POSCO's Bridgehead in Vietnam

Giant steel maker launches building cold-rolled steel plant near Ho Chi Minh City

P0SCO launched the construction of a cold rolling steel mill in the Phumi Industrial Complex near Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in a ceremony attended by over 300 Vietnamese dignitaries and POSCO executives Aug. 1, POSCO officials said recently. Included among the dignitaries were Hoang Trung Hai, Minister of Industry and POSCO Chairman &CEO Lee Ku-taek.
The cold-rolled mill with an annual production of 1.2 million tons of cold-rolled steel, aimed at marketing the product in Vietnam as well as Southeast Asian countries.
Chairman Lee, in his speech, said the mill will be equipped with the latest facilities and the superb quality cold-rolled steel products will be marketed in Vietnam and other Asian countries where demand for high-quality cold-rolled steel is high. He said POSCO will make the new steel mill a success with the help of talented local employees and its experience for running a steel plant
Minister Hoang said POSCO's new steel mill will make a great contribution to accomplish Vietnam's
strategy to build the largest steel production network in Southeast Asia promising a full support to POSCO in its steel mill construction and business in Vietnam.
The new cold-roll steel plant is targeted to be completed in September, 2009, and its steel products including 700,000 tons of cold-rolled steel will be sold in Vietnam and southeast Asian countries. POSCO plans to build another new plant capable of producing 3 million tons of hot-rolled steel by 2010, which will make POSCO, the largest foreign investor in the country. The Vietnamese government picked the site in March, allowing the construction of the steel mill in four months later, which shows Vietnam's high expectations for the new steel plant in terms of expanding its economy.
POSCO expects to build an advanced base for its steel products with its plants in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Vietnam where its cold and hot-rolled steel plants are being built and planned in the next several years.
POSCO, in the meantime, dedicated a magnesium plate plant capable of turning out 3,000 tons of the product annually in the Haryeong-san Industrial Complex near Suncheon, South Jeolla Province July 27 in a ceremony attended by some 400 dignitaries, POSCO executives and local government officials headed by POSCO Chairman & CEO Lee Ku-taek and Assistant Minister Kim Yong-keun of the Industrial Policy Headquarters of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
Chairman Lee, in his speech, said the dedication of the magnesium plate factory is part of POSCO's plan to be a global integrated material concern as it is a new growth engine and we can only do our utmost to serve the needs of customers taking advantage of our technical expertise.
The newly dedicated plant is the most effective integrated magnesium plate plant in the world as a single plant with high competitive edge in terms of concentration of installations and logistics in a position to take advantage of infrastructure as it is built in the Haryeong-san industrial park which is designed to be a magnesium production cluster.
The new magnesium plant will turn out thin magnesium plate products without going through slab manufacturing process, by heating magnesium ingot and through strip casting production procedure. Equipped with such integrated magnesium production installations, POSCO will be able to secure a competitive position vis--vis its rivals. The magnesium plate is so light and strong that it is considered for using in making automobile bodies to lighten their weight and it also is good for cutting off electronics waves, and environmental friendly as it is recyclable.
The government of South Jeolla Province has been taking time out to attract alloy, plate assembling, surface treatment, and recycling business firms to the Haeryeong cluster so that it will be known globally. The provincial government also plans to invite related industries to the complex so that the facilities and installations in the cluster can be used jointly to reduce various costs including logistics and technologies in a bid to revive the local economy. nw

(photo above)Dignitaries led by POSCO Chairman Lee Ku-taek and a group of Vietnamese officials join in a ground-breaking ceremony for POSCO's cold-rolled steel plant near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
(photo right) Chairman & CEO Lee Ku-taek of POSCO.