Posco expands global production operations

Posco expands global production operations. At a time when other companies are making defensive moves in the wake of the global economic crisis, Posco, the country’s largest steelmaker, has been aggressively expanding its operations worldwide. The company opened a new plant in Vung Tau, near Ho Chi Minh City, on Monday that, according to the company, can produce 1.2 million tons of cold-rolled steel per year, making it the largest cold-rolled steel plant in Southeast Asia. The plant was built following the establishment in August of a plant in Mexico capable of producing 400,000 tons of steel for automobiles every year. The opening ceremony was attended by over 700 people, including Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and other high-level Vietnamese government officials. “The cold-rolled steel plant is equipped with the latest facilities and can therefore produce and supply high quality steel products to Vietnam and neighboring Southeast Asian countries,” said Posco President Chung Joon-yang. Posco also announced plans to build a hot-rolled steel plant in Vietnam in 2012, given that demand for steel there is projected to grow 8.7 percent annually to 26.1 million tons by 2020. Last month, the company began work on its 16th steel plate factory in Shenyang, northeastern China. It says it also plans to build an integrated steel mill and a cold-rolled steel plant in India. In January, Posco began supplying steel to Toyota, making it the first Korean company to supply steel to the Japanese auto giant.