According to the Hubei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Wuhan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd (WISCO), during the first eight months of 2010 the company's total production of grain-oriented (GO) silicon steel increased by 45 percent year on year. The steel producer's annual output of the product in question may exceed 400,000 mt for the current year, making the company the world's largest producer of grain-oriented silicon steel.
During the past five years, WISCO has increased its steel production capacity to 40 million mt per year, of which 18 million mt are accounted for by the group's main production base in Qingshan, Wuhan, Hubei Province. When the project for the Fangchenggang steel production base is completed and starts production, the annual production capacity of WISCO will rise to 60 million mt.
WISCO is the second largest auto steel producer in China, with independent R&D capability. In 2010, the company's annual production capacity of auto steel products is 2 million mt. The consumers of WISCO's auto steel output are the main domestic automakers, including Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle Company, Chery Company and FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Company.
As regards energy savings, in 2010 WISCO is expected to generate 2.8 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) from residual heat, up from 580 million kWh in 2005.