History of Wuhan Iron & Steel
Wuhan Iron & Steel is the fifth largest steelmaker in the world, producing almost 38 million tonnes (mt) of steel in 2011.
The timeline below covers the history of the firm.
- 1955: Construction of Wuhan iron and steel facilities commences.
- 1958: Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp (WISCO) founded in 1958.
- 1959: Open hearth furnace No.1 put into production at Qingshan.
- 1963: Qingshan heavy steel rolling mill project completed.
- 1970: WISCO production of iron & steel reaches 1 million tons.
- 2005: Acquisition by Wuhan of 51% equity of Liuzhou Iron & Steel.
- 2006: Chinese wire rope m/f jv agreed with Wire Corp of America.
- 2007: Plan for integration of Kunmin Steel by WISCO agreed.
- 2008: WISCO sets up trading office on US West Coast.
- 2009: Acquisition announced of Echeng Iron and Steel by WISCO.
- 2009: Commissioning by Liuzhou Steel of new convertor at Nanning.
- 2012: Long-term export cooperation agreement signed with POSCO.
- 2012: Purchase completed by Wuhan of remaining equity of Liuzhou.
- 2012: Wuhan Steel drops plans to build Brazil steel mill.
- 2016: Start-up expected of new 8.6 mt/yr steelworks Fangchengang.
Notes
- 1955: WISCO started civil work at its Qingshan plant. This step symbolised the birth of the first 'steel city' in new China.
- 1974: New steel mill equipment was introduced from the former Federal Republic of Germany and from Japan. This set a precedent for the introduction of modern foreign technology to the Chinese Iron and Steel Industry, as was therefore a notable step for the industry.
- 2005: Wuhan Iron & Steel Group, China's third-biggest steelmaker at the time, agreed in December 2005 to pay 6.5 billion yuan (HK$6.2 billion) for 51 percent of state-owned Liuzhou Iron & Steel Group.
- 2012: The plans to build a steel plant in Brazil were dropped after negotiations on infrastructure investment [railways and port terminals] floundered, according to a Wugang spokesman.
- 2016: This refers to commissioning of a new greenfield integrated steel plant at Fangchengang Port, a project estimated to cost ~$9.5 billion.
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