POSCO has achieved an accumulated sales of 800 million tons of steel products. Pohang Plate Mill I opened in 1972. Eight hundred million tons of steel products is equivalent to the amount of steel needed for the production of 940 million medium-sized cars and 20,000 300 thousand-ton scale oil tankers.
If 274 million tons of hot rolled products, the top selling products among the 800 million tons of steel products sold, were transformed to 4.5 inch-thick water piping used for household purposes, it could make 32 round trips between the Earth and the moon. Hot rolling involves rolling steel at high temperatures and is widely used for making pipes, auto parts, construction materials and section steel.
Since 2000, when POSCO began concentrating on automobile steel grade, the accumulated sales of cold rolled products have exceeded that of hot rolled products. From 2001 to August 2015, the accumulated sales of cold rolled products total 181.14 million tons, which is 53 million tons more than the sales of hot rolled products during the same period (128.14 million tons). Cold rolled products, which roll hot rolled products again at room temperature, are premium steel products with a fine surface finish. They are used in a variety of applications such as cars, home appliances, industrial machines and construction materials, making huge contributions to increasing profits.
POSCO continues to strengthen its competitiveness and improve profits through the sale of environmentally friendly, high value-added products in plates, wire rods, stainless steel and electrical steel sheets. POSCO plans to expand its sales share for World Premium products to 33 percent by 2014, 45 percent by 2016 and 60 percent by 2020. Meanwhile, POSCO held a resolution meeting to readdress the meaning of achieving an accumulated sales of 800 million tons, expanding the sales of high value-added products, and overcoming the current market conditions. At the meeting, Inhwan, Oh, Head of the Steel Business Division said that the accumulated sales of 800 million tons of steel products is a remarkable feat, resulting from every employees’ commitment to their jobs and asked employees to continue making efforts to take a leap toward the top global steelmaker by turning the current industry crisis into an opportunity.
On September 21, employees of the steel sales division celebrated cumulative sales of
800 million tons at the POSCO Center, promising to improve upon the profitability and
the global competitiveness of POSCO to overcome challenging obstacles in the steel industry.