'Restarting POSCO's Pohang plant in 135 days was a miracle'

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Tue, September 26, 2023 | 08:39

Companies

POSCO's 135-day Pohang plant recovery dubbed 'miracle'

Posted : 2023-03-27 16:47

Updated : 2023-03-28 15:37

In the left photo, POSCO employees work to restore the second hot rolling mill at Pohang Works in North Gyeongsang Province after it was hit by Typhoon Hinnamnor last September. In the right photo, the mill produces hot molten iron after full restoration. Courtesy of POSCO

By Kim Hyun-bin

Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province ― POSCO's fully restored Pohang Works was busier than ever, just six months after the devastation of Typhoon Hinnamnor, which flooded key facilities and forced the company to halt operations for the first time in 49 years.

On Sept. 6, 2022, the steel mill was flooded due to the super typhoon, but just 135 days later, the plant is once again in full swing producing red-hot molten iron that surpasses 1,000 degrees Celsius.

POSCO held a press tour at its Pohang steel mill on March 23 to show off the completion of restoration work.

The site was lively with heat and sparks emanating from the molten iron, the funky smell from the metal, the loud mechanical sounds ringing in the ears and even the sweat on the foreheads of the workers bringing back life to the plant. It seemed to have completely returned to normal to become the backbone of Korea's manufacturing industry once again.

The most damaged sector was the second hot rolling mill. At 8 meters underground, where the hydraulic oil supply device is located, the space 420 meters long and 12 meters wide had been submerged completely underwater.

But 100 days after the flood damage, the hot rolling mill started operation again.

"It's been 99 days since the factory was restored, and on the first day it started operating again, I was so happy to see that the rolling mill was in operation, I secretly cried all day long," said Lee Hyun-chul, head of the 2nd Hot Rolling Mill at Pohang Works.

Molten iron comes out of the second blast furnace of POSCO's steel mill in Pohang. / Courtesy of POSCO

Now at the site, freshly produced red-hot steel slabs are continuously being pushed out and flattened at about two-minute intervals, accounting for 5 million tons of annual production.

"We were able to restore and normalize operation in just 135 days, which many called a miracle," said Choun Si-youl, deputy head at Pohang Works, process and quality sector.

At that time, the 6.2 million liters of water flooded the steel mill, an amount that would fill the area of Yeouido to a depth of 2.1 meters. This large amount of water surged into the steel mill in just one hour.

"When Typhoon Hinnamnor hit, most of the factories were flooded and the electricity was cut off, so it was really devastating. What I missed the most was the sound of the facility operating. However, thanks to the support of many people inside and outside the company, the company was able to persevere and overcome the crisis," said Chung Seok-jun, plant leader, Wire Rod Rolling Department at POSCO's Pohang Steelworks.

It was not easy to recover from flood damage in the beginning. POSCO poured all its efforts into recovery support, mobilizing a total of 1.4 million people including employees, partner companies, firefighters and marines to restore the plant as quickly as possible.

"I gave up my holidays with my employees for recovery and ran various simulations every day all night long," said Lee Hyun-chul, part leader at Pohang Works' hot rolling department.

Established in February 1972, Pohang Works is more than three times the size of Yeouido and is the only steel mill in the world that produces products such as hot-rolled steel, cold-rolled steel and thick steel plates. Pohang Works covers an area of 11.3 square kilometers.

hyunbin@koreatimes.co.kr