With the commissioning of 0.6 million tonne Zhangjiagang Posco Stainless Steel JV in Jiangsu province, Posco has become the world’s 3rd largest SS maker with its yearly SS output of 2.6 million tonnes behind Spain’s Acerinox with 3.3 million tons and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Stahl with 3 million tons. Zhangjiagang Posco Stainless Steel mill is an integrated stainless steel mill in China, handling the entire production process from smelting iron ore to finished products, including the cold rolled stainless plant it already operates. The new facilities include an electric furnace with 1.4 million tons capacity and a hot rolled coil plant with 800,000 tons annual capacity. Posco’s investment in the stainless business in China now exceeds USD 1 billion mark, including USD 720 million spent on the new integrated mill, making the firm the biggest foreign investor there. The JV is 82.5% owned by Posco through its Chinese unit Posco China and 17.5% by Jiangsu Shangang.
