Top Producer of Steel Plates

POSCO dedicates new steel plate plant to become top producer in the world

A slew of dignitaries including Gov. Park Joon-young of South Jeolla Province, Vice Minister Ahn Hyun-ho of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and Chairman Chung Joon-yang of POSCO push buttons at a ceremony to dedicate a new steel sheet plant at the Gwangyang Steel Complex of POSCO in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province on March 28.

A POSCO completed the construction of a steel sheet plant with an annual capacity of 2 million tons of steel plates at its Gwangyang Steel Complex in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province on March 28. A ceremony took place at the plant attended by a number of dignitaries from local administrations and POSCO led by Gov. Park Joon-young of South Jeolla Province, Vice Minister Ahn Hyun-ho of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Mayor Lee Song-woong of Gwangyang and POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang. Among the roughly 300 participants were key executives of POSCO's customer companies such as Samsung Heavy Industries, STX Offshore and Shipbuilding and vendor companies of POSCO, among others.
POSCO's capacity for the production of steel plates has now been expanded to 7 million tons annually, as the Pohang Steel Complex turns out 5 million tons of the steel product annually. The company is now the largest steel plates producer in the world topping JEF Steel of Japan's 5.5 million tons of the product annually.
POSCO Chairman Chung, in his congratulatory speech, said POSCO has become a top producer of high-quality steel plates, including the super wide steel plates, with the dedication of the new steel plates plant in the Gwangyang Steel Complex, taking care of the steel plate supply shortages for a variety of industries including shipbuilding. He said POSCO will help its customer firms by supplying the best steel plates on time, thus boosting their global competitiveness.
Director Lee Seung-woo of the Steel and Chemical Division of the MKE said the completion of the steel sheet plant came at the right time as the new plant will be able to replace steel plate imports from Japan, which has met with difficulty due to the earthquake and nuclear power plant crisis.
POSCO chairman Chung said the new plant will produce steel products for ships, marine structures and energy facilities, especially steel plates as large as 5,300 mm in width, and will contribute to strengthening the competitive strength of POSCO's customers through cost reduction by boosting productivity.
Last year, domestic industries consumed 11 million tons of steel plates including 4 million tons imported. The new steel plant in Gwangyang will reduce the need for steel plate imports to 2.7 million tons, a 1 trillion won value.

2011 POSCO TJ Park Prize
The POSCO TJ Park Foundation held its 2011 POSCO TJ Park Prize Award Ceremony in the presence of approximately 230 domestic and international officials at the POSCO Center on March 22. The POSCO TJ Park Foundation awarded KAIST Professor Lee Sang-yeop the Science Prize, Namhansan Elementary School the Education Prize and Monk Pomnyun and the Alola Foundation the joint Community Development and Philanthropy Prize and awarded each 200 million won (100 million won each for joint winners).
Chairman Park Tae-joon, the namesake of the TJ Park Foundation, said in his welcoming speech, "Development of science technology, education innovation and a spirit of citizenship for the community are extremely important motivations to build an advanced society and, therefore, should be continuously developed and inherited."
Chancellor Oh Yeon-cheon of Seoul National University in his congratulatory speech said, "This year's winners are those who practice POSCO's founding ideology of creativity, talent and volunteering in their achievements and activities. I would like to give my thanks in addition to my congratulations as a member of the global village."KAIST Professor Sang-yeop Lee, who was awarded the Science Prize, is a world renowned expert in metabolic and system engineering.
Professor Lee has developed biobutanol, succinic acid (raw material for plastic) and diamine (raw material for nylon) using microorganisms. His papers have been cited more than 6,000 times, which is a rarity in the engineering field. Additionally, more than 14 papers have been listed as cover features in international journals. Namhansan Elementary School, winner of the POSCO TJ Park Education Prize, is a school with a 100-year history. In 2000, the school had faced closure due to the declining number of students, however, with the combined efforts of its teachers, local residents and parents, it was reborn as the model of an "alternative public school."he school has creatively reorganized the standard curriculum within the main framework by combining the first and second classes in the morning and allotting an 80 minute class, followed by a 30 minute break. nw