Korea's 'Iron Heart' Beats Again... POSCO Pohang Steelworks to 'Normalize' Within the Year

Countdown to Restart of Pohang Steelworks 2nd Hot Rolling Mill on the Afternoon of the 23rd
37% of Pohang Steelworks' Annual Production of 13.5 Million Tons, 5 Million Tons, Passed
Hope to Save Facilities After Factory Shutdown Due to Typhoon Damage
Factory Turned into 'Mudfield', Recovery Work Carried Out with 1 Million Person-Days of Cooperation

On the 23rd, employees of POSCO Pohang Steelworks are carrying out restoration work at the 2nd hot rolling mill. Photo by POSCO

[Asia Economy (Pohang) = Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] "Next month, this factory will roar back to life. I believe that South Korea's steel industry will bloom again."

On the 23rd of this month, in front of the 2nd Hot Rolling Mill at Pohang Steelworks in Gyeongbuk, Son Byeong-rak, Executive Director of the EIC (Electricity, Instrumentation, Computer) Technology Department at Pohang Steelworks and known as POSCO's first master craftsman, spoke with a hopeful voice. The 2nd Hot Rolling Mill was the most severely damaged place by Typhoon Hinnamnor, which landed in September this year, and it is the factory with the highest product shipment volume within Pohang Steelworks. Out of the 13.5 million tons of products produced annually by Pohang Steelworks, 5 million tons pass through this factory. It is like the 'waist' of POSCO, through which key products such as high-carbon steel for automobiles, high-efficiency non-oriented electrical steel sheets for drive motors, and premium stainless steel must pass.

For Master Son, who joined in 1977 and has spent 45 years living alongside molten steel and electrical equipment, the damage caused by Typhoon Hinnamnor was an unprecedented experience. Master Son recalled, "At the time of Hinnamnor's damage, the river (Naengcheon) on the opposite side of the 2nd Hot Rolling Mill looked like the Yellow River in China and swallowed everything." He added, "Seeing water rushing into the electrical equipment and motors inside the factory, I asked a junior staff member, 'Did we really cut off the factory power supply the day before?' After confirming, I kept telling myself, 'There is still hope to save the equipment.'" POSCO made the decision to halt factory operations for the first time in its 54-year history in preparation for Hinnamnor. Industry insiders say this decision prevented the worst-case scenario of complete factory shutdown.

POSCO is mobilizing its entire capabilities to accelerate the normalization of the Pohang Steelworks. Thick plate products are being produced at the Pohang Steelworks' 2nd Thick Plate Mill, which resumed operations on the 14th. Photo by POSCO

This place, which was filled with water and sediment up to several meters underground and had water rising up to 1.5 meters above ground, turning it into a 'mudflat,' is returning to its pre-typhoon state. Although still busy replacing equipment and preparing for operation, it was hard to find traces that it had been flooded. Only small piles of soil remaining on the basement pipes hinted at the efforts of the 1 million people, including POSCO employees, who worked hard on flood recovery.

Chairman Choi Jeong-woo's leadership in fostering global steel industry cooperation also significantly shortened the recovery period of the 2nd Hot Rolling Mill. JSW, an Indian steel company, helped replace 11 out of 15 motor drives, devices that supply electricity to the rolling mill motors, which were heavily damaged by the Naengcheon River flood. This was the result of Chairman Choi asking for help from Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of JSW, who is also active as a member of the World Steel Association's board. Chairman Sajjan provided equipment being manufactured for JSW's hot rolling mill to POSCO, greatly accelerating the recovery of the 2nd Hot Rolling Mill and enabling it to operate within the year.

On the 23rd, a POSCO Pohang Steelworks employee is exiting from Blast Furnace No. 3. Photo by POSCO

POSCO is concentrating all its company-wide capabilities to accelerate the normalization of Pohang Steelworks. POSCO plans to restore 15 out of 18 rolling mills in the rolling area, which suffered severe flood damage, this year. Currently, seven plants including the 1st Hot Rolling and 1st Cold Rolling Mills are operating normally, and the plan is to fully resume supply of products previously supplied from Pohang Steelworks within the year. Rolling is a method of processing metal materials at high or room temperature by passing them between two rotating rolls to form various shapes such as plates, bars, pipes, and profiles. There are hot rolling (at high temperature) and cold rolling (at low temperature).

POSCO has also taken steps to minimize damage to domestic customers and partners and stabilize the market. POSCO conducted a full survey of customers purchasing products from Pohang Steelworks to check for supply and demand abnormalities, and for customers at risk of supply issues, it implemented production transfers to Gwangyang Steelworks. Since the end of September, POSCO has been conducting a full survey of 404 partner companies regarding damage status and difficulties, providing support according to the type of issue.

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