Gwangyang Steelworks Achieves Historic Milestone in 34 Years: Cumulative Domestic and Export Shipments of Steel Products Reach 500 Million Tons

Achieved 500 Million Tons of Domestic and Export Shipments in 34 Years Since First Molten Steel Production in 1987
World's Best Automotive Steel Plant... Capable of Shipping 23 Million Tons of Steel Products Annually

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks (Director Kim Ji-yong) held a commemorative ceremony on the 19th after achieving a cumulative export shipment of 200 million tons of steel products in April and a cumulative shipment of 500 million tons combining domestic and export shipments.

At the ceremony, only a limited number of attendees participated to prevent COVID-19 cluster infections, including Kim Ji-yong, Director of Gwangyang Steelworks; Kim Kyung-ho, Deputy Mayor of Gwangyang City; Lee Kwang-yong, Chairman of the Gwangyang Steelworks Partner Association; Jang Han-chae, Chairman of the Gwangyang Port and Harbor Labor Union; as well as officials from Gwangyang Steelworks and Gwangyang City, representatives of partner companies, and logistics-related companies.

Since producing its first molten iron in April 1987, Gwangyang Steelworks achieved the remarkable milestone of 500 million tons of cumulative product shipments in about 34 years since the initial shipment in May of the same year. When converted to length, this amounts to approximately 44.3 million kilometers, which is enough to circle the Earth about 1,100 times.

Gwangyang Steelworks began full-scale production and sales by operating its first hot-rolling mill with an annual capacity of 2.7 million tons in 1987. Through the comprehensive completion of five phases of facilities, it has continuously expanded its production capacity. Currently, it has established an annual production system of 21 million tons, securing the world's number one production capacity for a single steelworks.

Correspondingly, the steel product shipment capacity has also grown. Since starting exports to Japan, China, and other countries via nearby small vessels in 1987, it has recently undergone renewal investments to equip a total of 15 berths with an annual shipment capacity of 23 million tons, enabling the achievement of the historic record of 500 million tons in cumulative domestic and export shipments.

In particular, Gwangyang Steelworks aims to grow into the world's best and largest specialized steelworks for automotive steel sheets. It has established an annual production system of 9.5 million tons of automotive steel sheets and supplies high-quality, high-strength automotive steel sheets to leading global automobile companies such as Volkswagen, Ford, BMW, and Toyota.

On this day, Kim Ji-yong, Director of Gwangyang Steelworks, said, “The great achievement of 500 million tons of steel product shipments was made possible by the collaboration and hard work of all employees of Gwangyang Steelworks and everyone present today.” He added, “Going forward, POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks, as a corporate citizen, will do its best to become a factory with the world's best competitiveness based on sustainable growth and leap forward as a 100-year company.”

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