Hyundai's Dustless Blast Furnace Starts Operation

Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-goo starts ignition of the newly completed blast furnace of its steel-making affiliate Hyundai Steel at its mill in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Hyundai Steel

By Kim Hyun-cheol, The Korea Times


Hyundai Steel, an affiliate of local auto giant Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, started operating the country's biggest blast furnace that emits no dust during production, Tuesday.

The company held an igniting ceremony for the first-ever integrated plant in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province that will churn out a total of 4 million tons of steel products annually. Construction was completed three years and three months after ground was broken in October 2006.

Guests at the ceremony included Hyundai-Kia Chairman Chung Mong-koo and Marc Solvi, CEO of Paul Wurth S.A. The Luxembourg-based engineering firm, an affiliate of world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal, supplied core technological components for the furnace.

``Through Hyundai Steel's substantial investment of 5.8 trillion won ($5.1 billion), we constructed the most advanced and eco-friendly integrated steel mill in the world, which is also in line with the government's low carbon, green growth agenda,'' Chung said at the ceremony.

``It will give our automotive group a strong edge by allowing us to secure and develop our own supply of high-quality steel, as well as contributing to the Korean economy.''

The overall capacity of the mill located in the west-costal city will be expanded to an annual 8 million tons in 2011, when the company completes a second furnace at the same site.

Standing 110 meters in height and 17 meters in width, the furnace features various engineering technologies and is expected to help Hyundai Steel secure better competitiveness in both quality and price when fully operational.

The most prominent feature of the new steel mill is its emission control system, which eliminates the production of scattering dust, the worst pollutant from integrated steel plants.

Its dome-shaped roof, 60 meters in height and 130 meters in diameter, on its processing and storage unit keeps dust from scattering by delivering iron ore and soft coal directly from the port to the mill on airtight conveyer belts.

Solvi said the new blast furnace features the best available technologies and solutions as one of the most modern steel-making facilities.

Hyundai-Kia also expects the newest facility to boost the ailing local economy by creating jobs and business opportunities for small- and medium-sized companies.

The Dangjin steel mill will create some 171,000 jobs in construction and operation, the conglomerate forecast. After the entire facility is completed in 2011, it is expected to lead to sales of more than 1.7 trillion won for related local small- and medium-sized firms.