By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Korean steel giant POSCO is making it clear that it wants to become more than a supplier of steel sheets for carmakers, as it invited some 300 major auto and parts makers to introduce ways to expand its role in the production process, starting from design.
At the company's first Early Vendor Involvement (EVI) forum Wednesday, POSCO said the world's fourth-largest steel maker plans to raise its steel sheet production by 8 percent to 6.2 million tons in 2008.
EVI, a method that integrates suppliers from the initial stage, is considered to effectively save time and costs for manufacturers ― especially automakers ― as both sides can better understand the other's needs.
``Steel and auto producers must develop a new paradigm in partnership to continue solid growth together,'' POSCO President Yoon Seok-man told an audience of officials from global makers, including GM, Peugeot, Toyota and Nissan at a Seoul hotel.
After kicking off its auto steel sheet business in 2001, POSCO produced about 1.7 million tons the first year and churned out almost 6 million tons last year.
Company officials say the EVI practice will help bring POSCO's presence in the industry to a whole new level.
``We're going from plain suppliers to helping automakers grasp the overall production trend, design parts, carry out simulations and share sheet processing technology,'' he said, adding that all of this will help the cooperation secure a stable market.
Participating auto company executives welcomed POSCO's enthusiasm for involvement, as they agreed that cooperation will enhance quality and production.
GM's James Fekete, who specializes in technology, said POSCO's Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) is a high-end product that improves a car's safety and gas mileage, stressing that GM expects further co-development in this area and more.
S. Kotagiri of Magna International, a leading global supplier of auto parts, said the company is eyeing the Korean steel maker's press forming technology for implementation in their goods.
POSCO said its EVI initiative will be expanded to other parts of the world to facilitate better communication with their buyers.