- STX Offshore & Shipbuilding supplied invigorating foods and fruits earlier than usual

- The company supplied special cooling jackets and installed dryers for safety boots to maximize efficiency at work STX Offshore & Shipbuilding (President: Kim Kang-soo, www.stxons.com) started fighting the hot summer heat which came earlier than usual.

The company has taken various measures to prevent field workers from losing efficiency in the sizzling summer.

First off, the Jinhae-based shipbuilder made a special menu from early July to late August to help increase strength and stimulate appetite of the employees, serving them such representative summer treats as Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), Yeongyang-dakjuk (nutritious chicken soup), Doganitang (ox kneebone soup), Hanbang-galbijjim (braised short ribs with medicinal herbs), Chueotang (mudfish soup) and Jangeotang (eel soup). It offered the foods earlier than last year due to the earlier summer heat.

Additionally, the company increased the number of ice machines and water coolers by 30 percent compared with the previous year, supplied air cooling jackets and installed big fans and air conditioners in workshops, set up large air conditioners in the employee lounge to keep the workers away from heat for some time.

The shipbuilder, in particular, buys about 1,000 watermelons every week from June to August at Central Market with which the company formed a relationship in 2006 as part of reviving traditional markets in Jinhae, keeps them cold and the following day distributes them to employees. It also offers nutritious roast grain powder twice a week.

Noh Tae-jin, a field employee at STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, said, ¡°This year summer came earlier, so it is harder to work in the field. However, I can gladly forget the heat for a while by eating watermelons and invigorating foods with colleagues.¡±

An official of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding said, ¡°Much of the shipbuilding work is done outdoors, so the employees have to work on or under the steel plates heated up more than 60 degrees Celsius in the midsummer. That¡¯s why working for the shipbuilding company in the summer is compared to a war.¡± ¡°Therefore, we do all we can to help our employees beat the heat in a healthy way. Besides the various summer treats offered, we have installed dryers for their safety boots wet with sweat,¡± the official added.