POSCO Ready for New Take-Off with FINEX Facilities
- POSCO Chairman Lee calls for aggressive efforts to penetrate BRICs steel markets

POSCO held its New Year commencement ceremony telecast live linking its steel complexes in Pohang, Gwangyang and Seoul office on Jan.3
Chairman Lee Ku-taek, in his speech, said POSCO is prepared for a next take-off by starting the construction of the commercial facilities of FINEX developed by POSCO's own technology drawing a huge attention of the world steel community. The steel maker also saw its sales of steel plates for cars, one of its 8 strategic products, jump substantially edging closer to turning the company around to step up the production of high-quality steel products.
The chairman said the company aggressively penetrated the steel markets in China, India and Brazil to expand its overseas sales. He thanked all officers and employees for their contribution to their company recording top management results for the second year in a row.
Saying that it would be another challenging year for the steel maker this year, Lee said the world steel industry would try to become bigger through mergers and acquisitions, noting the emergence of Mittal Steel with the production capacity of 63 million tons per year. He said rival steel makers have been able to improve their competitive edges in a rapid manner, making securing raw materials an urgent matter.
Last year, he said, steel exports to China were down, but China steel imports were up, showing that the overflow of Chinese steel products into the world market is becoming a reality. How to confront risks posed by China and how to take advantage of opportunities offered by the giant country has become a pressing task for POSCO to solve.
In order to be able to overcome these managerial environment, POSCO should sharpen its efforts to cut into steel markets in BRICs countries and maximize the production effects of both steel mills to hike value-added works with its own technology and products, the chairman stressed.
He said BRICs have about half of the world's total population and they are in the middle of raising their living standards and POSCO should try to share a bigger piece of the pie by contributing substantially their industrialization efforts, with rising consumption for steel. We should put more efforts into the development of new technologies and expand investments in facilities. POSCO should be able to produce products with its own technology at competitive costs, he said.
Lee also said POSCO must try to win the support of diversified elements of the world by getting their approval on its ways to do business, calling for the elimination of unnecessary works from desk works to a large projects in line with global standards. He said communication between officers and their staff, sharing duties and responsibilities in trust are a key to reaching global standards.
In particular, we need a young organizational culture seeking means for improvement and we should make the challenging spirit part of POSCO's DNA through the rule and methods of the 6 sigma campaign, he stressed.
It also is important to create POSCO's warm image that it is always a friendly neighbor as a model for reform and ethical activities, he said. POSCO's top manager said now is the time that both officers and staff walk the road of reform with pleasure to realize rapidly the steelmaker's global vision for faster growth and beneficial reform.
He said changes in the world steel industry have been so fast and wide ranging that they are hard to predict today. The export unit price of hot coil amounted to $200 per ton only three years ago, but now it is priced at $500 per ton. "We got to have a wisdom to check these changes deeply and be prepared for them before they occur." Steel makers have been growing bigger and more competitive now. Arcelo Steel with the manufacturing capacity of 43 million tons emerged in 2000 and now Mittal Steel is about to be created with the production capacity of 63 million tons. The emergence of these massive steel mills will change the industry's competitive environment including the relationship between makers and suppliers and customers. nw