On November 23, South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co. held its second blast furnace ‘firing' ceremony at its integrated steel works in Dangjin, South Korea.
The ceremony marks the completion of Hyundai Steel's second blast furnace, which has an annual capacity of 4 million mt, following the start of operation of its first 4 million mt blast furnace in January this year. Both blast furnaces use eco-friendly technologies.
A company release said that Hyundai now has 20 million mt of annual capacity, as a result of which it ranks among the top ten crude steel producers in the world. Hyundai Steel is currently the world's second-largest electric arc furnace steelmaker. Luxembourg-based Paul Wurth SA oversaw the engineering of the blast furnace.
Hyundai Steel said the construction of the second blast furnace was completed more than one month earlier than scheduled, finished in just 29 months since the groundbreaking ceremony.
Hyundai's integrated steel works aim to start delivering high-quality automotive steels in 2011.