On January 22, Hyundai Steel held “Champion Day 2024,” led by the company’s CEO, at the Pangyo Office.
Participants at Champion Day
Champion Day is held at the beginning of every year to promote the company’s annual business plan. The event identifies and kicks off the company’s core tasks for the new year, encouraging all employees to tackle relevant challenges.
This year’s event was attended by a total of 159 people, including CEO Seo Gang-hyun, company executives, and team leaders from each business unit. Some participants joined in-person at the Pangyo Office, while others participated virtually through a video conferencing system. Event attendees shared their plans for implementing core tasks in each business unit for 2024 and proposed strategies for collaborations between divisions. A total of 15 core tasks were selected for the year, 10 of which were presented during the event.
Attendees listening to a project presentation
Prior to the sharing of core tasks, a special, one-hour lecture was given by a professor from the KAIST School of Management Engineering, who spoke on the theme of “Tipping Point Insights that Determine the Fate of a Company.”
After the lecture, the video “H-DNA” was shown, introducing in-house innovation activities, followed by presentations on two outstanding projects from 2023. The first project was presented by Choi Young-hyun from Dangjin Integrated Steelworks’ Sintering Process Team, who spoke on “Reducing Fuel Unit Consumption Through Proper Use of Sintered FeO Related By-Products” Lee Yo-sep from Incheon Works’ D/Bar Steel Making Team presented the second project on “Strengthening Cost Competitiveness Through 60-Ton Energy Improvement Operation.” Following the presentations, CEO Seo personally presented awards in recognition of the two projects, encouraging the presenters to not end the projects “as one-time efforts but rather to continue them into the future and expand them to other plants and processes.”
(Left) Lee Yo-sep, (Incheon) D/Bar Steel Making Team / (Center) CEO Seo Gang-hyun / (Right) Choi Young-hyun, Sintering Process Team
In the afternoon, representatives of different business units presented on the operation and future plans for company-wide core tasks in 2024. The Steel Plates Business Division covered topics such as: ▲ “ISCD700 (Iron & Steel Making Cost Down)”; ▲ “Improving the Cost-Effectiveness of Cold Rolling”; ▲ “Enhancing Product Delivery Time”; ▲ “Reducing Costs and Improving Quality through Advanced Process Quality & Technology”; and ▲ “Ensuring Equipment Integrity for Critical Top 3.”
Next, the Bar&Shape Steel Business Division delivered presentations on: ▲ “Establishing Optimal Production System to Meet Sales (Customer) Demand”; ▲ “Securing Profitability by Product through Low-Cost Operations and Production Optimization”; ▲ “Enhancing Sales Competitiveness of Bar & Shape Steel Through Improved Customer Satisfaction”; and ▲ “Improving the Profit Structure of Dangjin Integrated Steelworks Through Sales and Production Optimization.”
Finally, participants discussed company-wide core tasks through the topic of “Securing Competitive Advantage in Inventory Asset Management,” which concluded the presentations on the core tasks for 2024.
CEO Seo Gang-hyun reviewed each presentation and highlighted strategies that could be used to enhance the company’s competitiveness. In his concluding remarks, he urged participants to “acknowledge the challenging circumstances both in and outside the company and approach all tasks with a sense of responsibility across all business units.” He further encouraged them, saying, “We will overcome performance weakness by changing activities to achieve production innovations.”
Throughout the year, Hyundai Steel plans to hold “core task review meetings,” led by division heads and business unit leaders, to review the progress made on the core tasks for 2024 as discussed on Champion Day. The company is encouraging all employees to maximize outcomes and streamline work processes in a systematic way, such as by establishing key performance indicators (KPIs).
*Company-Wide Core Task List for 2024
