POSCO develops own steel welding equipment

POSCO has developed a steel welding machine as part of its efforts to cut costs and localize equipment, the company said Sunday.

The latest welder, which will be used to sever and fuse steel plates together, is designed to offer clean sheared edges with precision and prevent corrosion during the process using lasers, officials said.

The world’s fourth-largest steelmaker said it embarked on a project early last year to craft a substitute for pricey welding tools it has sourced from Germany for decades.

Through the new machine, POSCO expects to save 70 billion won ($61.5 million) by replacing some 60 welders at its plants in Korea and overseas.

It will also help boost technical security and preclude any information leakage, officials added, saying that they have had to provide part of their steelmaking formulas to the welder maker to allow them to customize the equipment.

“There has been a room for information leaks as we’ve always imported welders from foreign suppliers,” POSCO said in a statement.

“Thus the localization of the welder is a big achievement given the gravity of information on the ingredients in our steel products.”

The welder is the latest in a string of tools that came out under POSCO’s localization programs.

In 2009, the company developed an instrument to measure the width of its steel sheets and a pinhole detector, both it said key equipment for its business.

The Pohang-based steelmaker said it plans to export its latest equipment through POSCO ICT Co., its information technology arm, alongside the previous two products.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)