Dünya - South Korean steelmaker Pohang Iron and Steel Company’s (POSCO) USD 350 million facility in Turkey has only months to begin rolling out stainless steel to supply the domestic and regional markets. Scheduled to enter production in April 2013, the mill’s first operational phase will produce 200,000 tons of steel per annum, with a capacity to reach a million tons upon demand, according to POSCO Assan General Manager, Jong Won Kwon.

“POSCO’s investment in Turkey will reduce Turkey’s import dependency on steel products and will lead to price drops,” Kwon told reporters in a tour in the company’s factory under construction in the northwestern province of Kocaeli. “POSCO’s competitiveness will help reduce Turkey’s foreign trade deficit. Our plant is able to supply more than half of the domestic demand,” Kwon noted. Turkey’s steel consumption was around 360,000 tons last year.

The country’s becoming an auto and home appliances production hub has increased the steel demand considerably in recent years. Source: IIT