," Subaey said. 'Second," he said, "let's further improve the value of human resources this year. Officers and staff are the key assets for S-Oil, the secret weapons. This year, we will continuously endeavor to improve the quality of our communication, the quality of our development program and the quality of work-life balance in order to enhance the value of human resources, improve productivity and achieve the ultimate goal of a world-class work environment.
"Third,' the CEO said, "let's create a sustainable corporation that fulfills its social environmental responsibility. In our business environment, corporations are strongly urged now more than ever to maintain soundness and transparency. To this end, all officers and employees are required to work in a strict and transparent manner based on a strong sense of ethics and to create an organizational culture that sticks to our established principles. "On the environmental front, we will join hands and even take initiatives in the global and our government's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in response to the biggest challenge facing humanity, climate change."nw