Press Release
1. http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111117000711
Major customers from the former Soviet Union take a look around the building material display center
in southern Seoul on Thursday. (LG Hausys)
LG Hausys aims to expand share in Russian market
LG Hausys said Thursday that it invited 50 major customers from the former Soviet Union to Korea to give them a glimpse into the company’s eco-friendly building materials and its production process.
For six days beginning on Nov. 13, customers from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia are taking part in the firm’s visiting program, which is partly designed to grab a bigger share in the premium Russian market for LG Hausys.
Since entering the Russian market in 2005, the Korean company set up a corporate office there in 2008, making efforts to become the globally leading building material firm in the market.
The visiting team had a chance to take a look at LG Hausys’ factories in Ulsan and Cheongju, as well as its premium interior display center in southern Seoul to see the firm’s technologies and its quality competitiveness, according to LG Hausys officials.
“We have been continuously strengthening our relationship with our Russian partners even when the global financial crisis struck back in 2008,” said Han Myeung-ho, president of LG Hausys. “We’re striving to become the best construction material company in Russia by creating a firm relationship with our Russian customers through the supply of competitive products and services.”
By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldm.com)
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2. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2011/11/133_98978.html
Buyers from former Soviet bloc countries including Russia check out LG Hausys’
decorative materials at its product demo site in downtown Seoul, Thursday.
LG invited key buyers to bolster its international profile./ Courtesy of LG Hausys
By Kim Yoo-chul
LG Hausys, Korea’s biggest construction and decorative materials firm, is optimistic about growth potential in Russia.
Mostly due to Korea’s prolonged slump in the construction area, companies such as LG Hausys have sought business opportunities offshore markets including Russia.
As part of its growth strategy, talks are underway to build LG’s first manufacturing plant, there, although it remains a long term goal.
``Together with China, Russia is a strategically-important market for LG Hausys. We are channeling more resources there in a bid to bolster our presence,’’ Lee Dong-joo, head of LG’s public relations office, said Thursday.
Lee said the company will build a manufacturing plant in Russia in accordance with its expansionary plans, however, the details have yet to be decided.
LG is more customized for its clients in Russia and several former Soviet-bloc countries, according to officials.
In a statement, LG said it has invited some 50 buyers from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, as well as Russia to inspect LG’s key facilities in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and Ulsan.
``Because LG is selling decorative fittings and materials for commercial buildings and households, maintaining a healthy partnership with buyers is more than significant. It shouldn’t be a one-off event,’’ said Lee.
LG Hausys has already added five more extrusion lines at SibPromPlast’s production plant at Novokuznetsk, Russia. The new addition began producing in the third quarter of this year.
The expansion of the production capacity comes after the commissioning of a new logistics center at the Novokuznetsk site, which LG believes will help cut costs.
LG Hausys advanced into the Russian market in 2005 and established a main sales office in late 2008. Since then its distribution network has extended to Kazakhstan, Belarus and other neighboring countries.
Lee said the company is further expanding its logistics and distribution bases to more former Soviet bloc countries to carve out a bigger stake in their lucrative construction sectors.
``We’ve seen a greater need to re-model apartments and buildings in Russia. Under several massive renovation projects led by the Russian government, LG Hausys is looking at more business chances and we are gaining market share,’’ Lee said, adding the company will join big social infrastructure projects for both the public and private sectors.
LG has already started selling polyvinyl chloride (PVC) window frames to Romania, China, Vietnam and India as well as the above-named countries.
In China, the Korean company has recently decided to invest $60 million to build its second plant as the demand for high-end household-related materials steadily increases.
The company was established through spinning-off the industrial materials arm of LG Chem. LG Hausys operates in the construction materials segment as well as the highly functional material and component segment.
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