The construction of a high-end cold rolled steel sheet factory for automobiles with a production capacity of 1.8 million tons in Maharashtra, India has just been completed by POSCO.
With a US$709 million (767.35 billion won) investment, the construction of the factory began in November 2011, and entered commercial production in June last year. The factory will provide high-quality automotive steel sheets to not only global luxury automakers, including GM and Volkswagen, but also Indian automakers, including Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj.
The company already obtained a quality certification last year from local automakers such as Tata, Maruti Suzuki, and Mahindra & Mahindra, only 4 months after it started its commercial production.
Through the operation of distribution affiliate POSCO-ISDC, and three processing affiliates POSCO-IPPC, POSCO-IDPC, and POSCO-ICPC neighboring the major automobile industrial complex, POSCO will have a close cooperation between its headquarters and the local subsidiaries. Also, it will supply various steel products to the Indian market, reinforcing its position in India.
Since India entered the global top 10 in terms of GDP last year and is projected to show a high economic growth of a whopping 6.3 percent, it is being called the “next China” as the world’s second most-populous country with 1.2 billion people with a demand for steel that is continuously rising.
An official from POSCO said, “As its domestic steel production cannot meet its consumption in India, its imports are constantly increasing.”