South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. celebrated the installation of a new 17,000-ton steel forging press at its metal-forging plant in Changwon on the southern coast of the country on Friday.

The new 17,000-ton steel forging press is 29 meters tall and 9 meters wide, and it can forge steel ingot with the strength equivalent to 24 men pressing on the metal at the same time. It is world’s biggest four-pillar type forging press in the world, the company claimed.

The new machine that was installed to replace 35-year-old 13,000-ton forging press will also boost Changwon plant’s forged metal production capacity by nearly 34 percent. The 17,000-ton forging press is capable of forging steel ingots weighing 80,000 ton in total, which is as heavy as nearly 50,000 units of mid-sized sedans.

The company produces various components used in building power generators at its metal forging plant in Changwon, and it is capable of producing 140,000 tons of forged steel products annually. It operates a total of three forging presses - 17,000 ton, 4,200 ton, and 1,600 ton.

By Moon Ji-woong

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