Posco Begin Construction of Plant that Will Use a New Strip Casting Process - News Item

On June 4, POSCO began construction of its poStrip Demo Plant at the Pohang Works, which will implement a new steel production technology called the strip-casting process. With a total investment of 98 billion KRW (84 million USD), completion is expected by June 2006. Having an expected annual production capacity of 600,000 tons, this facility will begin commercial production immediately following successful test runs.

Using this new strip-casting process, molten iron is injected into a casting pool between two cylindrical rollers. The rollers rotate and cool, immediately producing steel sheet. Whereas in the conventional casting process, semi-finished product (slab) is first made from molten iron using a molding frame and is then rolled to produce steel coils and sheets.

Since the process of heating and rolling slab is eliminated, the strip casting method will drastically reduce the consumption of energy, processing cost, and delivery time while increasing productivity.

Together with the company’s Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology (RIST), POSCO has been developing the strip casting process on a small-scale experimental basis since 1989 and has successfully developed original engineering technology critical to the strip casting facility. By the end of 2007, the demo plant is expected to produce results in both quality and productivity and to be ready for commercial use.

POSCO’s construction of the poStrip Demo Plant is expected to help the company realize its vision of steadily increasing corporate value through original technology. This year, the company expects FINEX, an internationally recognized, eco-friendly iron making process, to be in full operation for commercial use. Both are seen as driving forces behind future growth of sustainable management.

Posted June 8^th, 2004