The Korean government held the 44th annual Trade Day at the Convention & Exhibition Center (COEX) in Seoul on November 30. Doosan Infracore’s exports, which totaled more than US$1.25 billion in 2005, almost doubled to over US$2.16 billion two years later, qualifying the company for the US$2 Billion Export Tower in 2007.
Also on this day, Doosan Infracore President Choe Sung-chul was presented with the government’s highest honor, the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit, in recognition of his great contributions to the company’s surging exports as well as Korea’s overseas market expansion. Meanwhile, Engine Production Team 1 Supervising Mechanic Lee Hei-yeon was awarded an Industrial Service Medal and General Manager Park Sung-gap, at the Shanghai Branch of Doosan Infracore China Co., received a Presidential Citation.
Korea President Roh Moo-hyun also attended the Trade Day event. In his speech, he congratulated everyone on their achieving a national export total of US$700 billion in 2007 and praised them for their hard work.
Pres. Choe Gets Top Honors
Under President Choe’s capable leadership, Doosan Infracore devised a global management strategy and developed innovative, next-generation products to become a world-class corporation. Choe Sung-chul has devoted himself to the machinery business for 37 years. His receiving the prestigious Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit on Trade Day is testimony to his key role in turning the Korean machinery industry around from a money loser into a growth engine for the manufacturing sector.
Doosan Infracore operates large-scale production facilities in Korea, China and Belgium and maintains a global network of sales subsidiaries, branch offices and dealers. The company is implementing a localization strategy to break into new markets and pursues an aggressive overseas marketing campaign that includes a steady improvement in the way products and services are provided. As a result, Doosan Infracore has managed to increase exports by some forty percent a year despite an appreciating Won currency and soaring oil prices.
Meanwhile, our exports of products and related parts have been driven by ongoing development of next-generation products and technologies that target global markets. We have also acquired a number of overseas companies and boosted the value of the “Made in Korea” label. As such a synergy has been generated at the national level.
Industrial Service Medal for Supervising Mechanic Lee, Presidential Citation for Gen. Mgr. Park
Engine Production Team 1 Supervising Mechanic Lee Hei-yeon has been working in engine production since he joined the company in 1978, and in recent years he has contributed significantly to the company’s export performance. In 2004, exports of generator engines to China surged, and he responded by finding ways to reduce losses during production, boost workers’ morale and provide them with incentives. As a result, output soared 220% year on year. In 2006, Mr. Lee devoted himself to quality control in the production of electronically controlled, Euro-3 engines, and defects fell by eighty percent. This year, he was responsible for incorporating a marshalling system on the production line for exported marine engines, and output increase thirty percent over 2006 while sales revenue jumped eighty percent.
In 2001, General Manager Park Sung-gap was selected to go to China and work on ways to increase sales in that high-growth emerging market. His efforts there have been highly successful. By 2004, Doosan Infracore had grabbed the top share of the Northeastern market despite stiff competition by major world players from Japan and elsewhere. The company’s share of the East China region doubled (exports skyrocketed 320%) in 2006 over the previous year, and overall sales in China are up 270% year on year in 2007.
