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| A POSCO employee checks a stainless steel cold-rolling mill at Pohang steel mill in North Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. Courtesy of POSCO Group |
By Kim Hyun-bin
POSCO has completed the restoration of all 17 rolling mills at Pohang Steel mill and is scheduled to start normal operations, Friday, 135 days after temporarily closing due to flooding caused by Typhoon Hinnamnor last year, the steelmaker said Thursday.
In order to resume operations, not only the employees of Pohang steel mill, but workers at Gwangyang steel mill, Seoul POSCO Center, affiliated companies, and partner firms all worked together to restore the facility.
The private and public sectors, as well as the military, local governments, and the National Fire Agency provided heavy machinery, fire pumps, and water cannons, and the Marine Corp. and other military forces were deployed to help with the restoration. Nippon Steel and Hyundai Steel, which are competitors in the global market, also provided support.
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| POSCO employees remove mud after flood water was drained from the underground equipment of a rolling line that was inundated at Pohang steel mill. Courtesy of POSCO Group |
The second hot rolling mill needed to replace 11 out of 15 motor drives, a device that supplies electricity to the motors of rolling mills.
Meanwhile, POSCO actively rolled out support measures for customers, suppliers, and partners even in the midst of restoration efforts.
To alleviate customers' concerns over supply and demand, POSCO found creative and challenging solutions such as converting production at Gwangyang Steel mill, using overseas business sites, collaborating with other steelmakers, and providing customized response plans.
In addition, POSCO is providing liquidity support worth 43.7 billion won ($35.3 million) to 25 flood-affected partner companies.
"All of the employees who helped to achieve the early normalization of the Pohang steel mill without a single major accident are heroes of POSCO," said Chairman Choi Jung-woo, who visited the Pohang steel mill on Jan. 10 when the restoration work was in full swing. "I am deeply grateful to the government, local governments, and the people who have supported POSCO. I will move forward with my partners with a great sense of responsibility for revitalizing the national economy."
In the future, POSCO plans to enhance its disaster preparedness system to reflect recommendations made by a public-private team that investigated the cause of the temporary closure, to focus on production stabilization and improve the operating efficiency of facilities.
