South Korea’s biggest steelmaker Posco said on Wednesday that cumulative sales of its first overseas automotive steel sheet processing center in Suzhou, China, has topped 5 million tons, becoming the company’s first steel processing facility to achieve the milestone.

According to Posco, cumulative sales of its first-ever processing center for automotive steel sheets in Suzhou reached 5 million tons as of Wednesday thanks to its location close to Shanghai that is crowded with global top 100 automakers including Shanghai GM, Volkswagen, and Geely, as well as auto component manufacturers, keeping auto steel sheet demand strong. The center has marked rapid growth compared to the company’s other processing centers around the world.

Posco began the operation of its Suzhou auto steel plant in 2004 with an annual production capacity of 205,000 tons and added its second plant with 85,000 tons and stamping facility in 2007. In 2012, the company built its third factory and the fourth one last year, increasing the total annual production capacity of its Suzhou processing center to 470,000 tons to meet the burgeoning demand.

Compared to other processing centers that cut coil-shaped steel sheets into sizes that meet the needs of customers, Posco’s automotive processing center in Suzhou produces more value-added components by placing rolled steel into a mold to stamp out components, the company said.

Currently, Posco operates 13 processing centers in China including the one in Suzhou. Since last year, the company has been putting out efforts to enhance management efficiency and cut costs by unifying operations in workforce management and financing.

About 120 officials including those from Shanghai Tractor, Geely, and Shanghai Volkswagen, as well as from the regional government attended the ceremony to congratulate the 5 million ton sales milestone held at the Suzhou processing center.

By Woo Je-yoon and Lee Eun-joo

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