History of POSCO
The Pohang Iron & Steel Company was established in 1968. As at end-2011, POSCO was the fourth largest steelmaker in the world, producing ~39 million tonnes of crude steel.
The timeline below covers the history of the firm.
- 1968: Pohang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. founded.
- 1970: Construction commenced of the Pohang Works.
- 1983: Construction started of the Gwangyang Works.
- 1987: Construction of headquarters completed in Pohang.
- 1988: Pohang Iron and Steel Co part privatised.
- 1988: Stock of Pohang Iron and Steel listed stock exchange in Korea.
- 1994: ADRs listed on the New York stock exchange.
- 1994: Creation of two subsidiary companies, POSTEEL & POSTRADE.
- 1995: Construction of Corex plant completed.
- 2000: Privatisation of Pohang Iron and Steel Company completed.
- 2002: Change of company name to POSCO.
- 2003: Opening of the POSCO Museum.
- 2004: Participation in Benxi jv [China, cold rolling].
- 2005: Orissa state & POSCO sign Indian new plant agreement.
- 2005: Construction of Zhangjiagang stainless plant in China.
- 2005: Completion of Gwangyang LNG Terminal.
- 2005: POSCO ADRs listed on the Tokyo stock exchange.
- 2006: Construction of #1 Finex plant 1.5 mt/year capacity.
- 2008: Rumours of prospective bid for Daewoo Shipbuilding.
- 2009: Acquisition of Asian Stainless Corp in Vietnam.
- 2009: Coating line completed in Mexico [galvanized auto sheet].
- 2010: Indian government orders suspension of POSCO project work.
- 2010: Acquisition by POSCO of Daewoo International.
- 2011: Purchase of stake in Thainox - large stainless steel producer.
- 2012: India suspends POSCO plant environment licence in March.
- 2012: Plan revealed for $1.5bn capacity expansion in Maharashtra.
- 2013: POSCO consortium buys 15% of ArcelorMittal Mines Canada.
Notes
- Creation of POSCO was as the result of Government deliberations during the 1960s that self-sufficiency in iron and steel and construction of an integrated steel plant were essential to Korea's economic development.
- Construction of the first steel works at Pohang was funded by money received from Japan. This funding was part of a compensation payment received from Japan for its colonial rule of Korea.
- In 1986 US Steel entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Pohang Iron and Steel Company to modernize its Pittsburg plant (California) - to supply the facilty with high quality steel. This venture is now known as USS-POSCO Industries, and operates cold rolling and coating plant on the West Coast.
- 1988: Until the part privatisation, ownership of POSCO was held by the Ministry of Finance and the Government-owned Korea Development Bank.
- 1988: POSCO's Indian project centres on a $12 billion steel-making complex, which includes a power plant and a port.
- 1994: POSTEEL is the domestic sales distribution company, whilst POSTRADE handles POSCO's foreign distribution and product sales.
- 2010: According to some analysts, the purchase of Daewoo was at a price significantly above market value.
- 2012: Capacity expansion project at steel plant in Maharashtra is for reprocessing of austenitic and cold rolled stainless steel at the facility in the Vile-Bhagad and Palasgaon industrial area in Raigad district.
Back to
Knowledge Base Index 
