Town hall meeting with Mr. Gil-Soo Kim, President of DL Chemical

On June 20, PolyMirae invited Mr. Gil-Soo Kim, President of DL Chemical, a shareholder of PolyMirae, to hold a town hall meeting with PolyMirae employees on the topic of DL Chemical's POE success story and innovation in general.   PolyMirae has been inspired by what we have observed on our shared sites in Yeosu and indeed the speech of Mr. Kim has certainly inspired the PolyMirae team to continue and redouble our innovation efforts.

Mr. Kim acknowledged the exceptional track record of PolyMirae, so we should continue our proven success, and he offered some wonderful advice for our continued success in a changing and challenging market environment. 

Mr. Kim likened DL Chemical's recent success in developing POE to Chinese four-character idiom (교토삼굴, 狡兎三窟), It means that a smart rabbit digs three burrows.  It means that you prepare wisely and keep open and agile to new directions. Mr. Kim said that DL Chemical's success was achieved through the collaboration and efforts of all employees who are ever open to various directions and possibilities in response to the difficult market environment. He also told PolyMirae employees that the most important things for success in everything are;

1. 格物致知(격물치지, Constant Learning): You should constantly explore and accumulate wisdom to understand the reason of things,
2. 窮則通 (궁즉통, Constant Changes): In difficult situations, something can only be achieved through change.
3. 不狂不及 (불광불급, Constant Commitment): If you are not committed to something, you can't accomplish anything,
4. 協業 (협업, Collaboration): Collecting the wisdom of all employees through amicable relationships and collaboration. 

"Looking back on my experience, there was not a thing that I could achieve by just knowing the theory," Mr. Kim said, emphasizing that to succeed in everything, it is important for all employees to constantly study, change, and be engaged to drive the performance.

Mr. Mitchell Killeen, CEO of PolyMirae, thanked Mr. Kim and said that a key role as CEO of PolyMirae is to constantly work with both LyondellBasell and DL Chemical to derive the best outcomes for PMC and its customers.  PolyMirae is fortunate to have two such capable and inspiring shareholders and asked for the continued active support and cooperation of both for the sustainable growth and innovation of PolyMirae in the future.

On June 17, Mr. Allen Yu, Senior Vice President Asia Pacific Region at LyondellBasell [‘LYB’], visited Korea and held a town hall meeting with PolyMirae staff.

During the meeting, Allen Yu shared his personal deep connection with Korea and discussed LYB’s strategy and recent industry trends with the staff.

He elaborated on LYB’s 3 new Business Strategies, efforts and initiatives to realize these strategies:

1. Grow & Upgrade the Core (Business)

2. Build a Profitable Circular & Low Carbon Solution Business

3. Set Up Performance & Culture

Additionally, Allen Yu described the series of processes LYB has undertaken to formulate its new strategy and values, emphasizing that it was a valuable opportunity for LYB to look at ourselves and find where we want to be. Looking ahead to the next 10 years for LYB, he stated that the ultimate purpose of LYB is to help to create a better world through sustainable living.

Regarding future market conditions and outlook, he mentioned that the coming years will be very challenging. However, LYB continues to invest heavily in sustainability, beginning with the decarbonization of assets. Additionally, he emphasized LYB’s goal to become a leader in circular products.

He introduced the recently established joint ventures [’JV’] by LYB, emphasized the significant role JV plays in LYB’s Core Business, expressed gratitude and respect for the efforts and achievements of PolyMirae and UPP as well as their continuous innovation through their Value Enhancement Program [‘VEP’], and wished for PolyMirae's continued success through its differentiation strategy despite challenging market conditions.

During the town hall meeting, PolyMirae CEO Mitchell Killeen emphasized that LYB, as a leader in the technology business with a diverse technology portfolio, holds significant value, and while many limitations exist, he highlighted the need for efforts to better understand and share with each other, expressing his hope for collaboration and synergy between LYB and PolyMirae through sharing not only differentiated strategies and technologies but also manufacturing aspects.

On May 28, PolyMirae, in collaboration with ICIS (Independent Commodity Intelligence Services), held 2024 ICIS workshop at the IFC in Seoul, inviting over 80 guests such as CEOs and key stakeholders from about 30 companies and organizations, including domestic shareholder DL Chemical, major affiliates such as UPP and YNCC, and domestic customers.

During the workshop, John Richardson, senior consultant at ICIS, presented on "Global Challenges and Opportunities in the South Korea Context," addressing the challenges and opportunities for Korean petrochemical companies in the rapidly changing global market.

Also, Itaru Kudose, business solution group consultant at ICIS delivered a presentation on "Japanese Chemical Companies' Activities Toward CN2050 Goals," addressing the status of decarbonization (lower carbon) strategies in the Japanese petrochemical industry and the impact and implications for Korean companies. Following the presentations, Mitchell Killeen, CEO of PolyMirae, along with ICIS experts, had a panel discussion and Q&A session with the participants.

Mitchell Killeen, CEO of PolyMirae, thanked the participants, saying that PolyMirae as a major polypropylene producer is committed to play a key role for the Korean industry as a value adder for propylene supplied from our partners and propylene suppliers, YNCC and SKA. Polymirae is proud to deliver value-added, high-quality PP products to our many valued domestic and export customers.

PolyMirae has prepared this opportunity to support our key stakeholders as we face a challenging and uncertain market together. PolyMirae, who is ISCC Plus certified, is committed to show leadership to Partner for Sustainability in circular and low carbon solutions with all of our partners and customers in attendance.

PolyMirae will continue collaborating with stakeholders to achieve Sustainable Growth through Profitable Innovation in the Korean propylene/polypropylene value chain.

PolyMirae, Shaping a better future!

On April 15, 2024, Patrick Rooney [Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development] of LyondellBasell, conducted a town hall meeting with PolyMirae staff during his visit to Korea. During the town hall meeting, Patrick Rooney, who brings nearly 40 years of experience and business insights, delivered a presentation on Global Macroeconomic Trends, Geopolitics, Energy & Markets, and Value Chain dynamics within the petrochemical industry, alongside sharing LYB's strategies to address these Mega Trends and engaging in open communication with employees regarding PolyMirae's strategic direction.

Through this town hall meeting, it was a good opportunity to reaffirm the need for constant efforts to continue sustainable growth by taking lessons from the last Global Cycle in the market downturn due to various external factors.

On April 15, 2024, SY Kim [Director of Strategy & Planning] of DL Chemical, visited PolyMirae and conducted a town hall meeting with PolyMirae staff.

During the town hall meeting, SY Kim shared DL Chemical's core values, business portfolio, value chain, and various efforts towards sustainability and ESG initiatives. He emphasized the importance of passionate efforts and innovative thinking from PolyMirae staff to ensure sustainable growth through organic collaboration between PolyMirae and DL Chemical in the future.

Moreover, he expressed hope for expanded opportunities to create technical/organic synergy for the development of specialty products through interactions between the 2 companies through various channels in the future.

PolyMirae staff showed a lot of interest in DL Chemical's business structure and DL Chemical's Value Chain, which was diversified through the recent acquisitions of Kraton and Cariflex, and sought DL Chemical's support as an excellent shareholder.

On February 7, Jean Gadbois (SVP Manufacturing O&P EAI), George Bai (Director O&P China JV and Program Management), Jimmy Schop (Director Business Finance O&P EAI), and Jach He (JV Director O&P Asia) from LyondellBasell visited Korea to attend an offline board meeting and they conducted a town hall meeting with PolyMirae staff.

Jean Gadbois and the directors hosted the meeting, discussing topics related to LYB's DEI (Diversity/Equity/Inclusivity) moment, New Purpose, Commitments and Values, Safety, and Sustainability in a relaxed atmosphere of communication with PolyMirae staff.

Particularly, PolyMirae staff discussed LYB's efforts to improve its DEI and the direction of profitability improvement along with deep interest in the Recycling Business during this town hall meeting.

Additionally, CEO Mitchell Killeen emphasized the importance of Sustainability and the Circular economy, saying: "With LYB's support, PolyMirae looks forward to seizing the leading opportunities in Decarbonization and Circularity fields in the East Asia region."