“I never realized POSCO held forums on this sort of scale, bringing together all kinds of steel vendors,” said Vic Andonovski, managing director of CMP Controls in Australia.
He was one of more than 1,000 attendees at this year’s POSCO Global Early Vendor Involvement (EVI) Forum, held Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 in Incheon, South Korea. Every two years, POSCO invites hundreds of its customers and partners, to learn about solution marketing, POSCO’s unique approach to building proactive steel solutions for its customers.
“Since I’m from an Australian electrical steel company, I appreciate the chance to learn meaningful information regarding advance manufacturing and relevant industries,” added Andonovski.
Three Days of In-Depth Presentations
The Forum kicked off with a signing ceremony for more than 100 agreements with global clients in the field of joint technology research and sales. And throughout the three-day event, a variety of speakers kept the audience engaged with a series of presentations.
“POSCO’s future-oriented solution marketing focuses on three solutions,” said Ohjoon Kwon, president of POSCO, in his keynote speech. “Technical solutions that providing steel utilization technology, commercial solutions that support the sales of clients’ products, and human solutions that value connecting with our clients at heart. Using these three solutions, we strive to become a reliable partner that helps our clients find success.”
In addition to a presentation by President Kwon, some of the featured speakers included GM Korea Vice President Greg Tyus, ExxonMobil CTO Douglas Fairchild, the Minister of Trade from Indonesia Thomas Trikasih Lembong and futurist Thomas Frey.
Trends and Demonstrations
Once again, the theme of the forum was “From Steel Supplier to Solution Partner,” and explored three years of solution marketing and the company’s latest products. Additionally, talks examined future trends for the steel industry, including “Eco-Friendly Vehicles,” “Upheavals in Energy,” “Mega Cities” and “Premium Living Infrastructure.”
For example, POSCO had a model car on display made from Giga Steel – an ultra-high strength steel that can withstand a load of 100kg per 1mm2. Another type of high-strength steel, HSA800, is twice as strong as ordinary steel and is considered to have very good seismic resistance. And “Inkjet printing steel sheets” are designed for the application of high-resolution images, and is expected to find many uses in home appliances.
The company also introduced high-manganese steel, made from 3%-27% manganese. High-manganese steel has a range of properties – such as abrasion resistance, being non-magnetic, high strength and high formability – making it useful for the energy industry, including LNG tanks.
The Power of Solution Marketing
After the keynote address and general sessions, the attendees were divided into nine industry-specific themes, to allow more detailed discussions and presentations relevant to each field.
“The general session has provided such a great opportunity to expand my knowledge about the different areas of steel,” said Teguh Sarwono, general manager of PT KRAKATAU Steel in Indonesia. “The special lecture about Indonesia’s steel industry was especially insightful for me as a foreign vendor of POSCO.”
In addition to talking about new products, there were also presentations about outstanding examples of POSCO’s solution marketing. For example, POSCO has worked with Volkswagen to make stronger steel and reduce the weight of vehicles, and it worked with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to create high-strength wire products.
“I feel honored to have been invited to the POSCO EVI Forum, and happy to have gotten the chance to meet clients from all over the world,” said Christiawaty Kasger, general manager of POSCO Indonesia Inti. “By taking part of this kind of event, I have gotten a greater sense of connection with POSCO and look forward to working together more in the future.”
Smart Factory, Smart Company
POSCO has already involved the IoT to develop improved safety measures, but now with the Smart Factory, the entire production process has advanced for the sake of creating better products in the future.
The Smart Factory transforms the conventional idea of a steel mill into an intuitive operating system, promising faster production, higher-quality goods and safer work environments.
Matching its position as a leading global steelmaker, POSCO’s Smart Factory gives evidence of the company’s optimized facilities for creating the most reliable steel products available worldwide.
Solution Marketing Revs Up POSCO’s Steel Business
2014 POSCO Global EVI Forum #1 ‘From Steel Supplier to Solution Partner’
2014 POSCO Global EVI Forum #2 Program Details and Client Interview