By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
POSCO said Friday that it has opened its first magnesium sheet plant as it seeks to be a local and regional supplier of the metal increasingly used in computers, mobile phones and digital cameras.
The Korean steel giant invested 25.5 billion won in the facility, which is expecting to see an annual output of 3,000 tons.
``We're looking forward that the magnesium sheet plant will be one of our future growth engines and that this would be our chance to mature as a global materials company,'' POSCO CEO Lee Ku-taek said in a dedication ceremony at Suncheon, the southwestern city.
Although the world's magnesium sheet market is going through a quickening period, industry experts expect that a speedy rise will soon occur, said a POSCO spokesman.
``As China and Japan are working toward developing their production technologies, it's timely for POSCO to have completed this plant, which would put us in the lead,'' he said.
Electronics, bag, glasses and sports goods makers have been showing sharp demand in magnesium for its lightness, malleability, reusability and strength, along with its environmental friendliness.
POSCO's new plant will melt lumps of magnesium ingot and flatten it into thin sheets through the strip-casting process, eliminating the timely middle procedures.
Among the 400 guests who participated in the ceremony were South Jeolla Province Governor Park Joon-yung, Suncheon Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu and Deputy Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Kim Yong-geun.