China’s Lead hires LG Energy executive as Korea head

Chinese battery equipment firm Lead Intelligent has hired an ex-LG Energy Solution executive as head of its South Korean operation, TheElec has learned.

The Chinese firm hired Kwon Tae-joon, who previously worked at LG Chem’s petrochemical business and LG Energy Solution’s energy storage system business.

Kwon had started working at Lead’s South Korean unit in August, sources said.

Lead has been hiring Koreans as heads of its operation in the country since 2018. Those from PNE Solution and Samsung SDI had headed the operation prior to Kwon.

Lead is China’s largest battery equipment maker, has grown exponentially thanks to its supply to CATL.

Its customers outside of China include Sweden’s Nortvolt and South Korea’s SK On. It supplies stacking equipment to the latter.

SK On had used mostly equipment by Lead for its pilot line in Changzhou, China for mixing and formation kits.

Sources said Lead is aiming to supply logistics automation equipment such as automated guided vehicles to South Korean battery cell companies. The vehicles are used to move the reels made from the electrode process to the assembly line.

The field is where the company is ahead of some of its South Korean battery equipment rivals.

LG Energy Solution is also working to apply more automation in its factories, which will likely make Lead’s solutions attractive for the company, sources said.

Lead uses programmable logic controllers of Siemens, which also services LG Energy Solution.