Ssangyong Cement, Actively Fulfilling Corporate Social Responsibility through 'Expansion of Environmental Business'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Ssangyong Cement has successfully completed a project over the past two years involving approximately 100 billion KRW investment to remodel and expand cement production facilities and build related infrastructure to expand the recycling of circular resources (waste), and has begun full-scale operation.

At the end of last month, Ssangyong Cement remodeled the preheating chamber to convert circular resources into gas form during the input process in order to increase the amount of circular resources replacing bituminous coal, the main fuel, at production plants in Donghae and Yeongwol, and simultaneously expanded and built related infrastructure to supply the necessary amount in a timely manner.

Although the completion was delayed due to COVID-19 and adverse weather conditions, Ssangyong Cement expects that the increase in the use of circular resources will reduce the use of bituminous coal, which is entirely imported, reduce greenhouse gases, and safely recycle waste plastics, which have recently increased explosively but have not been processed in time, as an energy source, thereby fulfilling its social responsibility as a cement company.

The background for Ssangyong Cement to carry out such a large-scale project despite difficulties such as the recession in the construction industry, its upstream industry, and the continuous decline in cement demand, is its determination to pursue sustainable growth by making environmental businesses such as circular resource recycling based on cement production its next growth engine.

Since the major shareholder changed to Hahn & Company in 2016, Ssangyong Cement has continuously made large-scale investments to improve facility efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs, including the largest domestic waste heat power generation facility, energy storage system (ESS) facilities, new burner installations, and cooler remodeling, in preparation for changes in the market environment.

This project, promoted to expand the recycling of circular resources, was also a proactive investment anticipating major changes in the circular resource market, and in July, the company newly established and expanded an independent division responsible for environmental business to expand its business area into comprehensive environmental business.

Recently, Ssangyong Cement is also planning to add environmental business-related industries to its articles of incorporation. If the articles of incorporation with the added environmental business pass as originally planned at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders scheduled for the 30th, Ssangyong Cement plans to actively perform its role as a comprehensive environmental business.

Meanwhile, Ssangyong Cement continues efforts to enhance shareholder value. Through large-scale investments and continuous cost reduction efforts over the past five years, it has improved internal competitiveness, resulting in differentiated management performance in the cement industry.

Considering the management performance up to the third quarter this year, it is certain that the company will achieve double-digit operating profit margins for six consecutive years, and Ssangyong Cement is returning profits to shareholders through active dividends based on such management performance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.