POSCO has become the first Korean steelmaker to produce 0.8 mm-thick hot-rolled coil.
POSCO said on Oct. 10 the company had succeeded in test-producing a hot-rolled coil product equivalent to cold-rolled ones at the Compact Endless Cast & Rolling Mill (CEM) plant in the Gwangyang Steelworks. The company is expected to usher in an era in which new added-value products will replace high-cost cold-rolled products.
Hot-rolled coil products are usually 1.2 mm thick. In 2010 Arevedi of Italy became the sole company to lower the thickness of hot-rolled coil products to 0.8 mm. Production of 0.8 mm hot-rolled coil products required 33 percent more pressure than 1.2 mm counterparts, causing a higher defectiveness rate in the normal hot-rolling process. POSCO utilized its own CEM technology to overcome obstacles. CEM technology is an advanced process that allows for the mass production of highly valuable hot-rolled products through a directly connected configuration between one casting line and one rolling line.
The CEM operates in both batch and endless rolling modes, which are mutually convertible at any time. The endless rolling mode is selected for thin-gauge products, and converted into the batch rolling mode for thick-gauge products or certain special steel grade products. This convertibility greatly widens the product range of the CEM process.
The production of the 0.8 mm-thick hot-rolled coil was possible through diverse simulations as temperature control and facility limitation analyses using the CEM technology, a POSCO official said. POSCO Chairman Kwon Oh-joon himself was involved in the process. Chairman Kwon has stressed innovation for profit-taking through the expanding of added value product sales since 2014 when he took office. POSCO said the breakthrough confirmed the possible production of super-thin cold-rolled products with less than 1 mm thickness. If and when mass production of 0.8 mm hot-rolled products is possible, they will most likely replace such conventional cold-rolled products as automotive interior panels, motor cores, electronic alliance parts and pipes.
POSCO Publicizes WP products at 'SMK 2016'
Held in pursuit of enhancing partnerships with customers with intention of publicizing WP products and increasing sales.
On Sept. 27, POSCO participated in the 4th Korea International Steel & Nonferrous Metal Industry Expo (SMK) at Ilsan’s KINTEX. At the exhibition that ended on Sept. 30, POSCO sought to improve profitability by publicizing world premium (WP) products, and reinforce partnership with customers by exhibiting the premium products of customers who used WP products.
SMK has been held every other year since 2010, and it is the 4th SMK to be held this year. POSCO has participated in the expo every time, and introduced its products featuring a competitive edge as the leading steelmaker in Korea, while concurrently seeking mutual growth with those small and medium-sized businesses that participated in the expo. At this year's expo, POSCO solidified its position as a solution partner by bringing the premium products of those customers who used POSCO's WP products to the forefront.
POSCO’s exhibition concept pertained to “publicizing WP products in everyday life and appealing to the senses of visitors through a differentiated exhibition,” and prepared rich contents for the booth that was divided into a total of four zones, including Automotive, Living and Infrastructure, all o which attracted the attention of industries players. Each zone exhibited products based on POSCO's WP technologies, and provided opportunities to experience them.
The exhibition was well organized. The Automotive Zone publicized the technologies of WP products applied to the interior and exterior of automobiles. The Living Zone for the exhibition of super-premium consumer electronics maximized a sense of closeness with customers by publicizing WP products in the home. The Infrastructure Zone reinforced partnerships with customers by publicizing WP products used in industrial machines.
The Hero Zone, which allowed visitors to experience the entire steel-making process, from the unloading of raw materials to the shipment of products in 360° VR, garnered a great deal of attention as a unique exhibition space representing the entirety if SMK.
POSCO plans to increase the sales of WP products and reinforce partnerships with customers by widely publicizing its own advanced technologies and the premium products of customers utilizing these technologies.
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