ID :
191526
Tue, 06/28/2011 - 12:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/191526
The shortlink copeid
Japan's Toray starts work on carbon fiber plant
(ATTN: ADDS Toray president's comments in paras 6-10)
GUMI, South Korea, June 28 (Yonhap) -- Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc. broke ground Tuesday for its first South Korean carbon fiber plant in this southern city to meet growing demand for the high-tech material at home and abroad.
The South Korean subsidiary of the Japanese chemical firm Toray Industries Inc. said it will spend 63 billion won (US$58.3 million) to build the plant in Gumi, an industrial city some 261 kilometers south of Seoul.
The plant will become operational in January 2013 and will have an annual capacity of 2,200 tons of high-strength carbon fiber, the company said.
High-strength and low-weight carbon fibers are used in many industries including automobiles, airplanes and robots, as well as in leisure equipment like tennis rackets and fishing rods.
"Mass production of carbon fiber in South Korea will help improve the competitiveness of the local auto, electric, machinery and other industries, said Toray President Akihiro Nikkaku said.
Nikkaku said that South Korea is a perfect place to set up a carbon fiber plant, considering price competitiveness, labor quality and free trade deals that Seoul has been pushing for. South Korea's free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union will go into effect on July 1.
"There are many companies and firms in South Korea that produce intermediary products or end-products using carbon fiber," he said. "Seoul's FTAs will help increase exports of South Korean cars. That was one of the big points."
He said that it will take years to gain substantial achievements in high-tech carbon fiber research, referring to Hyosung Corp., a South Korean maker of industrial chemicals and power systems, which said it had developed carbon fiber on its own earlier this year.
"I'm not sure it can catch up with Toray. We have studied carbon fiber for 40 years," he said.
Toray also announced a plan to build a new plant in Gumi, which the company expects to help achieve 500 billion won in operating profit on sales of 5 trillion won from its high-tech material business by 2020.
Meanwhile, Toray signed a memorandum of understanding with the local government of Gumi to invest 1.3 trillion won in building plants for carbon fiber, information technology and other sectors in Gumi over the 10 years from 2013.
"We want to make South Korea a global hub for producing industrial carbon fiber," said the company.
At present, South Korea imports the 2,400 tons of carbon fiber it uses from companies in Japan and the United States that have effectively controlled the technology to make the high-tech fibers.
As of 2011, the global market for high-grade carbon fibers stood at 50,000 tons worth $2 billion, with demand expected to rise an average of 11 percent annually to top $5 billion by 2020.
brk@yna.co.kr
GUMI, South Korea, June 28 (Yonhap) -- Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc. broke ground Tuesday for its first South Korean carbon fiber plant in this southern city to meet growing demand for the high-tech material at home and abroad.
The South Korean subsidiary of the Japanese chemical firm Toray Industries Inc. said it will spend 63 billion won (US$58.3 million) to build the plant in Gumi, an industrial city some 261 kilometers south of Seoul.
The plant will become operational in January 2013 and will have an annual capacity of 2,200 tons of high-strength carbon fiber, the company said.
High-strength and low-weight carbon fibers are used in many industries including automobiles, airplanes and robots, as well as in leisure equipment like tennis rackets and fishing rods.
"Mass production of carbon fiber in South Korea will help improve the competitiveness of the local auto, electric, machinery and other industries, said Toray President Akihiro Nikkaku said.
Nikkaku said that South Korea is a perfect place to set up a carbon fiber plant, considering price competitiveness, labor quality and free trade deals that Seoul has been pushing for. South Korea's free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union will go into effect on July 1.
"There are many companies and firms in South Korea that produce intermediary products or end-products using carbon fiber," he said. "Seoul's FTAs will help increase exports of South Korean cars. That was one of the big points."
He said that it will take years to gain substantial achievements in high-tech carbon fiber research, referring to Hyosung Corp., a South Korean maker of industrial chemicals and power systems, which said it had developed carbon fiber on its own earlier this year.
"I'm not sure it can catch up with Toray. We have studied carbon fiber for 40 years," he said.
Toray also announced a plan to build a new plant in Gumi, which the company expects to help achieve 500 billion won in operating profit on sales of 5 trillion won from its high-tech material business by 2020.
Meanwhile, Toray signed a memorandum of understanding with the local government of Gumi to invest 1.3 trillion won in building plants for carbon fiber, information technology and other sectors in Gumi over the 10 years from 2013.
"We want to make South Korea a global hub for producing industrial carbon fiber," said the company.
At present, South Korea imports the 2,400 tons of carbon fiber it uses from companies in Japan and the United States that have effectively controlled the technology to make the high-tech fibers.
As of 2011, the global market for high-grade carbon fibers stood at 50,000 tons worth $2 billion, with demand expected to rise an average of 11 percent annually to top $5 billion by 2020.
brk@yna.co.kr