Kee Eun’s relationship with General Motors goes all the way back to the mid 2000s, when the South Korean says he was dispatched to Detroit by his employer, LG Chem, to work closely with the Big 3 automakers as the sun was coming up on the electrification of automobiles.

When GM conceived and debuted the Volt, the automaker’s plug-in hybrid, around the same time, LG saw a door open.

“We felt that was, of course, a great opportunity for us to enter into the business, showcasing our technology and delivery and preparedness for production,” Eun said. “That was kind of my first step getting into this business very seriously.”

The relationship between the two companies — both global leaders in their respective industries — has grown now to a joint venture partnership, Ultium Cells LLC in Lordstown, to mass produce battery cells for many of GM’s future electric vehicles.

Eun, 50, is president of the new company.

MICHIGAN AND OHIO

It was Eun who successfully helped establish LG Chem’s battery plant in Holland, Mich., in 2010. The facility has now grown to produce battery modules and packs, too.

“I do have hands-on experience, like how things get started from zero to full-blown production,” Eun said. “The advantage this time is that back then LG Chem was on our own. We had a lot of local support, but not as close as General Motors. By forming this joint venture between General Motors and LG Chem we are just one team, we are the same company so we bring strengths from both sides into this project.”

The local project is a $2.3 billion investment in Lordstown to build a battery-cell manufacturing plant. The site on 158 acres on Tod Avenue is immediately adjacent to the assembly plant GM shut down in March 2019.

GM will rely heavily on the facility to power several of its future electric models, including the GMC Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq and Cruise Origin, GM’s electric driverless vehicle.

It’s planned to use the Michigan plant as a training site for workers as construction continues on Ultium Cells. That strategy, Eun said, is something LG Chem has done previously with its plant expansions in China.

“We’ll hire engineers and operators much in advance before production is up and running in Lordstown; the building will be empty still,” Eun said. “Our plan is to send them to Holland … we’ll have our team, the operators, learn from the incumbent, the experts, the experienced workers.”

Doing so is also a benefit to Holland, he said, with local workers supporting operations in Michigan during the time spent there.

Also planned is to bring employees to Lordstown from Korea to staff the new plant. Eun called them foreign service employees.

“We definitely want to grow with the community; that was the experience in Holland,” Eun said. “We try to participate in the economic growth of the region, plus I want the community to realize that the technology we are bringing, both by LG Chem and General Motors, is state of the art technology — not only in terms of products, but in terms of processes and equipment.”

EUN

He joined LG Electronics in 2000 and moved to LG Chem in 2004, saying, “I was kind of the initiating member of its automotive business as a manager.”

A team leader at LG Electronics already had transferred to LG Chem to be leader of business strategy and recommended Eun join him, largely because of Eun’s international background. He thought Eun was ideal to expand LG Chem’s automotive applications into advanced countries, such as the U.S. and Japan.

“He kind of felt like I might fit into that role. Then that made me kind of convinced that made sense, plus I like the philosophy of what LG Chem is bringing to this industry,” Eun said.

Born in the southern part of South Korea, Eun said he moved to the capital city Seoul as a young boy. In his high school years, he moved to London, where he attended college and graduate school, the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Early on, he was inclined toward social science and then public service within the field of economics, but his preference gradually turned to private sector employment, he said.

STRENGTHS

The companies equally are splitting the cost of the investment in Lordstown, relieving some of the financial burden, but there are more strengths to the partnership, Eun said.

“General Motors has very extensive experience building plants everywhere in the United States. They have very strong partners in the construction industry, who is good or who is bad, who is strong or weak,” Eun said. “General Motors originally had become a pretty strong asset to carry out this project.”

LG Chem’s contribution is really unrivaled expertise in battery technology, chemistry processes and equipment. Plus, Eun said, LG Chem “has proven we are a capable supplier to General Motors and that’s why General Motors bought in.”

Ultium Cells, a limited liability corporation, will be governed by a board of directors staffed by GM and LG Chem. The operating team is accountable to the board.

Eun will lead the company and Tom Gallagher, who has more than 30 years of experience in various leadership roles with GM, will be plant director.

VIRAL OUTBREAK

The pandemic that has gripped the U.S. since March and Asia before that really hasn’t hampered the formation of the new company and construction of the plant. Those involved have met remotely online, which Eun admits is “sometimes less effective than in-person dialogue,” but not a serious obstacle to the project getting off the ground.

“Overall, it is turning out not as serious or as negative as we imagined in the beginning,” Eun said. “We are pretty much ahead of schedule because the environment we are working in currently, because it’s construction work it’s relatively safe for people to work. It’s outdoors in the fresh air. We don’t have any close contact in a closed environment. That’s fortunate because we are currently in the state of construction instead of operation, so with that we haven’t really had serious issues or roadblocks to move forward.”

rselak@tribtoday.com