2023-07-09 08:47:04
(1) The first ultra-thick semi-finished product in front of Steel Mill 1 (1) 0 The ultra-thick semi-finished product produced for the first time using PosMC (POSCO Mega Caster) is standing in front of Steel Mill 1 of POSCO Pohang Works. The product is 1.8m wide, 0.7m thick and 10m high, and weighs close to 100 tons. (From the left, Manager Shin Chang-geun, Manager Jang Tae-hyeon, Steel Plant 1) / Courtesy = POSCO POSCO Pohang Steelworks celebrated the 50th anniversary of the completion of the first phase on the 3rd, and Steel Plant 1, called the cradle of POSCO technology, also celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
The first factories of the Pohang Works were completed one by one over a period of regarding a year.
In 1972, the thick plate and hot rolling mills were completed first to produce products, and on June 9, 1973, the ‘blast furnace’ for making molten iron was turned on. Following the thrill of the first molten iron, on June 15, 1973, at 2:43 p.m., a spark of passion erupted from the No. 1 converter of the 1st Steel Mill.
With the completion of the No. 1 steel mill, the Pohang Works finally completed the construction of Korea’s first integrated steel mill.
With the completion of the No. 1 steelmaking plant, the company secured a crude steel production capacity of 1.03 million tons, which is twice the level at once. Since then, the crude steel production produced by the No. 1 steel mill has been approximately 95 million tons. This amount is enough to build 2,000 Lotte World Towers in Seoul.
The steelmaking process is a process that removes impurities from molten iron and adjusts its components, and is considered a key process in steel mills. It is also called the ‘flower of an integrated steelworks’.
Among them, the pride of the employees working at the No. 1 steel mill, which has played a role as a driving force that led the Korean economy along with its long history, is extraordinary.
Manager Jang Tae-hyeon, who joined the company in 1979 and has been working at the 1st steel mill for 45 years, said, “The 1st steel mill was the first factory in Korea to introduce a converter and produce steel, and the seniors made a lot of effort to normalize operations in the early stages of operation.” The technological development of the No. 1 steelmaking plant is the development of Korean steelmaking technology.” He emphasized the unique organizational power of the 1st steel mill as the driving force behind its 50-year history.
The beginning of the organizational power of the No. 1 steel mill came at the time of the molten iron leakage accident that occurred on April 24, 1977. This accident, in which 130 tons of molten iron poured out of the furnace, is considered the largest accident in POSCO history.
Manager Jang recalled, “At the time, Japanese experts said it would take at least half a year to recover, but since the steel mill stops when the first steel mill stops, all the employees even shaved their heads and worked hard to restore it within a month.”
POSCO declared April 24, the day of the accident, as “Safety Day,” and holds safety events for each plant every year and promotes safety awareness among employees by conducting various safety activities. This extraordinary organizational power and DNA of overcoming crises was also expressed when it was damaged by a cold spring flood last year, and the factory was quickly restored.
Manager Jang said, “It seems that we were able to quickly complete the restoration of the cold spring flood because of the strong organizational power created from the experience of overcoming crises starting in 1977.”
On the other side of the honor of being a ‘first-generation factory’, the tags of ‘old factory’ and ‘small factory’ have always been present. Along with the history of Pohang Works, it has been active as a key factory for decades, but its crude steel production was less than half of the second and third steel mills, which are the follow-up factories.
In the end, in 2011, a decision was made to close the plant, which faced a crisis of stopping operation for two years, but the No. 1 steel mill overcame the crisis with ‘differentiation’. Taking advantage of the fact that it is a small factory, it secured its position as a factory dedicated to emergency production or new technology testing.
The new product, which was born following trial production at the 1st steel mill, was mass-produced at the 2nd and 3rd steel mills. In other words, it became the priming water for mass production of Shin Gangjong.
The steel types that were born in this way are deeply embedded in people’s lives. During the revival of the automobile industry in the 1980s, products for tire cords and automobile engine valves were created at the No. 1 steelmaking plant, and products for railroads, armored vehicles, marine pipes, and electrical steel sheets were also developed therefollowing.
Currently, Steel Mill 1 produces everything from wire rods, the smallest product, to slabs for thick plates with the world’s largest thickness, and is in charge of one axis of production at the Pohang Works.
Manager Shin Chang-geun, who worked at the 1st steel mill for 38 years, said, “The factory is small, but I am proud that the 1st steel mill built the 2nd and 3rd steel mills, as well as the Gwangyang Steel Mill. This is the cornerstone of POSCO’s development,” he said, revealing strong pride.
Manager Shin said, “Ever since I joined the company, there was talk that the 1st steel mill was small and would soon be closed, but I think it can still be operated because it responded promptly to the rapidly changing industrial demands.”
Regarding his impressions of working at the 1st Steel Plant, he said, “At the Homecoming Day event held to commemorate the recent 50th anniversary, the now retired 2nd, 3rd, and 4th plant managers came back. He said, “I hope that the day will come when I retire and visit once more as the No. 1 steel mill will continue to be there for a long time to come.”
As of 50 years later, the crude steel production capacity of Pohang Works is 17.7 million tons, an increase of more than 17 times compared to the period of operation of the first plant. It is solidifying its global status by being selected as a ‘Factory’.
On the 3rd, the POSCO Group announced that it would invest 121 trillion won in the construction of hydrogen reduction steelworks and secondary battery production complexes at home and abroad by 2030 through a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the completion of the first phase of the Pohang Steelworks.
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