POSCO has secured the full order for the rolled steel required for the construction of Lotte World Tower. With 123 floors planned for above ground, and six below, Lotte World Tower, to be built in Jamsil in Seoul is to be the world's second tallest building, behind UAE's Burj Khalifa. The construction is planned to be completed by 2015, using 40,000 tonnes of rolled steel including regular and thermo mechanical control processed steel.
The Lotte World Tower project is a mega project that requires cutting edge construction technology from around the world both in the design and construction. Consequently, steel used in the project must have good anti shock capability and be able to withstand high winds and fire.
POSCO, with a keen grasp of the special features of steel required from the initial stages of the project, worked with List Steel Structure Lab to propose the adoption of extra thick plates including the 800? High performance grade steel and 120mm thick regular plates and steel column flat plate structure as well as module type steel piping.
POSCO also opened a briefing session regarding the quality control plan and the features of building use steel, where the benefits and features of its on site support and the excellence of the steel being used in the construction was explained, earning the plaudits from the construction experts in attendance.
Moreover, there are good prospects for the construction stage, with the Lotte World Tower being fitted with 120mm thick large scale concrete slabs at the ground floor level, which, as they are already mass produced, should be in secure supply. Initially, Lotte Construction, which had previously undertaken the project, was planning to use between 40mm and 80mm thick plates welding together. However, the use of two thick plates welded together incurs welding and input costs, resulting in weakening cost competitiveness. This is why POSCO suggested instead the use of 120mm thick high performance grade steel (SM490TMC).
In addition, POSCO decided, and Lotte Construction agreed, that it would produce 120mm plates using a facility that used to produce 80mm high performance steel, with internal quality tests and QA consultation applied on them and supply them to Lotte.
POSCO was able to show to the world the superiority of its high performance steel plates, through its winning of the full order for their use in the construction of the Lotte World Tower. It has also enabled POSCO to build its reputation as a total solution provider, through the way it responded to the construction brief. Furthermore, it raised its status in providing more value to customers and using steel application technology by meeting all the needs of customers in areas such as steel sales and proposal of key technologies for better use of steel and higher construction ability.
Looking ahead, POSCO is on course to strengthen its marketing of high rise construction projects through EVI (Expanded Value Initiative for Customer), and is planning to position itself with the USP of an expert in thick plate construction.
