posco AMERICA

02/04/2010

- 120,000 ton plant to boost U.S. auto industry

The company broke ground for POSCO-AAPC, a 120,000-ton-per-year processing facility inside the Jefferson Metropolitan Industrial Complex in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, on January 28.

The groundbreaking ceremony featured more than 100 VIP guests from the city government and related companies, including POSCO senior vice president Oh In-hwan, Birmingham Mayor William Bell and Birmingham Business Alliance`s CEO Dalton Smith.

Oh, in his opening speech, said, ``We will do our best to maintain the best possible quality of our products through ceaseless efforts based on our accumulated technologies and know-how.

I promise that we will grow together with the local community and all of you. The new project will contribute greatly to the local economy.``

Mayor Bell replied in his congratulatory remarks that the pleasure was his to have the steel company with over 40-years of history build the processing center in the city.

``I appreciate that POSCO helps Birmingham to be the industrial center for Southeastern America once again,`` he said.

The facility equipped with the most up-to-date technologies to produce automobile and electric plates is scheduled to open in July.

Through the new facility, the steelmaker plans to enhance its sales capabilities in the region, especially for Japanese and European automakers there, in addition to other customers of electric plates. Birmingham is the industrial center for the Southeastern United States and an emerging hub for the global auto industry. It is also an important traffic center, in which railways and expressways cross with each other.

Its superior infrastructures have lured an increasing number of automakers, including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen (and their parts suppliers) to set-up offices here.

Once open in July, the processing center will lay a firm foundation for the company`s North American business, in association with POSCO Mexico CGL, POSCO Mexico`s new Continuous Galvanizing Line plant. In addition to providing high quality auto and electric steel plates as per schedule, POSCO-AAPC is expected to enhance the competitiveness of its business partners while at the same time contributing to the growth of the local economy.

POSCO will also materialize its plans to build new production facilities in India and Indonesia, while expanding some of its processing centers in overseas locations.

The company said it has saved $2,000 on the groundbreaking ceremony, which will be given to Haiti earthquake victims under the names of its partners joining the ceremony.

By Kim Jun-yeon
junykim@posco.com

*POSCO, on January 28, broke the ground for POSCO-AAPC, 120,000 ton-per-year processing facility in Alabama.