Invest KOREA

The Umicore Way, in Korea

Umicore Korea has experienced consistent growth in Korea with the growing need for rechargeable batteries

To explain Umicore’s four main business groups, Eric Van den Broeck, general manager of Umicore Korea Limited, touches first on four global megatrends: resource scarcity, increasingly strict emission control, the drive for renewable energy and the electrification of automobiles. Each of the company’s groups - catalysis, energy materials, performance materials and recycling - responds to one of these trends.

In other words, we may not realize it, but the products of this global materials technology group are a part of our everyday lives. Umicore’s platinum-engineered materials and thin film materials are used to produce flat panel displays and televisions, for example. The company’s zinc products are used in the construction sector as well as to protect against corrosion. Its zinc oxides are found in sunscreen.

“Umicore historically is a company which always has been active in metals,” Van den Broeck said. “All our activities are centered on metals like cobalt, nickel, precious metals and so on.”

In Korea, Umicore focuses on two of the Belgium-based Umicore’s four groups, namely energy materials and catalysis. Van den Broeck heads Umicore Korea Ltd., which makes cathode material for rechargeable batteries used in mobile phones, laptops, hybrid cars and more. In February, Umicore decided to create a business unit for rechargeable battery materials and established its headquarters in Korea.

A Umicore joint venture called Ordeg handles catalysis, making automotive catalysts products.

Umicore’s presence in Korea goes back to 1999, when Umicore built a factory in Cheonan for rechargeable battery cathode materials.

“At that moment we realized the potential of Korea for rechargeable batteries because of the companies that were active in the portable electronics sector,” said Van den Broeck, who has been with Umicore since 2002 and Umicore Korea since 2010.

The company grew its number of facilities over the years and diversified its products from lithium cobalt oxide products (LCO) to nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) products, which are less expensive due to the relatively lower costs of nickel and manganese and therefore more suitable for large-volume applications. The company has also expanded its focus from portable electronics into electrical cars as well. It deals mostly with high-end applications and develops complex products in close collaboration with its customers. Major Korean and international battery makers buy cathode materials from Umicore Korea. The company also has an R&D facility in Cheonan.

“What we see as our mission is to be a cathode materials solution provider,” said Van den Broeck. Competition is tough in the battery chemicals market, according to Van den Broeck, and more and more products previously made in Japan are now made in Korea. Umicore is growing its Korea operations for rechargeable batteries accordingly.

“This means that we recognize Korea as a key country in the field of energy materials,” Van den Broeck said.

The general manager sees more developments for the future, and the company has acquired additional land for possible future expansions.

Having done business in Korea for more than a decade, Umicore Korea has learned that succeeding often means understanding local business ways.

“We have the Umicore way,” said Van den Broeck. “And we have learned how to apply it in Korea.”

The key is to combine the strengths of both sides.

“And what comes out is not a completely European solution and it’s not a completely Korean one,” he said.