Blog&News

The Year of the Fire Horse has arrived. Red symbolizes strong energy and driving force, while the horse represents speed, momentum, and execution. Together, these meanings send a clear message to Heesung Catalysts as it continues its decisive journey toward Vision 2030. Building on the strategic choices and execution accumulated over the past several years, 2026 marks a pivotal year in which those efforts are translated into tangible results.

On January 5, Heesung Catalysts officially marked the start of 2026 by holding an online New Year’s kickoff meeting. During the session, CEO Hyun-Sik Han reaffirmed the standards and ways of working that guide the organization and outlined the direction Heesung Catalysts must pursue amid an industrial environment where uncertainty has become structural rather than temporary.

Firmly Maintaining Vision 2030 Even in a Rapidly Changing Environment

In 2025, despite sweeping political, economic, and social changes both at home and abroad, Heesung Catalysts maintained a steady course toward Vision 2030 through company-wide efforts centered on its five business divisions. Guided by four strategic priorities outlined in last year’s New Year’s address—sustainable growth, exploration of new business opportunities, fundamental strengthening of business competitiveness, and enhancement of safety standards—each organization continued to challenge existing practices and pursue improvement rather than settling into familiar ways of working.

2026: Moving Beyond Limits Toward Our Goals

2026 is positioned as a year in which the automotive catalysts business maintains its stable trajectory while new businesses enter a full-scale growth phase. It is also a critical point at which the feasibility of achieving Vision 2030 can be more clearly assessed. Accordingly, it was emphasized that bold business plans alone are not sufficient; fundamental changes in organizational culture and ways of working must take place in parallel.

Establishing a Performance-Driven Culture

Vision 2030 cannot be achieved through incremental growth or the accumulation of effort alone. In an environment where securing an advantage over market-leading competitors and opening new markets are essential, a performance-driven culture grounded in collaboration, communication, and a willingness to take on challenges is indispensable.

In this context, it was underscored that both organizational and individual performance should be evaluated not by the scale of effort, but by the degree to which it makes a tangible contribution to achieving Vision 2030. Evaluation and compensation systems will continue to be strengthened so that employees who take on difficult but necessary challenges, move beyond existing limits, and create meaningful results through new approaches are fairly recognized.

Fundamentally Improving Organizational Efficiency

The technological capabilities, quality competitiveness, and delivery responsiveness built through the automotive catalysts business have long been core strengths of Heesung Catalysts. Leveraging these strengths, we are pursuing the stable operation of our automotive catalysts business while simultaneously expanding new business areas.

At the same time, as the business environment continues to evolve rapidly, existing work practices and operational structures must be upgraded in line with the next stage of growth. To this end, we plan to review the limitations of current practices and processes and refine them into structures that enable a stronger focus on value creation.

Through these efforts, we aim to strengthen our ability to respond to a dynamic business environment starting in 2026, further enhance the competitiveness of our existing businesses, and steadily build a foundation that supports the stable growth of new businesses.

Firmly Embedding a Culture of Safety

Heesung Catalysts recognizes safety as the starting point of all performance and a core value that takes precedence over any management objective. The CEO shared the view that a “safe workplace” cannot be achieved through declarations or slogans alone, and that on-site safety must serve as the foundation for stable business operations and sustainable growth.

He also expressed a firm commitment to promptly establishing effective measures to strengthen safety at worksites and to building a system in which execution is systematically managed and monitored.

“Safety is an investment in the sustainability of our company—and above all, the most fundamental investment we make to protect ourselves and our families.” – Hyun-Sik Han, CEO

Building Competitiveness Edge Through a One-Team Mindset

2026 is expected to be a year in which past efforts translate into concrete results and the collective capabilities of the organization take a meaningful step forward toward Vision 2030. To achieve this, an organizational mindset that creates change through execution—rooted in mutual trust and a shared sense of direction—is essential.

As standards for performance, approaches to organizational collaboration, and attitudes toward safety become more clearly defined, our ability to respond to change will naturally be strengthened. When individual roles are closely aligned and the entire organization operates under a common set of principles, Heesung Catalysts’ competitiveness becomes even more resilient.

We will make 2026 a year in which individual efforts converge into a single, powerful direction, continuing our steady march toward Vision 2030 with clarity and confidence.