BOD Chairman Joo-hyeon Kim has been an outside director of POSCO since 2015. He previously served as president of the Hyundai Research Institute and chairman of the Economic Subcommittee of the Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation.  He is currently the CEO of Financial News. He Seong-jin Kim, is an expert in industrial policies. He was the Deputy Director-General of Industry in the Prime Minister’s Office, a presidential secretary for policy management, a presidential secretary for industrial policies, the administrator of the Small and Medium Business Administration, the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and president of Hankyong National University.  

CEO & President In-hwa Jang served as the head of multiple organizations, including the New Business Management Office of POSCO, the Steel Solution Marketing Office. and the Technology Investment Headquarters. He was also appointed as head of the Steel Production Headquarters last year, and oversaw steel production sites.

Joong-seon Jeon, served as head of the Raw Materials Purchasing Office of POSCO, head of the Management Strategy Office, and CEO of POSCO C&C. He was promoted to vice-president last month after being appointed as head of Corporate Strategy & Finance Center The shareholders approved the financial statements, reorganized expert committees and revised part of the Articles of Incorporation, including the increase of the number of outside directors.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon remarked at the general shareholders’ meeting, “POSCO celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. To make a new leap forward in 2018, we will further consolidate our world-leading position in the steel industry, reshuffle our business strategy by with a focusing on high-yield core businesses, converge create convergence businesses with group affiliates, and continuously seeking new business opportunities for our future growth.”

In addition, POSCO is planning to operate the CEO candidates nurturing program more substantially. This program establishes plans for individuals who were selected through an objective verification process from general managers and higher-ranking officials at POSCO and its affiliates, and nurtures them in a customized way. 100 people have benefitted from this program each year since March 2016. Program participants work for companies that POSCO invested in and for its overseas subsidiaries, while participating in leading domestic and overseas universities’ business management courses to foster their entrepreneurial competency and global mindset.

Meanwhile, to repay the country and citizens for their continued support for POSCO since 1968, the business announced that they are planning to construct the Science and Technology Experience Center and the Cultural Complex as part of their activities to celebrate POSCO’s 50th anniversary.

Cover photo courtesy of News World.

In major cities around the world, industrial activity is creating visible damages. (Source: International Business Times)

In order to meet this mark, industries need to find sustainable sources of fuel in the near future, or be met with costly penalties. Up to now, the price of non-renewable fuel was too attractive for clean energy to be competitive. However, tighter regulations, major leaps in technology and state-level commitment have birthed a new era of renewable energy.

Energy you can bank on

According to Bloomberg analysts, USD 10.2 trillion will be spent on new power generation by 2040, 72 percent of which will go towards wind and solar photovoltaic plants. By then, the cost of solar electricity will drop 66 percent, meaning by 2021, solar power will be cheaper than energy from coal in China, India, Mexico and the UK. The cost of onshore wind power will decrease by 47 percent by 2040, and offshore wind power by 71 percent thanks to more advanced and cost-effective wind turbines.  

Renewable energy is getting more and more competitive, and companies who don’t make the switch to clean fuel will be left out of the race.

SEE ALSO: How POSCO Sees a Future of Renewable Energy

However, electricity doesn’t fall from trees.

It falls from steel! Tons of steel (literally) are used to extract and convert energy from renewable energy sources.

Wind Energy

Most wind turbines are made of steel, and for an average wind turbine, 140 tons of steel are used. That accounts for 80 percent of all the materials that go into the tower, the nacelle, rotor blades and its supporting facilities. The majority of steel is used to make the tower which serves as the foundation on which the blades turn to generate energy. There are several types of turbine towers, such as steel-concrete hybrid towers, steel truss towers and steel lattice towers, but about 90 percent of all wind turbine towers are made of tubular steel. Also, steel’s non-corrosive properties maximize the lifetime of wind turbines and minimize maintenance costs.

Solar Energy

Solar electricity is one of the most promising types of renewable energy. By as soon as 2030, it can make up 13 percent of the world’s energy, and by 2050, the sun will be the largest source of electricity on earth. And steel will be soaking it all up – the sunlight that is. Steel makes up not only the frame of the solar panels, but the heat exchangers and other related infrastructure. Stainless steel is a great choice for solar panel frames because it is dense, high in strength and has the greatest corrosion-resistance than other light metals.  

SEE ALSO: India: A Rising Sun in the Global Renewable Energy Industry

Geothermal Energy

Mother earth just keeps on giving. There are about 1400 TWh of geothermal energy in the earth’s core that can be harvested by 2050. Geothermal energy gives off extreme heat, so it is vital for the heat exchangers, condensers, pipes, filters, pumps and valves to be corrosion resistant. Otherwise, maintenance costs would be unsustainable and corrosion can contaminate the water as well. That’s why most of the infrastructure related to geothermal energy is made of iron castings, stainless steel and steel alloys.

Tidal Energy

There’s plenty of energy in the sea as well. In the world’s oceans, there are about 1 million megawatts of usable tidal energy. Steel makes up most parts of the underwater turbines including the nacelles, support structures and underlying piles for a sturdy and sustainable power source. As with other renewable energy, increasing the lifetime and decreasing maintenance costs will determine the competitiveness of tidal energy. Thus, stainless steel is the go-to material for corrosion resistance. The infrastructure related to tidal energy extraction is massive in scale and will call for thousands and thousands of pounds of steel to construct.  

Korea is the largest source of tidal energy in the world, with 552.7 GHw of electricity harvested from Siwha Lake every year. It’s also where steelmaker POSCO is located to provide the necessary types and grades of steel for renewable energy production.

POSCO E&C has its own solar, wind, tidal and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plants, which makes sure even industrial wastes get turned into energy. The company was also the first company in Korea to build a solar power plant in 8 different regions capable of generating 31.2MW of solar electricity.

In order to stay competitive in the market, industries are already using or transitioning towards renewable energy sources to fuel their business activities. As governments around the globe also commit to a greener future, the demand for steel used in renewable energy infrastructure will see a significant boost.

Cover photo courtesy of the National Geographic.

The fourth industrial revolution is heralded by big data, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality, 3D printing and other technological innovations. It’s happening at rapid speed. The steel industry needs to keep up and take advantage of all that this revolution has to offer.

However, the industrial revolution did not happen overnight, and advancements in human development traces back to the Iron Age.  

The Iron Age and How it Impacted Civilization

After the Bronze Age was the Iron Age. People started using iron and steel for tools. This was a huge shift for the world, and helped improve nearly all spheres of life from the spread of written language to more effective agricultural practices. Iron offered more choice. People could forge this material into whatever they needed for tools, weapons, or ornaments and decor.

Blacksmiths would have used tools like this during the Iron Age.

Tools and weapons created during this era often used steel, which was a vast improvement on the bronze items from the previous age. Items made from steel were just as light as bronze, but stronger, so users were able to get more out of each item they created. The strength of these tools made it possible for farmers to plant and harvest more land, faster. It enabled people to sell or trade for livelihood.

The Iron Age is a great example of how the right materials can make life better for everyone.

The New Structure of Steel

As the world moves through the fourth industrial revolution, it is evident the same thing is happening. Instead of improvements in specific materials and tools, however, technology is changing things.

The steel production process can be completed autonomously if the fourth industrial revolution continues the way it is going. This means that manufacturers will be able to have very detailed and thorough control over production, using smart technology that will factor in every element from the surrounding environment to minute details of the material itself. The steel production process will be able to use real-time data to optimize every facet of operations, saving money and time.

Robot arms with artificial intelligence take part in the steel production process. (Source: Telenor Connexion)

The steel value chain is affected by changes in the provision of after-sales service, owing to new technology. Manufacturers can use smart technology to track how users interact with their completed products and offer better customer service as a result.

Again, real-time information comes into play, allowing steel companies to see exactly how orders are being created, fulfilled and used, as it is happening. Customer needs are met with ease and speed, all tracked and analyzed digitally.

Competition in the steel industry will be affected by this revolution, too. Competitors can see how other companies are using big data and automation to save money and offer a better customer experience, and use those details to revolutionize their offerings. Online steel transaction platforms make this transparency even more accessible, for companies and clients alike.

Implications on the Steel Industry

To keep up with this revolution, and make the most of it, steel companies need to understand the implications on the industry and plan for the future. New technology is only going to become more widespread, more common, and more advanced. Companies need to be ready to react.

Integrating technology and smart software is the ideal way for steel companies, and the industry at large, to take advantage of this new revolution and use it to create better products and better customer relationships.

To get an idea of how to best integrate new tech into existing steel practices, POSCO’s smart steel factory is a prime example, currently being tested at the Gwangyang Steel Mill. POSCO’s smart factories will collect and analyze all of the microdata generated in the steel production process, to determine the cause of every event that impacts quality or production in general.

An image of how POSCO’s Smart Factory will be run.

From facilities to energy and environment, to safety and conditions, the smart factory will monitor everything. And it will respond accordingly to make the best quality steel possible.

Self-learning artificial intelligence ensures that the process of steelmaking is carefully controlled, with adjustments made in real-time to directly and positively impact the result. The smart factories will use technology to fill the gaps where human capabilities are simply no match for software.

The world has come a long way since the Iron Age and through the various industrial revolutions. In the current fourth industrial revolution, steel companies have to take advantage of new technology and innovations by figuring out ways to apply them to steelmaking processes. POSCO has made this a top priority as it continues to research, educate and implement smart technologies to its production processes and materials and will lead the way for steel companies to follow through the fourth industrial revolution.   

Cover photo courtesy of Manufacturing Global.

There is a shocking amount of garbage and waste in the world’s oceans, and it has gone unchecked for far too long. Ocean currents have drawn these floating garbage patches together into distinct regions, and, according to the National Geographic, one in the Pacific covers an area larger than Mexico.

The world’s largest garbage dump is found in the world’s oceans. (Source: Stem Jobs)

Individuals, governments, and companies are heeding the call of oceanographers and other scientists and realizing more and more that a healthy ocean is vital to humanity’s survival. Many organizations are working to protect this natural resource by implementing sustainable, responsible practices to help clean up the oceans.

The State of the Ocean Today

Plastic is a major problem for the ocean. It breaks down into microparticles, which are nearly impossible to clean up. Places like Henderson Island, in the South Pacific region, are covered in tens of millions of pieces of trash.

Animals like seabirds consume the plastic at alarming rates: it is found in 90 percent of seabirds, according to Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. The study also says that plastic production is rapidly increasing, and so are the rates of ingestion by seabirds.

A bird eating plastic on the beach. (Source: Science Mag)

Plastic is not the only problem. Oil, fertilizers, sewage disposal, and chemical usage on land is affecting the oceans and killing marine ecosystems. The US National Research Council says 36 percent of the oil in the oceans come from city and industry waste and runoff.

Fertilizers are entering the ocean in much the same way. Even though there are many global restrictions on sewage and chemical dumping, it still happens. The oceans are in rough shape, and these issues are only going to get worse if people, companies, organizations and governments do not take action.

However, there are factors to consider before plunging in.

Cleaning Up Done Right

If ocean cleanup is not done properly, it can negatively impact marine ecosystems. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) Rigs to Reef program found that fish and marine life were using oil and gas platforms as habitat, and when these rigs were decommissioned and removed, it harmed and disrupted the ecosystem.

Rigs to Reefs helped to transform oil and gas platforms so that they could actually offer a benefit to marine ecosystems. It now encourages the use of obsolete platforms as artificial reef material – as long as they meet strict requirements. With BSEE’s program, various marine species can adapt to and enjoy the artificial reefs as shelters and breeding grounds.

An artificial reef made of old industrial infrastructure. (Source: Rigs to Reef)

Other companies and groups are also taking action. For example, The Ocean Cleanup is a group focused on using the ocean’s natural currents for cleanup, and financing the project through philanthropic, commercial, and governmental donations and sponsorships.

POSCO’s Triton Project

POSCO is another company committed to sustainable, responsible practices when it comes to the environment, including the oceans. One of their major innovations, the Triton project has a direct, positive impact on the marine ecosystem of Korea’s South Sea and East Sea.

In conjunction with the Research Institute of Science and Technology (RIST) and the Korean government, POSCO has installed 510 artificial fish reefs made of “Triton” steel slag, made of  by-products of the iron and steelmaking processes. Triton is eco-friendly and low in carbon, and adds additional value to the steel manufacturing process by using up its wastes.

POSCO uses by-products from steel production to make Triton. (Source: Diproinduca)

Even better, Triton is naturally made with high percentages of iron and calcium, which work to create the ideal conditions for seaweed and algae spore growth, and purifies contaminated sediment. These reefs can also help reef populations migrate to cooler waters.

Triton reefs create a very healthy environment for marine life, and have helped to restore sea forests wherever they are installed. The sea plants that are thriving with Triton are decreasing carbon dioxide and creating a healthier ocean. Aside from the environment, the economies of surrounding countries are reaping the benefits. The commercial fishing industry is one of the first industries to benefit from a more robust local fish population.

An example of an artificial reef used to support plant growth

POSCO intends to continue building on the success of Triton, forging cooperative relationships to construct fishery resources. The next coral reef forest restoration is planned for Indonesia, and POSCO will continue to protect marine life globally.

Cleaning up the oceans is one of the greatest global environmental responsibilities of humanity. POSCO is one company leading the efforts to restore the environment through transformative technologies that take what was once considered waste and using it to create spaces that nurture life.

Cover photo courtesy of Rigs to Reef.

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CEO Kwon of POSCO greets Chairman & CEO Jeffrey Immelt of GE to discuss ways to integrate GE’s smart factory solutions into POSCO’s steel and non-steel factories

In late February, Kwon made trips to Germany and the US to visit Siemens and GE factories. He met with executives to discuss best practices and share thoughts on potential collaborations. At that time, Kwon and Immelt were not able to meet so they took advantage of Immelt’s time in Korea for a face-to-face meeting.

Kwon and Immelt discussed different ways that smart technologies could be incorporated into POSCO’s steel and non-steel factories. By combining GE’s strength in equipment manufacturing and POSCO’s expertise in the steel industry they hope to create more advanced smart industrial solutions. POSCO, in particular, was looking to introduce smart features to their material, energy, and construction businesses through this partnership.

Executives from POSCO, including CEO Ohjoon Kwon, discuss smart factory solutions with GE Chairman & CEO Jeffrey Immelt

After meeting with Immelt, Kwon left for Indonesia to attend the Korea-Indonesia Economic Development Forum in Jakarta. Kwon also visited PT Krakatau POSCO, located in Cilegon, and encouraged field employees to continue their hard work to strengthen their competitiveness in the region.

PT Krakatau POSCO is POSCO’s first overseas integrated steel mill and is capable of producing a total capacity of 3 million tons. Since 2013, it has cut down on operating losses and increased its competitiveness through innovative cost-reduction activities and new technology integration.

Last year, the overseas steel business division’s operating profit reached KRW 218.2 billion, up by KRW 648.1 billion from 2015. This is a result of increased sales of high-margin products and intentional efforts to cut costs.

POSCO plans to focus on strengthening its financial structure by increasing the sales of its World Premium Products. Through this effort, they hope to continuously expand their presence in overseas steelmaking while optimizing the process of locally sourcing product materials.

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As cities around the world grow ever more crowded and city planners try to rein in urban sprawl, people are increasingly turning to apartment buildings for their homes. But while apartment complexes have many conveniences and advantages, one drawback is often noise, as everyone needs to deal with the footsteps and other sounds of life going on in the apartment above. Or, rather, that was a drawback.

POSCO has now introduced PosCoZy, a unique flooring system to combines manganese Z-clips with continuous galvanized steel plates to create floors that greatly reduce impact noise, save space and lower costs.

Leading Noise Reduction

Manganese Z-clips have four times higher resistance to vibrations than general steel. Combined with POSCO’s continuous galvanized steel plates, the PosCoZy flooring is able to significantly reduce the impact noise between floors in apartment buildings.

PosCoZy is the first floor system to receive a First Class silence rating from Korea’s industrial rating agency. This vibration-dampening reduces the sound of typical walking from 50 decibels to just 40dB, while impact sounds are lowered from 58dB to 38dB. In other words, PosCoZy is able to turn the noise levels produced by running children into something more akin to the quiet you’d expect in a library.

This manganese steel floor plating is also good for remodeling old structures, even those more than 15 years old with thin flooring, producing 4^th Class Noise Absorption Performance.

Space Savings for Improved Efficiency

In apartments, space is usually at a premium – not sure floor space, but vertical space as well. Thicker floors mean less spacing for living in. However, PosCoZy is thinner than typical flooring, reducing floor thickness by 15 millimeters.

In addition, the manganese Z-clips that support the galvanized steel plating create open spaces under the floor, creating room for piping, LAN cables or other wiring to run. Furthermore, the strength of the steel plates as flooring increases the floor’s capability to hold heavy loads, lasting longer without deformation.

More Economical, to Save Money

A third important advantage of PosCoZy is that it’s economical. The air layer formed in PosCoZy, along with heat insulation, prevents thermal loss and improves heating speed, improving the thermal capabilities. All together, that translates into savings in heating costs, which saves people money.

Silent, efficient and economical – those are the remarkable advantages that POSCO’s exciting new innovation in steel flooring offers builders and consumers. For more information about all the advantages of PosCoZy and high manganese steel flooring, check out the full video below:

POSCO’s High Manganese Steel Floor Plate Wins the Jang Young Sil Award for Its Vibration-Resistant Qualities

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Today, however, VR is rapidly moving from fiction to reality. There are many VR headsets available on the market, from expensive and sophisticated industrial models to basic consumer models designed to strap a mobile phone in front of your eyes.

A New Market of Amazing Possibilities

In just the two years since Google introduced its bare-bones Cardboard headset and Facebook about Oculus Rift, virtual reality has grown immensely. The amazing success of the augmented reality (AR) game Pokemon Go has spurred the development of this technology even faster. Some market analysts think this year the market for VR hardware and software combined will pass $1 billion for the first time. And one estimate has predicted that market could grow to a staggering $1 trillion by 2035.

The reason for that growth shows that VR is more than just a novelty or even a fun platform for entertainment. VR is also proving to be incredibly useful in a wide range of fields – for architecture and modeling, therapy, medicine, real estate, industrial training and more.

When it comes to therapy, for example, VR is helping people come to grips with a wide range of problems, such as their fear of heights or paranoia. Using VR, people can gently experience life-like situations, while maintaining control over the experience, allowing them to get used to their fears and perhaps even overcome them.

VR simulators can even replicate experiences no one has ever had – for instance, trying out life on Mars. The Martian VR Experience is a 30-minute interactive film that allows people to pretend they are traveling to and then living on the surface of the Red Planet.

Improving Production, Upping Safety

VR is also very useful when it comes to industry, government and other practical fields. Flight simulators have long been a key part of training pilots, both for the military and for commercial airlines, and now VR is taking the effectiveness of that training to the next level.

In medicine, VR is helping patients deal with a wide range of injuries and other issues. For surgeons, VR provides an opportunity to practice complicated techniques and experience rare situations, helping to boost their effectiveness in the operating room.

For engineers and architects, VR technology can help them experience what the final design is like, and see what it like from inside and outside and all angles. And for real estate, VR lets house-hunters explore a space from home, making the difficult task of house-hunting much more efficient and enjoyable.

Plus VR allows workers and other experience a huge range of environments and hone their skills in situations that normally would have been quite dangerous. Thanks for this amazing new technology, though, now they are train and work on their skills in a safe situation, until they are ready for the field.

POSCO Gets Real with VR

POSCO, too, is embracing the new and exciting world of VR, using it to highlight and improve its products. Recently POSCO filmed the entire steelmaking process in 360-degree video, from loading and unloading raw materials to shipping the final products, so anyone could experience what it is like to visit a steelworks in person. In addition to allowing viewers to see how steel is made, the VR movie also allowed people to get a close-up look at many parts of the steel process that are usually too dangerous for visitors.

That VR video was on display at Steel & Metal Korea 2016 (SMK 2016), held at the Ilsan KINTEX from September 27 to 30.

What’s next for VR? As more and more industries pour resources into R&D and try out promising new approaches, clearly the sky is the limit. More than just headsets, researchers are now adding interactive gloves and other technologies to make VR ever more immersive and realistic. Look for POSCO, as always, to be at the forefront of these new advances, using the next generation of technologies to lead the world of steel.

POSCO Stands Out at Steel & Metal Korea 2016

POSCO to Use VR Content to Promote Its Steel Products and Exceptional Manufacturing Process

Why Steel-Type Characters Win in Pokémon Go

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The city is centralized by the ethos of POSCO, and has earned its character from it – yet it isn’t a barren industrial site filled with furnaces and mills. While many of its attractions have been inspired by the steelmaker, Pohang maintains a unique identity of a beach town that uses industry to support its community.

A Storied Steelmaker’s Home

Pohang is home to one of the largest industrial companies in Korea, POSCO, and the POSCO Museum celebrates its legacy. After 4 years of planning and construction, the specialized museum opened its doors in 2003, allowing visitors to learn about steel and the company’s history in great detail.

Korea does not have many museums dedicated to individual companies, but the fact that POSCO has established one exhibits its importance to the national economy. Its history goes back almost 50 years, and the museum interlaces exhibitions of steel’s universal history with the company’s own.

Visitors can stroll down the hallways to learn about the origins of Korean steelmaking starting in the third century B.C., its uses of the metals in the Korean War and finally, to the founding of POSCO and the innovations that have come as a result of the company’s efforts.

It also houses the Samhwagoro, which is the first melting furnace in Korea. The museum is all-encompassing in the realm of steel’s development in Korea, incorporating the company’s impact on the country and eventually, worldwide.

Steel and Art Collide

We don’t necessarily associate steel with beauty, but through the Pohang Steel Art Festival, we are able to see the metal transform into aesthetic masterpieces.

There aren’t that many festivals dedicated to steel art – which makes the festival an interesting exception. Pohang is a city that is rooted in steel, in particular thanks to POSCO, and the festival serves as an emblem of its local culture. The steel art pieces that are showcased are usually incredibly grand and striking, made by artists from around the country.

The Pohang Steel Art Festival runs annually during a short period during the fall, and the exhibition is organized to form a sculpture park on the city’s edge. Visitors can visit this “Garden of Steel” at their own leisurely pace, and there’s usually an extensive schedule with related events, from art tours to craft classes, tied to the festival.

It’s an exhibition that caters to the entire community, so recreational and educational activities are available for both adults and children, in order for everyone to enjoy and appreciate the wondrous qualities of merging steel and art together.

Celebrating Community

Pohang is also frequently called the “City of Light and Fire”, so it’s no surprise that their yearly fireworks festival is one of the most noteworthy attractions. The Pohang International Fire and Light Festival takes place during the summer, so that everyone can view the beautiful sparks illuminating the city’s night sky.

The fireworks show and accompanying parade all are held at Yeongildae Beach over multiple days, and there is even a prize given to the top display during the festival. International fireworks companies from all around the world, including China, France, Poland, Italy and Canada, have all put on exciting shows to exhibit their cutting-edge fireworks, garnering large crowds into Pohang for this remarkable spectacle.

But the festival is not just about fireworks. There is much more for visitors to experience – water sports, street dance competitions, badminton tournaments and even traditional song and dance performances – bringing the city together for a lively midsummer gathering.

Seaside Marvels

Last but not least, there is the tucked-away gem known as Homigot, also known as the tiger’s tail of Korea, located on the easternmost edge of country. This area is particularly known for being the perfect place to observe a beautiful sunrise, as the sun rises the earliest in this part of the country.

The Sunrise Square in Homigot is considered the center of this unique area, and is also the venue for the Homigot Sunrise Festival. The festival, which started in 1999, invites millions of visitors to make wishes and resolutions while watching the first sunrise of the year.

It’s also home to one of the most famous national sculptures, the Hands of Harmony. Gigantic bronze installations of two hands reaching out from the earth and ocean are an awe-inspiring sight, and the sculptures are meant to represent unity and coexistence. Visitors can experience the glowing sunrise through the hands’ fingers, taking in the calming presence of the sun and the sea.

The tallest lighthouse in Korea is also based in Homigot, alongside the National Lighthouse Museum.

A City of Tradition and Industry

Steel shapes the city of Pohang, but it still is able to maintain a singular charm through its cultural attractions, rather than surrendering to the industrial nature of the crucial metal. It is a city that is able to thrive through building its own history alongside POSCO’s permeating presence, and also comes through as a bastion of Korea’s significant relationship with steel.

Steel City Highlight: Košice, Slovakia

Steel City Highlight: Birmingham, USA

Steel City Highlight: Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Steel City Highlight: Pittsburgh, USA

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Merely hours away from Budapest and Prague, the city’s strategic location allowed it to rise to great power and wealth between the 13^th and 15^th centuries. It was a crucial intersection for trade routes, which also led it to grow into a melting pot of cultural overlaps.

Slovakia’s Economic Hub

One product, steel, eventually transformed the impoverished Slovakian town into a humming capitalist hub. Košice’s population quintupled after the 1950s when it was selected by the Soviet Union to house a steel mill, supplying weapons plants and overall industry throughout the Soviet bloc.

When the giant metallurgical steelworks Vychodoslovenske zeleziame (VSZ) was established in 1960, and post-war Košice became the seat of Slovakia’s economy. Its use of technology in steel manufacturing was one of the most innovative in the world – the advanced Slovak furnaces and mining techniques surpassed global competitors, and their production equipment still caters to a high standard today.

After Slovakia became independent from Czechoslovakia in 1993, it has gone beyond its steel city reputation to form its current cultural character. Steel accounted for much of the city’s heft until the Velvet Revolution, and currently, Košice is finding ways to implement its history in metallurgy into its evolving identity as a cultural destination.

Today, the relatively new independent status of Slovakia has allowed Košice to grow in many respects, and in 2013, it was even selected as the European City of Culture along with Marseille, France.

A Steel Center for Creativity

Since the European City of Culture nomination, the city of Košice’s efforts to branch out creatively can be easily seen in its most visible venture, Kasárne Kulturpark – Košice’s biggest culture center.

To prepare for its designation as a City of Culture, Kasárne Kulturpark was established from a complex of 19^th and 20^th-century military barracks in 2012 and 2013, and its aim was to be a multipurpose space for all forms of the arts.

It’s now considered the core of Košice’s creative industry – acting as the home for both small and large artistic associations and businesses by hosting exhibitions and events for contemporary art and new media.

Showcasing the Science Behind Steel

U.S. Steel (which acquired Slovakia’s largest steel company, VSZ) has had an active role in maintaining Košice’s steel industry, and one of the contributions it has made is SteelPark, an entertainment and technical center within Kasárne Kulturpark.

As a cooperative project with the city, U.S. Steel joined together with three Košice -based academic institutions, and built a creative factory to help foster interest in steel in both children and adults. Everything within the center pertains to steel – how it’s manufactured, the scientific processes it requires and many inventions related to the metal.

Meant to fuel creativity and knowledge, the Steel Park is a symbol of steel technology’s role in the lives of Košice citizens, and highlights steel’s ability to engage the public.

Preserving Steel’s History in Slovakia

The Slovak Technical Museum is the only museum in Slovakia dedicated to exploring the technical traditions of steel in Slovakian history. It originated in 1947, and is located in an 18^th century Baroque mansion in Košice.

The museum showcases many aspects of the steel trade – from a display depicting an underground mining facility, an energy collection with steam engines and turbines to an impressive collection of decorative wrought iron, the institution is meant to impress and inform outsiders of Slovakia’s innovations.

Alongside displaying scientific developments, it also features the country’s oldest planetarium and the Museum of Aviation.

A Steel City’s Sporting Legacy

Slovakia has a notable history in ice hockey, and the Steel Arena is a great place to discover the winter sport.

Before the Steel Arena opened in 2006, it was the L. Trojak Ice Hockey Arena, named after Ladislav Trojak, who was the first Slovak to win the World Championship with the Czechoslovakian national team. It’s now the home of the ice hockey club HC Košice, and was named after the club’s general sponsor, U.S. Steel Košice.

In 2011, Košice, along with Slovakia’s capital Bratislava, hosted the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship at the Steel Arena. With its advanced scoring technology and large capacity (it has 8,373 seats), the complex has become Slovakia’s major multipurpose complex to host various sporting, social and cultural events. It will also hold the next IIHF World Championship in 2019.

Connecting Through Steel

The culture of Košice is heavily centered around steel, and the city has created several major features in order to remind visitors and locals of its history. While its medieval façade has been replaced with pillars of apartment complexes, it still retains an aura of its past life under the Kingdom of Hungary.

The small city has had to survive under the reigns of surrounding nations, yet its gritty industrial characteristics have allowed it to shape itself into a worthwhile cultural capital of its own.

We can now see that Slovakia’s steel city has managed to carve out a special place in the Eastern bloc – with steel in the middle of it all.

Steel City Highlight: Birmingham, USA

Steel City Highlight: Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Steel City Highlight: Pittsburgh, USA

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Birmingham, Alabama was established in 1871 at the foothills of the Appalachians near one of the world’s richest mineral deposits. It was named after Birmingham in the United Kingdom – which was then the center of that country’s steel industry.

Soon after its foundation, the city grew quickly and became known as the “Magic City” for its extraordinary post-Civil War expansion. Its strategic location near Jones Valley, a source of coal, steel ore and limestone, made it a perfect place to produce steel and set up its crucial railway system.

Steel to the End

For centuries, its steel mills and plants were the thriving heart of the city’s economy. Birmingham’s wealth and identity was built on iron and steel (which is an alloy of iron), and was almost solely dependent on these materials.

However, the city’s industrial heavyweight status was not to be permanent. Economic lulls have occurred, and Birmingham has had to revive itself numerous times because of war and epidemics – the city’s industries were hit especially hard by a cholera outbreak of 1873 and the Great Depression in the early 20^th Century.

A Bonded Community

World War II reawakened the city’s industry, however, resulting in an influx of jobs and a subsequent population boom.

Although still thriving, in the postwar years the city became a setting for civil unrest, Birmingham suffered heavily from conflicts relating to civil rights issues. Many residents fled to Birmingham’s outer suburbs, shaken by the discord.

Time has passed since those turbulent years, though, and a tide of developments is slowly taking the Steel City on the road back to prosperity. Birmingham has moved on from its challenges, refashioning itself into a place that is both respectful of tradition yet relevantly livable.

Much of the city’s character is defined by its past, and has led to a great preservation that helps it carve out a unique identity of its own.

The First and Last American Furnace

One of the noteworthy sites in the city is Sloss Furnaces. A 32-acre plant that produced pig iron for almost a century beginning in the late 1800s, it was deemed a National Historical Landmark in 1981.

Created in 1880 by one of the founders of Birmingham, Colonel James Withers Sloss, the city’s first blast furnace produced 24,000 tons of iron during its first year of operation.

After retiring, Sloss sold the company to investors, which led to its reorganization and expansion. Before its last blast in the 1970s, the furnaces was still know as one of the largest sellers of pig iron in the world.

It is now an urban industrial museum and showplace dedicated to iron art. The site often hosts conferences and events, many of which are dedicated to metalworking. It is the only blast furnace in the United States that has been restored for the public, adding to its cultural importance.

Confederate Steel

There are also the Tannehill Ironworks, once a complex that produced iron for the Confederate military during the Civil War. As well as its status as a Historical State Park, it also hosts the Alabama Iron and Steel Museum.

Tannehill was seized during Union General James Wilson’s raid, and destroyed in 1865, but later partially reassembled so as to keep a small furnace operating until 1867. After other rebuilding attempts, Tannehill was abandoned until it was turned into a facility for visitors to view the Confederate war effort.

The museum is meant to represent the state’s antebellum and Civil War heritage, showing that while the city’s industrial golden era may be behind it now, the trade still remains a vital part of its heritage.

Steel Mythology

The city is also the home of the largest cast steel statue in the United States. The colossal statue of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and forges, was designed by Italian artist Giuseppe Moretti and cast from local steel in 1904. It has overlooked Birmingham since the 1930s, sitting atop Red Mountain, and visible from almost any point of the city.

Vulcan was originally intended by city leaders to advertise Birmingham and the state of Alabama to the world through the St. Louis World’s Fair, held in the year of the statue’s unveiling. It proved to be an extremely popular exhibit, winning the Grand Prize and medals for the sculptor and foundry.

Eventually, Vulcan was moved back home, where the Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped get a new park and museum ready for him. He is considered one of the most significant landmarks of the city, and acts as a symbol of Birmingham’s industry-rich past.

Rooted in Steel

Besides being a city rich with American history, Birmingham has also become a modern metropolis in its own right. In recent times, new businesses have thrived, and new cultural institutions are sprouting up all throughout the city.

Right now, downtown Birmingham is developing fast, with a 58 percent increase among 24-to-35 year olds settling in between 2010 and 2014. And understandably so – tech and startup hubs, a vibrant music scene and the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s presence in the medicine and healthcare fields are making the area a burgeoning location.

Birmingham has changed a lot through the years, but it has not forgotten its roots. While it is not completely fueled by a steel economy anymore, the Steel City is still a remarkable destination for anyone interested in the country’s industrial past – and provides an interesting glimpse into the South’s revivification.

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