OREANDA-NEWS. September 18, 2013. POSCO is proactively developing products to produce high quality products at the lowest costs and increase profitability by applying `Paradox technology.`

Pohang Steelworks recently developed the `PosPATH (POSCO PAradox Technology for Heavy plate` technology which can produce heavy plates up to 200mm in thickness. `PosPATH` is a new technology which improves the shortcoming of heavy plates with thicknesses greater than 100mm compared to slip sheet.

Heavy plates are necessary for the energy industry which produces offshore structures, storage tanks, and pressurized containers require high core quality.

Germany`s Dillinger and Japan`s NSSMC are the few steelworks that have the technology to assure high quality of the core of heavy plates with thicknesses greater than 100mm. However, Dillinger and NSSMC both mainly use ingot to produce heavy plates, which have low productivity and high costs thus leading to longer time for production and delivery.

Accordingly, Pohang Steelworks quality technology team and operating team engineers started technology development this past October by benchmarking steelworks of Europe. They then analyzed the entire production process, extracted necessary elemental technology in each process, succeeded in technology development in 6 months, and started commercial production this past March.

This technology development is meaningful in that it was led by an on-site steelworks engineer and succeeded with existing equipment in a short period of time, without additional equipment investment. POSCO with the development of `PosPATH` increased UT (Ultrasonic Test) quality assured thickness from the previous 80mm to 200mm.

This technology has been applied to producing other steel plate products in addition to steel plates for energy, reducing the overall steel plate product UT defective rate to one-fifth of previous rates, greatly increasing quality competitiveness.

Additionally, by producing heavy plates using the Continuous Casting Slab method, rather than the ingot casting method mostly used by other companies, production costs can be lowered while quick delivery dates can be secured. Also, the company expects to be able to stably supply materials for the domestic energy plant industry which until now relied purely on imported heavy plates.

The global plant market is expected to grow from 1.9 trillion USD in 2010 to 2.5 trillion USD in 2015, an average yearly growth of 5.9%. The energy plant market is a high value added industry taking up 70% of the business.

POSCO expects to increase its market influence with the development of this technology.

Meanwhile, POSCO has been participating at the Offshore Technology Conference held in the U.S. since 2008 to enter the constantly growing energy plant market. Also since 2011, joint projects in the energy industry sector have been in development at the POSCO Family level to create synergy, hosting invitational receptions for energy related companies and other proactive marketing activities.