Chapter 170: Cracks in HWS (1)

On the screen, the entire employee roster—including the HWS representative, core executives, technical staff, field management, and assembly personnel—was organized.

I spoke.

“Take a look. What do you see?”

Choi Seo-jun, not knowing what I was referring to at first, narrowed his eyes and scanned the list.

Although the colors differed by rank, nothing particularly stood out.

“Hmm, most of the technical positions are employees dispatched from Korea, and the management is filled with Americans.”

He scrolled further down the screen, and at some point, his finger stopped.

“But most of the field workers are Americans? Seeing how only technical positions are concentrated with Koreans… Ah!”

He frowned and looked at me.

“Representative, is there perhaps some kind of factional fight going on?”

As soon as those words were finished, a smile brushed my lips. I felt like a teacher looking at a student who had gotten the right answer.

“As expected of our Director Choi. You have a good sense.”

Choi Seo-jun flinched his shoulders slightly.

“Is it true?”

I took the tablet back and marked several names.

“If it is like this, there will be friction between the technical team and management within HWS. The American headquarters side might exclude the Korean technical staff and stick together tightly among themselves.”

I turned off the screen and explained.

“In this state, even if we win the U.S. Navy MRO business, it will be difficult for work to proceed properly. It is not a market you enter just by making good documents.”

HarborWorks Shipyard. Also known as HWS. It was an American subsidiary that Taeseong Heavy Industries had acquired a few years ago.

It was located near Norfolk, Virginia, where U.S. Navy shipyards were concentrated.

It was situated right in the middle of the so-called naval maintenance cluster.

Originally, HWS was a regional mid-sized shipyard that had maintained its existence for decades by handling auxiliary naval maintenance and merchant ship conversions.

However, as the recession in the U.S. shipbuilding industry dragged on, it eventually could not hold out and was put up for sale.

When Taeseong Heavy Industries acquired this company, it was for an amount close to a bargain price.

The purpose of the acquisition was for a bridgehead to enter the U.S. Navy MRO market.

This was because to bring Korea's shipbuilding technology into the U.S. procurement market, an American corporation, American facilities, and an American shipyard were needed.

After acquiring HWS, Taeseong Heavy Industries made a peculiar decision.

They chose to maintain the existing American system for all management while only dispatching core technical groups from the Korean headquarters.

On the surface, it seemed like an ideal structure that utilized the strengths of both sides, but in my view, that decision was the start of the problem.

The American management had a strong pride in being the original owners of this company.

The technical staff from Korea were highly skilled, but without decision-making power for the entire organization, they only had to handle equipment improvement and technical processes.

In between, the American field workers maintained an awkward distance from the technical team while watching the management's mood.

While nothing appeared problematic on the outside, if you looked inside, it became a structure where technology, management, and field personnel were disconnected from each other.

The biggest problem HWS had was neither aging equipment nor budget.

It was that the people were divided. And that problem could catch the ankles of HJ Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering at any time in its pursuit of the U.S. Navy MRO business.

Choi Seo-jun took a breath.

He could not continue his words for a while.

While he seemed to know what the problem was, it still did not seem to hit home for him.

“Hmm, still, how should I put it? It might be a bit uncomfortable in the field, but would it really be such a big problem as you say, Representative?”

Although he was speaking cautiously, his honest true feelings were mixed in.

“The Taeseong Heavy Industries technical team has definite skills, and the manpower is being supplied stably. Having a bit of a mismatch with management is something that happens in any company.”

I breathed out slowly and spoke.

“Director Choi, you must not judge by only looking at the surface discomfort. This is not just a level of being a little uncomfortable.”

Choi Seo-jun raised his head. I opened my mouth while thinking deeply about something.

“Taeseong Heavy Industries views HWS as a forward base for the U.S. Navy MRO business. A single small crack created here could later spread into major accidents like contract cancellations or maintenance delays.”

I tapped the table with my finger. It was an unconscious action.

“No matter how perfectly we do it, if distrust builds up in the field, it will eventually explode as a quality risk.”

A silence flowed for a moment.

A conviction stemming from experience was reflected in my eyes.

“It is the same at the Korean headquarters. A single word ignored insignificantly by the management side can lead to personnel departure in the field and eventually develop into the cause of falling productivity.”

Choi Seo-jun’s pupils shook greatly.

He had also heard things of that nature.

I turned on the tablet and stared intently at the American management names and Korean technical staff names shown on the screen.

“If we return to Korea without fixing this structure, we will not be able to protect the MRO business even after winning it.”

Determination was nested in my voice.

It held the conviction that this was an urgent problem that had to be solved right now.

“You must not always check only the documents. Teamwork is the lifeblood of a shipyard. No matter how superior the technology is, if the inside is divided, you can never gain trust.”

Choi Seo-jun had no choice but to nod slowly.

He had finally understood.

I spoke while turning off the tablet.

“I suppose I should go and see for myself. Exactly how HWS is currently.”

***

A winter morning in Virginia was weather where the cold seeped deep into the bones.

While the sunlight descended onto the road where the light fog had not yet cleared, that light was insufficient to warm the frozen air on the ground.

The black vehicle carrying my party was leisurely driving toward Norfolk.

It moved toward the destination where the massive HWS shipyard was located.

The frost on the car window was slowly melting away.

Hong Jang-gun was in the driver's seat, Choi Sang-gyu, the Financial Director of Taeseong Heavy Industries, was in the passenger seat, and I, Lim Hyunjun, was in the back seat, with Director Choi Seo-jun, President Yu Hyeon-seok, and Secretary Cho Hana sitting together beside me.

After a moment of silence, I was the first to open my mouth.

While wearing a thick winter coat and staring out the window, I spoke.

“Director Choi Sang-gyu, how is the atmosphere at HWS currently? Besides the financial aspect, I am curious about how the atmosphere in the field is as well.”

Director Choi Sang-gyu looked back and spoke in a low voice like his gentle impression.

“There are no problems you need to be particularly concerned about. Sales performance is stable without major fluctuations compared to last year, and the operation rate is also maintained normally. Financially, it is at a level of maintaining the status quo without any huge bleeding as of now.”

I answered shortly and then swept down my chin once.

“I see.”

My gaze was still looking somewhere far away and seemed suspicious of something.

At that time, Director Choi Seo-jun asked.

“Director Choi Sang-gyu, it is intriguing that the majority of HWS's existing management has been maintained even after the acquisition by Taeseong Heavy Industries. Usually, when a company is acquired, new core executives are placed to seek corporate structural innovation, so why did you make this choice?”

Choi Sang-gyu caught his breath for a moment.

A slightly complex feeling about how he should answer that was visible.

“Hmm, from what I have gathered… HWS is a company with strong specificities that has cooperated closely with the U.S. Navy for a very long time.”

He stopped for a moment and then continued cautiously.

“So the headquarters also saw that keeping the existing management, who knows the local situation and the Department of Defense network better than anyone, would reduce unnecessary friction after the acquisition. A sudden personnel replacement had the risk of throwing cold water on the relationship with the local government or the Navy.”

He added further.

“Not just the management, but the workers from this region also have very strong regional pride and closedness, so I know the decision was made to a point that does not give a big shock to the personnel structure.”

Listening quietly, Choi Seo-jun spoke in a low voice while crossing his arms.

“If those are the reasons, I can understand, but since only the technical team is Korean, I think internal division could arise. A shipyard is a place where sophisticated technological power and field experience must mesh together tightly like gears, after all.”

In fact, the part Choi Seo-jun just mentioned was not much different from what I had talked about yesterday.

Difficulty reflected on Choi Sang-gyu’s expression, and he opened his mouth as if to explain.

“Hmm, well. The headquarters views that if high-skilled Korean technical staff join, it will rather breathe vitality into a downbeat field and cooperation will go well.”

The moment I heard those words, my expression stiffened minutely.

Having been quietly appreciating the scenery outside the window, I merely nodded my head without a word while interlacing my hands.

That nodding did not mean I understood.

I had merely confirmed once again that Taeseong Heavy Industries was unaware of the problem I had pointed out.

In a little while, we will arrive at the HWS shipyard.

Since it was something I would soon find out even if I did not open my mouth now, there was simply no need to explain.

The car we were in stopped in front of the giant main gate of the target, HWS shipyard.

Amidst the light fog, the giant crane of the shipyard felt intimidating.

As if a giant waking up from sleep, it showed its outline while boasting its grandeur.

Hong Jang-gun’s powerful voice broke the silence.

“We have arrived.”

My eyes began to shine sharply and intensely once again.

Eyes as keen as a cold blade that does not lose its light even in the fog.

I slowly placed my hand on the car door.

The cold air brushed my face.

A middle-aged man wearing a dark-colored padding jacket waved his hand while wearing leather gloves.

His short hair, neatly trimmed, made me feel immediately that he was from a military background.

He was Robert Hamilton, the General Manager of HWS.

“Representative Lim, welcome to HarborWorks Shipyard.”

General Manager Hamilton’s voice seemed like he was doing the work he had to do rather than the welcome for a guest.

I shook hands with a calm smile and answered with fluent pronunciation.

“Thank you for inviting me. It must have been a sudden schedule, so thank you for coming out like this.”

Hamilton turned his gaze to the side.

Following that, he shared greetings with Director Choi Seo-jun, President Yu Hyeon-seok, Secretary Cho Hana, as well as Director Choi Sang-gyu of Taeseong Heavy Industries.

In the meantime, Hong Jang-gun parked the car and ran over.

Only after Hamilton shared greetings with Hong Jang-gun last did he move.

“The weather is cold. Let us go inside.”

My party moved toward where Hamilton guided us.

As we opened the glass door and passed through the lobby, a large photo hanging on the wall greeted us.

It was a photo showing what projects HWS had done until now.

Having visited shipyards several times, we were now familiar with such photos and did not look around in curiosity like the first time.

After a moment, as we entered the conference room, Hamilton opened his mouth.

“Please have some warm tea first. The temperature has dropped particularly much today, so it is cold.”

As if waiting, an employee placed warm coffee and tea on the table.

I lifted the cup from which steam was rising and took a sip.

Although we came from the headquarters to inspect, not a single manager-level personnel except for the General Manager came out.

‘If it is to this extent, they are openly ignoring us.’