- Logistics innovation is expected with full automation of products receiving and shipping-out
- Multi-tier automatic warehouse is adopted to minimize product transfer

POSCO ICT (CEO Bong-Rae Cho) built the multi-tier automatic warehouse at Pohang Steelworks first in Korea, which fully automates wire rod product receiving and shipping-out.

The construction of the multi-tier automatic warehouse was started in December 2011, and completed after 1 year and 5 months of engineering works, rack installation, and trial run. The warehouse is built on the building area of 5,760m2 and equipped with 12,762 cells, which can store 25,000 tons of wire rods. This largest and first multi-tier automatic wire rod warehouse in Korea has more than 7 times storage capacity than existing floor warehouses using only one-fourth area, and provides the 15,800 ton receiving/shipping-out capacity a day.

The Pohang #4 multi-tier automatic wire rod warehouse completed on this occasion has the characteristic that products are shipped in and out in connection with existing production facilities, by applying the logistics system based on the production system of Pohang Steelworks; and the warehouse can be operated automatically without operator's intervention, by applying the centralized control system that supports synchronization among facilities. In addition, the warehouse can improve productivity and reduce logistics costs dramatically, as products from the steelworks can be shipped in and out 24 hours a day.

Wire rod normally weighs 2 tons, which is lighter than hot or cold rolling products by one tenth but the volume is same. As a result, wire rod occupies more space than other products. Therefore, wire rod products need to be transferred from the warehouse frequently, depending on product shipping time. During this process, the product surface can be damaged due to contact between products. The multi-tier automatic warehouse is regarded as a new-concept warehouse that can resolve all these problems of the floor warehouse.

POSCO ICT came to possess a total solution in the MEIC area by constructing the multi-tier automatic wire rod warehouse at Pohang Steelworks. Based on this reference, POSCO ICT plans to apply the system to domestic industrial sites, and expand its business area to overseas logistics automation and multi-tier automatic warehouse.