Hyundai Steel actively involved in building a 'growth-continuing steel company

By Publisher Lee Kyung-sik with Editors Joy Cho, Joseph Sung, Reporter Cho Su-bin

Chief Executive Officer An Tong-il of Hyundai Steel, leader of the steel industry in Korea and around the world says, “Hyundai Steel is actively involved in building a ‘growth-continuing steel company’ and we are fully convinced that we can surely attain this goal.” The following details are based on the details of an interview with CEO An:

At the forefront of changing industrial paradigms and social values in the Korea and many other parts of the world, Hyundai Steel is preparing to achieve a new ‘Great Leap Forward’ to firmly establish its corporate identity as a sustainable and eco-friendly steelmaker in Korea and around the world.

Hyundai Steel has released a new promotional video to showcase the value of iron as a part of nature and its vision as a leading sustainable and eco-friendly company in Korea and around the world.

On the theme of "Iron is Civilization and Nature," the video highlights the value of iron, which is dedicated to the enhancement of humanity, harmony, coexistence, and creation, and exhibits Hyundai's management philosophy of fulfilling its responsibilities and duties at the core.

In particular, the vision film is characterized by the use of various visual effects to portray Hyundai Steel's contribution to a new future and better value.

By utilizing dynamic soundtracks and collage techniques, the film broke the mold of existing promotional films and aimed to show the changing image of Hyundai Steel targeted at the MZ generation.

A senior official from Hyundai Steel said, "We made the video to communicate Hyundai Steel's management philosophy internally and externally, and to present our future image as an eco-friendly leader in the industry."

"Through collaboration with HMG (Hyundai Motor Group) in-house startup '3I Solution', we succeeded in localizing the 'Industrial Neutron Composition Analyzer'," said Hyundai Steel executive. "This is expected to improve production efficiency by analyzing raw materials such as iron ore and iron scrap in real time and deriving the optimal mixing ratio for each raw material," he said.

HMG's in-house startup '3I Solution' hosted a demonstration day on the August 9 and unveiled an industrial neutron elemental analyzer. A neutron composition analyzer is a device that analyzes the composition of raw materials using unique gamma rays generated when an element reacts with neutrons.

The neutron composition analyzer enables full inspection during raw material transfer, and the data generated in real time can be applied to the operation process to increase production efficiency.

In the case of the existing process of analyzing the composition of iron ore and iron scrap, it took an average of 8 hours from raw material sampling to inspection.

3I Solutions' neutron composition analyzer project began in 2018 when Hyundai Steel explored technologies to improve iron scrap grading.

The project was selected for the Hyundai Motor Group's startup team in 2021, and after more than two years of research and development, the component analyzer's performance verification was completed, and it is expected to be spun off this year.

In addition, a product for analyzing the composition of black powder from waste batteries is in the process of completion, and the company plans to expand its application to the secondary battery recycling industry, which has recently gained attention.

Hyundai Steel is considering introducing 3I Solution's neutron composition analyzer to the site, which is expected to secure cost competitiveness by deriving optimal raw material mixing ratios and preliminary data on the amount of auxiliary raw materials used, and to apply it to high-end iron scrap composition analysis, which is expected to increase in demand due to the transition to a carbon-neutral production system.

In July, Hyundai Steel released its 2023 Integrated Report, "Beyond Steel," which includes its sustainability goals and performance.

Since 2016, Hyundai Steel has published an integrated report combining the sustainability report and annual report every year to transparently disclose and communicate its sustainability management intentions and activities, including financial and non-financial performance, to stakeholders

The 2023 Integrated Report focuses on ESG management, which includes Hyundai Steel's ESG mid- and long-term strategic direction and system, as well as the results of materiality assessments, and breaks down ESG activities in each field, including environment, society, governance, and economy.

In the environmental field, Hyundai Steel presented its mid- to long-term carbon neutrality roadmap to achieve net-zero by 2050, as well as strategies for product decarbonization and process carbon reduction to achieve this goal, and introduced the results of our eco-friendly management activities, including greenhouse gas scope 3 data and biodiversity risk analysis in the regions where the company’s domestic plants are located.

In the social sector, Hyundai Stee

l summarized the key strategies and systems for strengthening safety and health management and major safety activities, and in the governance and economic sector, the company covered the enhanced compliance management system for transparent management and the major activities of the Compliance Management Committee.

"The importance of corporate social responsibility and sustainability, such as climate change response, carbon neutrality strategy, and supply chain ESG management, is growing every year," said CEO An Tong-il. "We will continue to promote activities for sustainable growth of society and the company by gathering the capabilities of all employees."
According to the company public relations sources, Hyundai Steel Industries started as Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. and has been recognized for its quality and technology in all areas of the construction industry in terms of construction experience and expertise over the past 40 years.

In addition, the company has made inroads into the marine wind business, which is a key field of eco-friendly energy, and has built and installed Asia's first marine substation, and is creating value in the renewable energy field with its best technology in Southwest Sea Wind, Jeju Hanlim Marine Wind, and Taiwan Changhwa Sea Wind.

In particular, Hyundai Steel is leading the market by building the only 14,000-ton offshore wind power installation ship in Korea to manufacture, install, turbine installation, and maintenance of offshore wind power foundation structures.

In the future, the management assures that all the executives and employees of the company will continue to try to make human life rich and safe through leading technology and "modern spirit" that is not afraid of change, and move forward vigorously for a better future. Expectations are high looking forward to the value creation of the modern steel industry that grows with customers and contributes to human society.

About Hyundai Steel:

Hyundai Steel, as was briefly introduced afore, was founded in 1953 as Korea’s first steel company.

Since then, Hyundai Steel has overcome various challenges guided under the notion that the development of the steel industry constitutes the country’s competitiveness. Over that same time, the company has proudly contributed to the economic development of Korea. In 2010, when the nation’s first privately funded integrated steel mill was completed, Hyundai Steel emerged into the global steelmaker market with a globally competitive product portfolio.

Above all, Hyundai Steel’s role in the Hyundai Motor Group is pivotal as it stands as a backbone to the Group’s resource recycling chain--“from molten iron to automobiles.” Iron melted in a blast furnace is processed to be part of new cars, which at the end of their lifespans go into an electric arc furnace where they transform into H piles or reinforcing bars. This organic recycling of resources enhances energy efficiency, thereby contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In order to hone its competitiveness to sustain growth while meeting evolving customer needs in the ever-changing industry’s business environment, Hyundai Steel announced its new Vision 2025--“engineering the future beyond steel”--conveying its commitment to delivering innovative products and services that have different value far beyond customer expectations.

Going forward, Hyundai Steel is assigning its R&D efforts to develop products that can create new market demand to introduce customers to products of quality exceeding their demands. To that end, Hyundai Steel is fostering globally competent talents and building a communicative corporate culture where people work together based on mutual trust and a shared vision. Everyone at Hyundai Steel will devote their energy and wisdom to making the company a centennial steelmaker that can maximize customer value.

About CEO An Tong-il:

Hyundai Steel President An Tong-il creates the best portfolio prominent in the 2023 Top 100 CEOs of the Republic of Korea.

CEO An joined the POSCO in 1984, the then Korea's leading steelmaker, and worked his way up through the ranks of cold rolling mill maintenance department, managing director of POSCO Construction, deputy director of Gwangyang Works, and head of Gwangyang Works and Pohang Works.

An is considered a top expert in the field of production technology, having worked in steel production for 35 years.

He is pouring his 36 years of know-how into improving the competitiveness of Hyundai Steel.

Since taking over as president of Hyundai Steel, An has focused on securing the quality and productivity of automotive steel, including cold-rolled steel and special steel, by constantly communicating with employees in the field.

These efforts are showing tangible results. In the recent years, the quality of special steel normalized and reached a level that exceeded the quality target, and based on this, Hyundai Steel is trying to increase the proportion of special steel produced for automobiles to 62% in the first half of this year, up from 53% last year.

Hyundai Steel, which was founded in 1953 as Korea's first steelmaker and grew to become the world's second-largest electric blast furnace steelmaker, has led the development of Korea's steel industry, and in 2010, just four years after becoming the first privately capitalized company to enter the integrated steelmaking business, the company completed the integrated steelmaking system that produces steel from pig iron to automotive steel sheets.

As a result, Hyundai Stee; became the only steelmaker in Korea with a crude steel production capacity of 12 million tons each in the electric and blast furnace sectors, and a total capacity of 24 million tons, making it a global integrated steelmaker.

Hyundai Steel currently produces products at six plants in six regions of Korea, including Dangjin Integrated Steel Plant, the first privately built steel plant in Korea, and Incheon, Pohang, Suncheon, and Ulsan.

The blast furnace process, which uses iron ore and coal as raw materials, produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and thick plates, and the electric furnace process, which uses iron scrap to make steel, produces rebar and H-shaped steel, and is considered to have the best portfolio among global steelmakers.

In July 2015, Hyundai Steel declared a new vision, "Creating Value Beyond Iron," and vowed to take a new leap toward becoming a 100-year steelmaker. It also plans to promote "application engineering" as a business strategy to achieve the new vision.

It is a strategy that creates and provides differentiated value in all processes from the planning and design stage to production and sales to maximize the competitiveness of customers, and plans to evolve and develop the existing collaboration model with automakers and expand it to construction and shipbuilding companies.

“Based on this strategy, we launched Korea's first brand specializing in earthquake-resistant steel, 'H CORE', in November 2017,” reminisces CEO An. He says: “Created through a nationwide brand contest, H CORE means ‘Hyundai Steel’ who will be the center (CORE) of making Korea safe.”

Brief personal history of CEO An:
Born in 1959, Cheongju, Korea. Wins B.S. in Production Machinery Engineering, Pusan National University. Master of Business Administration, McGill University. Joined Pohang Works in 1984. Managing Director of POSCO E&C in 2008. Executive Vice President of POSCO in 2013. 2015, 11th President of POSCO Gwangyang Works (Vice President). 2017, 20th President of POSCO Pohang Works. 2019 President and CEO of Hyundai Steel (current).

For further details on the Hyundai Steel Company, please visit: https://www.hyundai-steel.com/en/index.hds