LS Cable to step up ESG efforts by recycling wooden cable drums

LS Cable & System Ltd. is slated to begin recycling wooden cable drums as part of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) management efforts. The South Korean wire and cable manufacturer will build an online platform for trading used cable drums and start operation in September, the company announced on Monday.      

Wooden cable drums, used for storage and transportation of cables, are normally disposed of after one use. The online trading platform, named On Drum, will share information on used cable drums and supply repaired and repackaged drums to cable manufacturers via collection and recycling service providers.    

The platform will be operated by G&P Wood, LS Cable’s second-tier subsidiary and a wooden cable drum maker. G&P Wood will digitalize and systemize the recycling process for waste reduction and resource circulation, G&P Wood CEO Lee Kyung-ro said.  

LS Cable will jointly launch a pilot project with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) for the wooden cable drum recycling under a memorandum of understanding signed by both parties on July 1. They will cooperate in collecting and reusing the wooden drums from KHNP’s construction sites. KHNP, a subsidiary of state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), provides 26.7% of electric power in Korea with nuclear, water and renewable energy.

LS Cable is the largest wire and cable manufacturer in Korea. Founded in 1962, it was separated from the Korean conglomerate LG Corp. in 2003 and rebranded as LS Cable in 2005. The cable manufacturer supplies submarine, extra-high voltage, high-temperature superconducting cables to power authorities and telecommunications firms in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

In July 2021, the company announced it will invest 185.9 billion won ($143.2 million) to expand its high-voltage underwater cable production facilities. Once completed in April 2023, the submarine cable manufacturing plant will raise its capacity by 50% and boost the company's revenue by 300 billion won, LS Cable said at the time. 

Write to Hyung-Suk Song and Su-Bin Lee at click@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.