November 28, 2024

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Posco Group Vice Chairman Kim Hak-dong (fourth from left) and Siemens CEO Roland Busch (fifth from left) pose for a photo after a plaque-delivering ceremony at the Posco Center in Seoul, Tuesday. (Posco Group)

South Korean steelmaker Posco Group said Thursday that it has teamed up with German industrial giant Siemens to enhance the competitiveness of the steel industry during their meeting in Seoul, Tuesday.

Posco Vice Chairman Kim Hak-dong and Siemens CEO Roland Busch held the meeting to strengthen mutual cooperation between the two groups and find new business opportunities.

Siemens is Europe's largest engineering company pushing for business in a range of fields including factory automation, energy, power generation and medical care. The German company is a supplier of driving motors and control facilities to Posco. However, it is also a strategic partner, as it purchases rear plate products for wind towers from Posco.

Posco delivered a plaque of appreciation at the meeting, citing Siemens' help in recovering the flooding of the Nangcheon Stream at Pohang Steelworks in September last year. Earlier, Siemens helped restore Pohang Steelworks by supplying all of its control facilities within three months, which usually takes more than a year to procure.

In addition, Posco announced plans to introduce its eco-friendly steel brand Greenable and actively respond to Siemens' demands for eco-friendly projects.

Launched in 2021, Greenable is Posco’s own green brand for specialized steel products and solutions used to produce, transport or store eco-friendly energy such as wind power, solar power and hydrogen.

In response, Siemens proposed supplying high-performance and high efficiency control systems to Posco. The German firm also decided to cooperate in smart factories and carbon-neutral areas, a common interest between the two companies.

"Strengthening business partnerships with Siemens will be of great help to Posco becoming competitive in the global market," Posco Vice Chairman Kim Hak-dong said.

"We hope for more exchanges in the supply of eco-friendly materials and energy-saving factory control facilities to materialize strategic cooperation between the two companies,” Kim added.

By Kim So-yeon (sera13@heraldcorp.com)