High-intensity Restructuring
SK Innovation is slimming itself down on a large scale in order to survive adverse market conditions.
For instance, it is currently liquidating HelioVolt, the American solar cell manufacturer it acquired in 2011. It tried to sell the firm from last year amid increasing uncertainties in the photovoltaic power market, but failed in the end. It is estimated to have lost 67 billion won (US$62 million).
At the same time, it is focusing on electric vehicle batteries instead of less profitable energy storage systems. In December last year, SK Continental E-motion was shut down and the Gochang ESS Complex Project was stopped. Most of the employees have quit, with no new employment scheduled. SK Innovation is concentrating its resources on Beijing BESK Technology these days.
In the oil refining industry, the center of the company’s business portfolio, it is working on higher efficiency and technological advancement. For example, the Jurong Aromatics Complex located in Singapore and invested by SK Chemicals, SK Engineering & Construction and SK Gas is altering its facilities to accommodate crude oil-based instead of condensate-based production. The plant produces 800,000 tons of paraxylene, 450,000 tons of benzene, 650,000 tons of mixed naphtha, and 280,000 tons of LPG a year. The conversion is because crude oil has become cheaper than the natural gas-based volatile liquid hydrocarbon lately.