Hyundai Steel Co. said Thursday it will supply 5-meter-wide steel plate rollers to India’s Essar Steel Ltd., becoming the first Korean company to enter the market for the large machinery.

Only six companies in Germany, Japan and Sweden have so far manufactured rolling machines for steel plates with a width of more than five meters.

The annual global demand for the super-wide rollers amounts to 250 million tons, 12 percent of which is from Korean steelmakers such as POSCO, Hyundai Steel and Dongkuk Steel Mill. 

Hyundai Steel said it aims to grab a global market share of 5 percent this year and 15 percent by 2014.

“Due to the limited number of suppliers, delivery of the super-wide steel plate rollers takes a long time and the prices are high, too,” a Hyundai Steel official said.

“But our development of the rollers will help steel plate makers cut costs and more easily manage their delivery time.”

Hyundai Steel was the first in Korea to enter the large steel rolling machinery market after establishing a technological partnership with America’s Blaw-Knox in 1975.

Hyundai Steel also manufactures rollers for iron rods and steel sheets.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)