Aditya Birla Group Chairman Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla Visits Novelis (South Korea)

ChiHyang Chung 
26 May 2015

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, of which Novelis is an integral part, visited South Korea on May 18th and 19th, as the Co-Chair of the first ever India Korea CEOs forum. The forum was addressed by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Korean President Park Geun-hye during the two-day trip of Prime Minister Modi. Mr. Birla also visited Novelis’ Yeongju plant, where he met with employees and toured the entire facility, including the rolling mills and recycling center.

Mr. Birla’s sojourn in Seoul began with a community reception for Prime Minister Modi which was organized by Indian residents in Korea. Over 2,000 Indian and Korean guests gathered to give a rousing reception to India’s Prime Minister at the Grand Hall of Peace, Kyunghee University.

Mr. Birla later visited the Blue House, the Presidential Palace, and met President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Modi at the banquet hosted by the President.

Mr. Birla’s second day in Korea was equally packed, beginning with his address to the India-Korea CEOs Forum, which he co-chaired with Mr. Park Yong-mann, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chairman of the Doosan Group. President Park and Prime Minister Modi made a speech as well.

Mr. Birla complimented Korea on its spectacular economic success. “Its overall development is a source of inspiration for all developing economies, especially in Asia”, he averred.

“As an Indian multinational, I am proud to say that the Aditya Birla Group is the largest Indian investor in Korea, with the presence of two companies: Novelis in aluminum rolling and recycling, and Birla Carbon in specialty chemicals”, said Mr. Birla. Both Novelis and Birla Carbon’s growth in Korea illustrates the successful partnership between India and Korea”, he remarked.

Not only did Mr. Birla introduce Novelis to well-known businessmen in Korea, he also motored a 350 kilometer stretch to Novelis’ Yeongju plant. He was extremely impressed with the size of the plant, home to Asia’s largest aluminum used beverage can recycling center. Colleagues from Birla Carbon, the carbon black manufacturing company owned by the Aditya Birla Group, located in Yeosu in the south coast of Korea, also came to the Yeongju Plant for the meeting. Incidentally, this was Mr. Birla’s first plant visit to a Novelis facility.

During this memorable visit, Mr. Birla said, “Our revenues are in excess of US$40 billion. More than 50 percent comes from our global operations outside India and Novelis is a very large part of that. I am very proud of Novelis, which I look upon as the jewel in ABG’s crown”. Expressing his confidence in Novelis, Mr. Birla commented, “I know you have some business issues, including the metal price difference between LME and SHFE (Shanghai Future Exchange). However, I am confident you will do everything you can to overcome the challenges within your domain and control”. Mr. Birla applauded Birla Carbon’s work, commending them for achieving excellent efficiencies in their operations. He congratulated both Novelis and Birla Carbon teams for their valuable contribution.

The Yeongju plant employees welcomed Mr. Birla with lovely banners and signages. They felt deeply honored. His visit gave them an opportunity to learn more about their parent Group and made them feel connected with the Aditya Birla Group.

Mr. Birla became the Chairman of one of the largest business groups in India at the age of 28 after the sudden demise of his father in 1995. Since then, he has increased the Group’s revenue 20 fold over the last 20 years to make it a US$40 billion company. The Aditya Birla Group is not just about business, it is also sincerely committed to social and community responsibilities. Under Mr. Birla’s leadership, the Group is among the most admired and respected companies. ABG has topped Nielsen’s Corporate Image Monitor in India for the third successive year, emerging as best in class on all counts, such as Group brand, governance standards, transparency, customer primacy and CSR engagement. Novelis is proud to be a part of this Group.

Novelis, the world’s largest producer of rolled aluminum products, has plants in Ulsan and Yeongju in Korea, together producing about 900 kilo tons of products, which are sold all over the region to the beverage can, electronics and automotive sectors. At Yeongju, it has Asia’s largest aluminum recycling plant. Its other major manufacturing facility in Korea is Birla Carbon, producing about 170,000 tons of specialty chemicals used in the tyre, inks, plastics and paints industries. ABG’s Birla Carbon is the world No.1 carbon black company.

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