EcoPro Founder Lee Dongchae: "Let's Unite All 3,600 Employees to Find a Breakthrough"

"No one else will overcome the challenges ahead for us; all 3,600 of our employees must unite to find a breakthrough."

Lee Dongchae, the founder of EcoPro, made this request during the third-quarter meeting held at the company's headquarters in Ochang, Cheongju, Chungbuk, stating, "Employees must pursue innovation to build a diverse portfolio with cost competitiveness and diversify our customer base."

Lee Dongchae, the founder, attending the third-quarter quarterly meeting held on the 1st at the EcoPro headquarters in Ochang, Chungbuk. EcoPro

Lee emphasized, "A company may sometimes produce less or face difficulties in sales, but it must remain alive and dynamic under any circumstances. Even if the operating rate drops, we must establish a revenue structure that can withstand it, diversify our products, create a portfolio with cost and technological competitiveness, innovate our processes, and proactively develop strategies to diversify our customers."

He continued, "Batteries are essential infrastructure for future industries that are drawing attention, such as artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous driving, and robotics. Since battery applications are an ever-expanding and growing field, we must respond to a wide range of customer needs not only with our core high-nickel product lineup, but also by expanding cost-effective product lines such as mid-nickel, manganese-rich (LMR), and all-solid-state batteries."

He stressed that a sustainable company can only be achieved if a corporate culture is established in which younger employees can say 'NO.' Lee said, "For a 30-year-old employee to spend 30 years working at EcoPro, they must be able to boldly say NO to things that are wrong. As the founder, I will actively support the changes brought by young employees."

On this day, EcoPro held an awards ceremony for innovative ideas proposed by young employees for the future of the company. Previously, the EcoPro Group held an 'Innovation Idea Contest' for all employees of its family companies during April and May, collecting a total of 1,560 ideas.

Last week, EcoPro, with CEO Song Hojun and other family company presidents in attendance, carefully selected ideas that could contribute to productivity improvement, process efficiency, and cost reduction, awarding one grand prize and three gold prizes.

In addition, EcoPro introduced the EcoPro Professional (EP) system for office employees who have achieved outstanding results based on innovative thinking. EPs are selected from among employees who have achieved innovative results in fields such as research and development, intellectual property management, production, processes, construction, and plant management. Those selected as EPs receive executive-level salaries and compensation, and are also responsible for identifying and improving key issues in their field and training successors.

The first EPs of the EcoPro Group are Cho Byungil, Director and Head of the Patent Team at EcoPro BM, and Kim Minsu, Director and Head of the Equipment Technology Team at EcoPro EM. Director Cho was highly praised for his expertise in establishing patent strategies and responding to patent-related issues at EcoPro BM. Director Kim was recognized as an EP for his contributions as an equipment expert, quickly identifying and resolving on-site problems.

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