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In pursuit of differentiation: Daelim President & CEO's formula for success.

Article Excerpt
Daelim Industrial led the way in the restructuring of Korea's petrochemical industry following the Asian financial crises of the late 1990s. The company spun off businesses into joint ventures, swapped assets, and divested operations. Daelim's petrochemicals division focuses today on the manufacture of high- and linear high-density polyethylene (HDPE and LHDPE) using, respectively, Chevron Phillips Chemical and Basell technology, and oil polyisobutylene (PIB), based on Daelim's proprietary process. Yeochon Naphtha Cracking Co., (YNCC; Yeosu) Daelim's equally owned monomers production joint venture with Hanwha Chemicals, supplies the necessary feedstock.

The petrochemicals division also includes a relatively new but fast-growing Shared Services business offering maintenance, logistics, and analysis, as well as plant commissioning and start-up services to Daelim and to external customers. Joo Hee Han, president & CEO of the petrochemicals division, wants to take Daelim to another level by shifting the company's product slate away from commodities and strengthening the Shared Services offering.

Korea's lack of indigenous raw material resources coupled with its relatively small domestic market, as well as the country's competitive disadvantage on the global stage, have forced Daelim Industrial to embark on a strategy of diversification. The company wants to grow its business through its own technologies, which will differentiate it from the competition. "Our priority is to increase our competitiveness through our own technology and through...

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