Posco produces thinnest hot rolled coil plate in Korea

Korea’s top steelmaker Posco has succeeded in producing the thinnest hot rolled coil plate with its own technology, the company said Monday, opening the way for cheaper steel for carmakers and other manufacturers.

The steelmaker said it produced a hot rolled coil plate that is 0.8 millimeters thick. This is the world’s second success following Italian firm Arvedi. 

The development of thinner hot rolled coil is expected to reduce factory costs for its customers, as that thickness could previously only be made using more expensive cold rolled methods.

The thinner plates can be used for automotive panels, electronics parts and pipes, uses which have until now been dominated by cold rolled steel, according to Posco.

The thinnest hot rolled coil is usually 1.2 millimeters. About 33 percent additional pressure is needed to take the hot rolled coil down to 0.8 millimeters, but the usual production method of hot rolling often breaks the coil if that much pressure is applied, the company said.

Posco said it was able to make the hot rolled coil thinner using its compact endless casting and rolling mill (CEM) that allows it to skip the “cooling down” process, it added. The CEM technology allows mass production of hot-rolled products through a directly connected configuration of casting and rolling lines.

Posco said its next target would be to make thinner hot rolled coil, at 0.75 millimeters thickness. 

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)