Top Two Industry Leaders Collaborate for Steel Industry Advancement
An employee at Hyundai Steel Dangjin Steelworks is working to tap molten iron from the blast furnace.
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] South Korea's top steelmaker POSCO Group and second-ranked Hyundai Steel have joined forces for the blast furnace revamp project at the Dangjin Steelworks. A blast furnace revamp refers to the process of replacing outdated equipment with new facilities while halting production.
On the 9th, POSCO Chemical and Hyundai Steel signed a "Refractory Business Agreement for the Dangjin Steelworks Blast Furnace Revamp" at POSCO Chemical's headquarters in Pohang, Gyeongbuk. The event was attended by Min Kyungjun, President of POSCO Chemical, and Ahn Dongil, President of Hyundai Steel, among others.
Under the agreement, POSCO Chemical will participate in the revamp of Blast Furnace No. 1 at Hyundai Steel's Dangjin Steelworks by handling refractory design, supply, and dismantling work. Refractories are industrial materials that maintain their chemical properties and strength at high temperatures. They are used in facilities such as steel mill blast furnaces, petrochemical plants, and power plants.
Hyundai Steel selected POSCO Chemical as its partner for the refractory work in the Blast Furnace No. 1 revamp due to POSCO Chemical's extensive experience in numerous refractory projects at POSCO's Pohang and Gwangyang steelworks as well as in the global market. Hyundai Steel completed Blast Furnace No. 1 at Dangjin Steelworks in January 2010 and began molten iron production.
Since 1973, starting with POSCO's Pohang Blast Furnace No. 1, POSCO Chemical has manufactured and installed refractories for steelmaking equipment including blast furnaces. It is especially recognized for its unique refractory engineering technology, such as domestic production of the burden drill used to remove solidified molten iron lumps from blast furnaces in 2020.
Meanwhile, this collaboration is expected to further strengthen cooperation between POSCO Group and Hyundai Steel in the steel business sector. In September, Hyundai Steel urgently supported five ladle transfer cars operating at Dangjin Steelworks to aid recovery efforts for damages at Pohang Steelworks caused by the Cold Stream flood.
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