POSCO resumes hot-rolled steel production at typhoon-hit plant

The No. 2 hot-rolled steel production plant in Pohang [Source : POSCO]

South Korean steelmaker POSCO has resumed operations at its key steel plant after it was suspended for about three months due to a typhoon.

The company restarted the No. 2 hot-rolled steel production plant in Pohang on Dec. 15, normalizing operations at 13 out of 18 plants after they were damaged from the typhoon on Sept. 6, POSCO said in a statement released on Sunday. The plant is responsible for 5 million tons of hot-rolled steel, or 33 percent of POSCO’s 14.8 million tons of production a year.

Hot-rolled steel is widely used in the industry to manufacture mechanical and architectural structures, automobile structures, and cold-rolled steel products.

POSCO has increased production of its steel mill in Gwangyang and imported steel products from overseas as a solution to minimize losses from the suspension.

The resumption was earlier than expected thanks to the dedication of employees and partners and the support from the global steel industry, especially JSW of India, which readily decided to ship its motor drives to POSCO. The typhoon-damaged plant had to replace 11 out of 15 motor drives that control rolling mill motors.

POSCO said it plans to normalize the remaining five plants, including the No. 1 and No. 2 cold-rolled stainless steel mills and the No. 1 electrical steel mill within January of next year.