Hyundai Steel Co., part of the Hyundai Automotive Group, started operation of its first blast furnace at its new integrated steel mill in South Korea. The blast furnace, which was completed three years after groundbreaking, has an annual capacity of 4 million metric tons. It has an inner volume of 5,250 m3, maximum width of 17 meters and height of 110 meters. According to Hyundai, state-of-the-art emissions-control methods are incorporated into the design.
Hyundai steel is aiming to complete its No. 2 blast furnace by early 2011 to reach a total capacity of 8 million metric tons/year. The company invested approximately $5 billion in the steel mill, which allows it to secure its own supply of high-quality steel.