LG Hausys acquires stake in c2i, a Slovakian automotive parts company, expected to help reinforce competitiveness in lightweight parts Our company acquired a 50.1% stake in c2i, a Slovakian carbon-fiber automotive lightweight parts manufacturer, to strengthen our company s competitiveness in the automotive lightweight parts industry a business area forecasted to grow in the future. Established in 2005, c2i possesses world class technology in carbon-fiber, a lightweight material that is expected to improve fuel efficiency of automobiles. c2i s sales grew 45% in 2016, reaching approximately KRW 30 billion. In fact, the company has grown at a rapid pace over the past five years, registering an annual growth rate of 64% per year. Our company expects a boost in the lightweight parts businesses moving forward when Long Fiber Thermoplastics (LFT) and Continuous Fiber Thermoplastics (CFT), both lightweight automotive materials developed in-house by our company, are combined with c2i s carbon-fiber compounds. In particular, our company looks forward to c2i s role as a bridge into the European market for our lightweight parts business given that c2i supplies parts to major automobile and aircraft manufacturers in Europe including BMW, Porsche, and Jaguar-Land Rover. Vice President of Automotive Material Business Min Kyung-jip said, The lightweight parts industry is the key to saving energy and solving air pollution issues using improved vehicle fuel efficiency. It s an industry that continues to grow at substantial rates each year. Vice President Min added, With our acquisition of c2i, we expect to create synergy between the outstanding R&D and overseas business capabilities at LG Hausys and the excellent carbon-fiber technology at c2i. Based on that synergy we create, we will develop into a leader in the global automotive lightweight parts market. 1/7
LG Hausys hosts the 2017 LG Techno Conference Our company held the 2017 LG Techno Conference along with seven affiliates including LG Electronics/ LG Chem/ LG Display/ LG Innotek/ LG Uplus/ LG CNS at COEX Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul on February 15 th. First held in 2012, the LG Techno Conference celebrated its sixth anniversary this year. The Conference provides an opportunity for LG Group s Chairman Koo Bon- Moo and other executives to invite talented individuals in R&D fields from Korea and overseas to introduce LG s managerial vision, progress in technical innovation, nextgeneration product trends, new business areas our company is exploring, and to conduct job interviews as well. For this year s event, more than 570 talented individuals in R&D were invited. Our company s briefing session at the Conference featured the latest technical trends for building materials, automotive parts and housing research, composite materials for drones, and also our company s current status and direction for R&D activities. In particular, our lightweight and eco-friendly technologies related to the Internet of Things (IoT) attracted substantial attention from students who attended the session. During the LG Hausys communication space session, which followed the briefing session, our company s researchers, including our R&D Center Director Lee Minhee, attended as part of a panel to engage in some candid conversations with students on subjects not only pertaining to research, but also other topics such as reasons why they joined LG Hausys, how they overcame crises, personal aspirations, and the future of our company. Also, during the HR session, CHO Kim Jang-sung explained what type of talent our company is looking for, our company s talent development policy, and our welfare benefits system. Our company s President Oh Jang-soo said in his welcoming remarks, A company with potential recognizes the importance of technology and R&D, and it strives to cultivate those aspects. He added, I hope all of you here today can work with our company and help us become a company with strong technical capacities. 2/7
Five LG Hausys wallcovering products earn Baby Class status in the Oeko-tex standard 100, now recognized as eco-friendly wallcovering Five of our company s wallcovering products BESTI, THERAPY, ZINNIA, STYLE, and GRACIA earned the Baby Class status in the Oeko-tex standard 100. Oeko-tex standard 100 evaluates the degree of harmlessness of products that come into contact with the skin such as clothing, bedding, toys, and interior materials. Baby Class is the most stringent among the four available classes and is awarded to products which toddlers under the age of three can use without experiencing any adverse effects. Oeko-tex recognized the safeness of our company s most recent Baby Class wallcoverings as they were proven to satisfy more than 200 strict criteria standards against hazardous substances capable of causing skin irritation/cancer/allergies in addition to substances that are referred to as total volatile organic compounds. With these new additions, our company now has a total of six products featuring the Baby Class status, including the Zea Fresh wallcovering that earned its Baby Class status last year. To date, our company is the only company in Korea with a Baby Class rated wallcovering product. Furthermore, all PVC wallcovering products from our company have earned the Korea Eco-label, the top eco-friendly certification system in Korea by the Ministry of Environment. Our company was the first in the industry to have all wallcovering products available on the market feature the Korea Eco-label since the Ministry of Environment designated PVC wallcoverings as a product group subject to the Ecolabel system in July, 2016. 3/7
Reinforcing production capacity with Action Management Outstanding Team, Action Management Pilot: High-functional. Ulsan. Deco Film Production Team Our company started its deco film business in 1982, which means it is celebrating its 36th year in business as of 2017. However, it went through a period of crisis as sales growth slowed down and profitability also took a hit. To power through such problems, the High-functional.Ulsan. Deco Film Production Team (hereinafter referred to as the Deco Film Production Team) has been discussing what it can do and has implemented solutions as part of Action Management. In doing so, the team has been working extremely hard to create a foundation upon which the deco film business can reinforce its capabilities at a more fundamental level. I. Mindset. Strong determination to achieve Tackling work with the mindset of no compromise for quality The Deco Film Production Team launched its Action Management Pilot program in August 2016 after defining action plans for 11 Code of Conduct items. After a Commitment Meeting, the Team and each individual printed images containing their goals and placed them on their desks to remind themselves on a daily basis. Also, each Team member agreed to stay at work until they had fulfilled all items on their daily plans. Additionally, the Team set what is called the Three-Three-Seven Advanced Management principle which entailed planning sales for the next three months, planning production materials for the next three months, all seven days in advance. With this principle, the Team tried to reflect its determination to prepare everything perfectly in anticipation of the Global No. 1 Quality plan, our company s vision and strategy for quality moving forward. 4/7
II. Systemize. Automatic action system Reinforcing quality inspections across all production phases, introducing computerized systems, reducing re-processing rates (defect rate) for semi-finished products. The Deco Film Production Team created and implemented an automated execution system capable of improving quality control based on the belief that quality is the foundation of everything. Every day in the morning, a Daily Quality/Production Meeting was held, and the automated execution system was developed to convert the existing inspection system that focused on finished products to a system that focused on semi-finished products. At the CAL (calendar) stage, which produces semi-finished products, we worked with slogans that said, Let's check one more time at our own production process. At the printing stage, we thought, Let's see it thoroughly and let s not miss anything, and at the Embo (embossing) stage, we thought, Let's not ship it out unless it s a quality product. Also, to reduce the amount of waste generated during the production process, the Team reduced the size of the waste bins based on the idea that larger waste bins only attract more waste. This actually led to a 25% reduction in waste. CAL Printing Embo Let's check one more time at our own production process. Let's see it thoroughly and let s not miss anything. Let's not ship it out unless it s a quality product. larger waste bins only attract more waste 5/7
One of the Team s chronic issues, the visual color check, was resolved by switching to an electronic AUTAS color difference meter check system. This produced tangible results in a very short period of time with the re-processing rate (defect rate) of semi-finished products, which stood high at 2.9% in August 2016, dropping to 0.7% in November. Thanks to these achievements, the Deco Film Production Team was selected as a quality KPI performance team in the second half of 2016. Using the AUTAS color difference meter Selected as a quality KPI performance team in the second half of 2016 Re-processing rates 0.7% Monthly trend for semi-finished goods re-processing rates in 2016 6/7
III. Self-Motivation. Motivated from the heart A large team, with over 100 team members, working as one! The Deco Film Production Team is a large team with 116 team members. It is made up of several parts including the Printing Office, Embossing Office, Production Support P, Production 1P/2P/3P, Mirror-like Surface Extrusion Office, no. 2/3/15 Calendars Office etc. Each part of the Deco Film Production Team created opportunities for fun voluntary gatherings outside working hours based on its motto of let s work with a joyful heat, and let s be considerate to others. Embossing Office No 3. Calendars Office IV. Leading by example through leadership. Setting an example/leadership Until the steadfast determination for Action Management stemming from the leader reaches each and every team member The leader spearheading the Deco Film Production Team, changed his work style that embodied Action Management to help the principles of Action Management settle in smoothly with the Team. Decisions were made quickly and clearly, and authority was delegated to the heads of production parts for each product to reinforce the ability to take actions in the field. Team members received monthly Action Management performance notices. With these notices, satisfactory items were commended while unsatisfactory items were given solutions to help them catch-up to standards. There is no one path that leads to the goal of Action Management. Once the leader's willingness for action management, the team members' willingness to achieve, and appropriate measures to execute work responsibilities come together, and when those execution plans feature an automated action system, Teams will take one step closer to succeeding in Action Management. 7/7