Korean steelmaker to build plant at Port of Indiana

South Korean steelmaker POSCO this spring plans to start building a $19 million wire rod processing plant at the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville.    South Korean steelmaker POSCO plans to start construction this spring on a wire rod processing plant at the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville. 
   The $19 million project includes a 136,000-square-foot facility to be built on about 10 acres at the Great Lakes port. POSCO plans to start construction this spring, which will be the company’s second steel processing line and fourth production line in the United States. The plant should be in full operation by 2018 and employ up to 60 people, the port authority said.
   POSCO cited the port’s proximity to its U.S. market base as its primary reason for setting up the operation there.
   “It is critical for our business to receive cargo by water and to be centrally located in the U.S. market. The Jeffersonville’s port location will allow us to connect with global markets and supply our U.S. automotive customers with ‘just-in-time’ deliveries,” said POSCO executive Kyu Tae Kim in a statement.
   “Steel processors at our port currently supply components for all six of the top U.S. automakers as well as to many Tier 1 suppliers and other participants in the automotive industry’s supply chain. The port’s multimodal transportation options, including year-round barge access to the Gulf of Mexico, offer significant logistics cost savings for POSCO,” said Rich Cooper, chief executive officer for the Port of Indiana.
   The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville includes a “steel campus” of 12 metal-processing companies serving the Midwest auto and appliance industries. The port handled more than 1 million tons of steel cargoes in 2015 and 2.8 million in total shipments.