Hyundai Steel Starts No.1 Blast Furnace in Jan 2010 on Time

Hyundai Steel, South Korean largest electric furnace steel maker, will start the operation of no.1 blast furnace in Dangjin integrated steel works in early January of 2010. The firm prospects the steel market could revive in the last half of 2009 or the first half of 2010. With this forecast, the firm will start the construction and the operation of new iron works on time.

The firm’s operating rate is currently lowering by 70% at its electric furnaces. But the firm expects the operation might recover normally in the last half of 2009 by governmental economic measures.

Hyundai Steel will finish the fist construction phase of the integrated steel works which has no.1 blast furnace, a steel converter, a continuous caster and a plate mill during October-December 2009. The firm plans to start the operation of no.2 blast furnace in 2011 and build up the production capacity of crude steel to 8 million tonnes per year.

The firm bought Dangjin plant of Hanbo Iron & Steel in 2004, which started the first phase of the construction for integrated steel works with a blast furnace, a hot-rolling mill and a plate mill in October 2006. The firm will expand the capacity of crude steel output to 8 million tonnes per year by the second phase. The firm constructs C hot-rolling mill at the end of 2010 with capacity at total 8 million tonnes per year including B hot-rolling mill of 3 million tonnes.

The firm already secured enough iron ore and coal by long-term contracts with major material suppliers. Technological opportunities are solved by technical transfer from ThyssenKrupp, German largest steel maker. Hyundai Steel also established a technical institute for development of automotive steel sheet quality in cooperation with Hyundai Hysco and Hyundai Motor.

Hyundai Steel said the firm will decide when to construct no.3 blast furnace and expand the capacity to 12 million tonnes per year through due consideration for the economic situation. The firm prospects domestic steel demand decreases by 40-50% for January-March 2009 from the same period of last year but the demand could recover in the last half of 2009.