POSCO will expand its automotive steel sheet production capacity by building a new plant for galvanized steel sheets for cars.
POSCO said on the 8th that it broke ground at the Gwangyang Steelworks in South Jeolla on the 8CGL (Continuous Galvanizing Line), a specialized plant for hot-dip galvanized steel sheets for automobiles with an annual capacity of 450,000 tons (t). At the groundbreaking ceremony were Gwangyang Mayor Park Seong-hyeon, POSCO President Lee Hee-geun, Head of the Strategic Investment Division Kim Gwang-mu, Head of Purchasing Division Lee Yoo-kyoung, Gwangyang Steelworks Director Ko Jae-yun, and POSCO Technical Research Laboratories Director Eom Gyeong-geun.
The plant that broke ground is slated for completion in 2028, with about 480 billion won to be invested. It is POSCO's first new hot-dip galvanized steel sheet plant in nine years since 2017. POSCO said that with the expansion, its hot-dip galvanized steel sheet production capacity will increase to 4.95 million t.
Hot-dip galvanized steel sheet is a product with zinc coating applied to the surface of the steel sheet, offering excellent corrosion resistance and used for automotive exterior panels and home appliance materials. POSCO said demand for the product is rising as the auto market trends toward higher-end and larger vehicles.
POSCO said the 8CGL will serve as a key base for producing low-carbon automotive steel sheets in connection with the new electric arc furnace to be built. By introducing ultra-high-temperature heat treatment facilities specialized for electric-arc-furnace steel sheets, it plans to meet global automakers' demand for low-carbon steel and strengthen its production system for automotive steel sheets used in exterior panels of mid- to large-size sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and recreational vehicles (RVs).
POSCO President Lee Hee-geun, who attended the event, said, "This investment is a strategic investment to strengthen future competitiveness amid the rapidly changing global steel ecosystem," and added, "By building POSCO-style specialized facilities for automotive steel sheets that enable next-generation high-quality automotive steel sheet production and take cost and technological competitiveness up a notch, we will further solidify POSCO's technology leadership amid global competition."