POSCO Opens Path to Expand Sales of Corrosion-Resistant Special Steel 'Posmac' in China

After Over 2 Years of Effort, Ternary High-Corrosion-Resistant Steel Sheet Reflected as Material for Stabilizers in Chinese Building Certification Standards

Stabilizer product (left) and its installation on an actual building

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] After more than two years of effort, POSCO Group has succeeded in incorporating 'ternary high-corrosion-resistant galvanized steel sheet' into the Chinese construction stabilizer certification standards.

POSCO announced on the 17th that the China Association for Engineering Construction Standardization recently certified ternary high-corrosion-resistant galvanized steel sheet as a "suitable material" for manufacturing stabilizers in the Chinese construction industry.

This opens the door for POSCO to expand sales of its ternary high-corrosion-resistant galvanized steel sheet product, "PosMAC," in the Chinese stabilizer market, which is about 300,000 tons annually. Stabilizers are steel supports that prevent the detachment of equipment and piping inside building structures during earthquakes.

POSCO's ternary high-corrosion-resistant galvanized steel sheet is a product plated with three alloys?zinc, magnesium, and aluminum?on hot-rolled or cold-rolled steel sheets to prevent corrosion. It has corrosion resistance 5 to 10 times higher than general hot-dip galvanized steel sheets. The PosMAC product corresponds to this category at POSCO.

Since the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, China has enacted a law mandating the application of stabilizers in buildings, requiring all buildings to apply them from 2019 onward.

While the industry has mainly used hot-dip galvanized steel sheets as stabilizer materials, demands for alternative materials have increased due to longer building lifespans, improved corrosion resistance requirements, and environmental issues. However, ternary high-corrosion-resistant galvanized steel sheets like PosMAC were not reflected in Chinese construction certification standards, limiting their adoption as materials.

Accordingly, to expand PosMAC sales, POSCO registered as a proposing organization for the establishment of Chinese certification standards in 2019 and collaborated with POSCO China, POSCO International, and others to conduct technical exchanges with China Academy of Building Research Co., Ltd., and participated in online and offline public hearings to promote standard certification for ternary high-corrosion-resistant galvanized steel sheets.

In particular, POSCO encouraged strengthening quality standards such as corrosion resistance evaluation methods and minimum plating thickness settings, creating favorable conditions for the adoption of the competitive PosMAC product compared to other steel companies.

According to the new certification standard, PosMAC products can be applied starting December this year. POSCO plans to support customers by providing product utilization technologies such as roll forming and molding analysis to help them capture the Chinese stabilizer market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.