POSCO’s new portfolio boils down to 8 specialty steels

An automobile replica made with POSCO's HyperNO steel is displayed inside Park1538 Gwangyang, a POSCO museum, in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province in this undated photo. Courtesy of POSCO

Major steelmaker POSCO has revamped its product portfolio by streamlining it into eight “strategic steels” for global markets.

The company said Wednesday that the eight key product categories will be managed under its new “One Team” system, which seeks to eliminate internal limitations posed by different bureaus and divisions. The renewed operation is the company’s response to rising low-priced steel imports in Korea and nontariff barriers in its global markets.

POSCO last February launched four project teams tasked of operating half of its strategic steels: stainless steel for next-generation growth markets; PosMAC for renewable energy; high-manganese steel; and premium electric arc furnace steel.

Last December, the company also introduced other project teams for the rest of its strategic steels: heavy plates for energy infrastructures; electrical steel for power transformers; GigaSteel (ultra-high-strength lightweight steel); and HyperNO (high-efficiency non-oriented electrical steel).

POSCO said the eight project teams have all begun operations. Each team individually takes charge of an entire steel mill procedure from research to manufacturing and sale. The project teams are allocated to the company’s two main mills in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, and Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province. There, research findings will directly be applied to each of the teams’ production.

To meet growing global demand for power generation, Pohang Steelworks is seeking to becoming a leading energy steel mill by focusing on developing and improving performance of energy steel materials used in the oil, gas, power generation and renewable energy sectors. Those steels include high-functional heavy plates, high-strength stainless steel, highly corrosion-resistant PosMAC and electrical steel for power applications.

Gwangyang Steelworks, whose primary focus is automotive steel sheets, will strengthen its competitiveness as a specialized steel mill for new mobility. This strategy aims to secure steel industry leadership in autonomous driving and future mobility markets. To cater to rising demand for low-carbon products, the plant will also focus on new-growth steel materials including GigaSteel, HyperNO, high-manganese steel and high-grade electric arc furnace steel.

POSCO faced export hurdles as the United States increased tariffs for steels, reducing the company’s U.S. export by 8 percent from previous year. To improve steel export, Korea earlier this month introduced the Special Act on the Enhancement of Competitiveness and Carbon Neutral Transition of the Steel Industry, better known as K-Steel Act. The company’s strategic steels cater to the act’s goals of introducing more carbon-reduced products and advancing export channels.

During POSCO Group's tech forum last November, Chairman Chang In-hwa said the company will “complete its future competitiveness with innovative technologies by focusing resources on core strategic products and innovative processes.” He followed this up during this year’s New Year’s address by emphasizing the group must “strengthen its market leadership by completing the portfolio of the eight strategic products that are the core of future industries.”