South Korean lawmakers, government officials including Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Dukgeun (fifth from left) and Toray executives such as Toray Industries President Mitsuo Oya (third from right), Toray Advanced Materials Korea Chairman Lee Young-Kwan (second from right) and Toray Advanced Materials Korea CEO Kim Young-Seop (far right) take a picture after signing an MOU on investment plan on May 22, 2024, in Seoul (Courtesy of Toray Advanced Materials Korea)
Japan’s Toray Industries Inc., the leading global carbon textile manufacturer, plans to spend 500 billion won ($366.3 million) on expanding the capacity of eco-friendly materials production in South Korea to seek new growth drives with high-end products amid the recent slowdown in the petrochemical industry.
Toray Industries and its wholly owned subsidiary Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc. on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding for the investment in Seoul with the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and regional governments.
“We will keep expanding the high-tech materials with focuses on eco-friendly and high-performance products to create new values in a bid to deal with the rapidly changing materials industry,” said Toray Advanced Materials Korea CEO Kim Young-Seop in a statement.
TO RAMP UP CARBON FIBER, ARAMID FIBER CAPACITY
Toray Advanced Materials Korea plans to increase its carbon fiber production capacity at its plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) Southeast of Seoul, to 8,000 tons a year from the current 4,700 tons.
The expansion is expected to make South Korea account for 11.4% of Toray Industries’ annual global carbon fiber output of 70,000 tons.
Carbon fiber composites are significantly lighter than steel and can have a tensile strength of up to 10 times that of steel, making them ideal for industries such as aerospace and wind power, which require high strength and low weight.
Toray Advanced Materials Korea factory in Gumi (Courtesy of Toray Advanced Materials Korea)
Toray Advanced Materials Korea is also poised to raise aramid fiber output capacity at the Gumi factory to 5,000 tons a year from the current 3,000 tons.
Aramid fibers, a class of heat-resistance and strong synthetic fibers, are used for electric vehicle traction motors, heat-resistant clothes, extra high voltage transformers and others.
By Hyung-Kyu Kim
khk@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.
