Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
POSCO's steel output reaches 1 billion tons
Workers take a break at a blast furnace in POSCO's steel mill in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, in this Jan. 1, 2018, file photo / Korea Times file
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo
POSCO has reached 1 billion tons of cumulative crude steel production despite the global slowdown and other downside factors, the company said Thursday.
The steelmaker said the amount of crude steel processed since 1973, when the company produced its first iron, is equivalent to 1 billion passenger cars.
POSCO celebrated 100 million tons of crude steel production in January 1989, followed by 500 million tons in 2005.
Although it took 32 years to go from 100 million tons to 500 million tons, the additional 500 million tons was achieved in just 14 years due to technological developments.
“With less than 50 years of steelmaking experience, POSCO has managed to achieve a next-generation, innovative steel-producing technology,” the company said.
“Despite the slowdown of the global economy, we are now a leading company in the world's steel industry.”
As POSCO flourished, the country's core manufacturing sectors, such as the automotive and shipbuilding industries, also saw incredible growth.
In 2018, POSCO produced 37.7 million tons of steel while its shipbuilding volume reached 7.7 million compensated gross tonnage (CGT) and car production capacity over 4.09 million.
POSCO's steel plants in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, and Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, are the largest and second-largest integrated steelmaking operations in the world.
In July, POSCO was selected as one of 10 “lighthouse factories” by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for its leadership in applying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to drive financial and operational impacts.
With the feat, POSCO became the first Korean company to earn the recognition.
It has also been recognized as the most competitive steelmaker in the world for the 10th consecutive year by industry tracker World Steel Dynamics.