POSCO has established a "One Team" system for eight core strategic products to preemptively capture the future steel market and strengthen its fundamental competitiveness in steelmaking.
POSCO announced on the 27th that it newly established project teams earlier this month for next-generation growth market stainless steel, PosMAC for renewable energy, high-manganese steel, and electric arc furnace premium steel. Including the energy plate, electrical steel for power, GigaSteel, and HyperNO teams launched in December last year, all eight core strategic product technology development project teams have completed their formation and begun full-scale operations.
At the end of last year, POSCO selected eight core strategic products to rebuild steel competitiveness and secure future growth engines, and has been building a project team system that integrates management of the entire process from technology development to production and sales. The project teams are placed directly under the Pohang and Gwangyang steelworks, operating with a field-centered approach where research outcomes are immediately applied to production processes. Through this, the company aims to secure leadership in future markets centered on high-value-added steel products.
In particular, POSCO plans to differentiate its strategic product portfolio according to the R&D and production process characteristics of both steelworks to enhance competitiveness. Pohang Steelworks will focus its capabilities on becoming a leading steelworks for new energy steel materials, concentrating on performance improvement and product development of energy steel used in oil, gas, power generation, and renewable energy sectors in line with increasing global power demand.
Gwangyang Steelworks, which specializes in automotive steel sheets, will strengthen its competitiveness as a steelworks specializing in new mobility and new growth steel materials to secure steel leadership in the autonomous driving and future mobility markets and respond to expanding demand for low-carbon products.
At the POSCO Group Tech Forum held in November last year, POSCO Group Chairman Inhwa Chang stated, "We will concentrate resources on core strategic products and innovative processes, pursue 'One Team'-style major projects with overwhelming competitive gaps involving all of research, production, and sales, accelerate technology development, and complete the group's future competitiveness through innovative technologies." In his New Year's address this year, he also emphasized, "We must complete the portfolio of eight core strategic products that are key to future industries and strengthen market leadership."
As the "export cliff" has become reality with major export destinations including the United States raising tariffs and exports to the U.S. declining 8%, the government is strengthening legal and institutional safeguards for carbon reduction and export structure advancement through the implementation of the "K-Steel Act."
POSCO is taking the lead in improving the constitution of the domestic steel ecosystem in line with the government's "Steel Industry Advancement Plan" by strengthening competitiveness in eight core strategic products based on technology, facility, and production process innovation.
A POSCO official said, "Amid difficult business conditions including the flood of low-priced imports and global tariff barriers, we will expand our portfolio centered on eight core strategic products through One Team synergy that breaks down barriers between departments and solidify our leadership in future industrial markets."