Record Output Tops 2007 Steel News
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
As global steel businesses finish off another year of strong output and demand growth, a local industry association singled out Korean steel makers’ first-time combined crude steel production of 50 million metric tons as the No. 1 of top 10 news for this year.
A Korean Iron and Steel Association poll of 43 respondents, among those who are the industry’s business executives, professors and analysts, said Sunday that this year’s production breakthrough opened a new era for local players, mainly led by Korea’s largest and world’s fourth largest steel maker POSCO.
Steered by company chief Lee Ku-taek, POSCO’s accomplishments are highlighted in almost half of the 10 shortlisted items.
Some of them include the company’s successful commercialization of a new, innovative iron-making furnace, FINEX, which significantly cuts costs and pollution. Capable of churning out 1.5 million tons of molten steel annually, the eco-friendly plant that began operation in May is set to boost POSCO’s yearly production capacity to 34 million tons, seating it as the world’s No. 2 by 2008.
The steel group’s aggressive overseas expansion, including a $490 million cold-rolled mill to produce 1.2 million tons in Vietnam, along with the roll-out of Dongkuk Steel Mill, the country’s No. 3 steel maker, to build a $2 billion steel plant in Brazil next year, were also one of the top newsmakers.
POSCO CEO’s election as the 31st chairman of the biggest global steel body, the International Iron & Steel Institute (IISI), in October was also noted as a shining moment in the local industry.
Among others on the list were the ongoing integrated steel mill plan of the country’s No. 1 player Hyundai Steel, the shortage of local steel plate supply due to the brisk growth of domestic shipbuilders and profit polarization among steel groups.