■ CEO of SK IE Technology Kim Cheol-jung visited the production plants in Poland, inspected the facilities and met local government officials.

■ Operating Plant 1 in Poland, expecting to secure the largest production capacity of separators in Europe when Plant No. 4 commences commercial operation by the end of 2024

■ CEO Kim: “We need to secure competitiveness by lowering the production cost through automated facilities, including the establishment of a smart factory”

Kim Cheol-jung, CEO of SK IE Technology (hereinafter, SKIET), visited the company’s Lithium-ion Battery Separator (LiBS) production base in Poland, from April10 to 13 (local time). This is one of his moves to secure the company’s business competitiveness that can respond to the rapidly growing demand of the electric vehicle battery market, following his prior visits to the other bases in Jeungpyeong (Korea) and Changzou (China).

For his first schedule in Poland, CEO Kim visited SKIET’s first separator plan in Poland, which completed construction in 2021. The plant is the first of its kind in Europe, capable of producing about 340 million square meters of separator annually. CEO Kim executed MBWA* (management by wondering around) by inspecting the production lines and communicating with local employees.

He also visited Plants 2, 3 and 4, which are under expansion, to check the construction progress. Plant 2 is scheduled to enter the stage of equipment stabilization and start pilot operation in the second half of this year. It is expected to begin commercial operations as early as the end of this year. The third and fourth plants are currently undergoing site development work and steel framework construction, and targeted to be completed in 2024. When Plant 4 starts operating, the company will be able to produce up to 1.54 billion square meters of separators, making it the largest separator production facility in Europe. This is equivalent to the separator production capacity required for approximately 2.05 million electric vehicles.

During his visit to the production base in Poland, CEO Kim Cheol-jung stated, “Even though the plants in Poland aim to target the European market, they could also play a preemptive role in responding to the demand in the North American market.” “We need to have thorough preparation to secure competitive edges, including the establishment of a ‘smart factory’ with automation technology.”

Currently, the production plants of SKIET in Poland are equipped with LiBS packaging and automated product transport equipment and planned to be fully automate from the production process to packaging and transporting stage in the future. The company is also actively pushing ahead the application of AI technology to predict and detect issues in the production process and to identify product defects. Production costs are expected to significantly reduce when such technologies are introduced.

SKIET CEO also met with local government officials to discuss cooperation opportunities. He met with Marcin Bazylak, the mayor of Dąbrowa Górnicza, along with other local officials, and talked about how SKIET can become a leading separator producer in Europe through continued cooperation with local partners. He also joined a meeting with Janusz Michałek, President & Chairman of the Board of the Katowice Special Economic Zone (KSSE), to exchange ideas regarding multiple support plans.

“The core competitiveness of SKIET, which will determine its future growth, lies in technology, cost, global supply chains, and ESG management, and the company must provide integrated value to its customers through these factors,” CEO Kim said. “We will keep making efforts to help the Polish production base preemptively secure core competitive advantages and become the core global hub of SKIET.”

[Photos]

(Photo 1) SKIET CEO Kim Cheol-jung (eight from left) takes a commemorative photo with local employees during his visit to the company’s LiBS production base in Silesia Province, Poland on April 11 (local time).

(Photo 2) SKIET CEO Kim Cheol-jung (center) inspects the production process during his visit to the company’s LiBS production base in Silesia Province, Poland on April 11 (local time).

(Photo 3) Panoramic view of SKIET’s production base, operated by the company’s overseas subsidiary SK hi-tech battery materials Poland, in Silesia Province, Poland.