Chairman Lee Young-kwan of Toray Chemical announced the 2020 Vision at a media conference on July 9 at Shilla Hotel which eyes boosting the company’s annual sales to 2 trillion won in 2020 and operating profit of 150 billion won to sustain its drive as a raw materials company in Korea providing segregated value. Also present at the media conference was President Akihiro Nikaku of Toray Industries, Inc. in Japan
Toray Chemical, former Woongjin Chemical renamed as Toray Chemical after being taken over by Toray Industries of Japan, will invest 237 billion won until 2020 to expand its new material business and also to make its textile business structure advanced one, Chairman Lee said
Korea has been a bridgehead for Toray’s global advancement and Toray will continue to increase its investments in textile and new materials from a long-term perspective,” said President Akihiro Nikaku of Toray Industries Inc. in Japan during a media conference.
The Toray president added that Toray expects its exports to China to expand when Korea’s FTA with China is concluded at the end of this year, as Korea’s geographical position will be further improved as far as trade with China is concerned.
Toray, a representative maker of textiles, plastics, carbon textiles, filters, films, medicine, and separation film, among others, has taken over Woongjin Chemical and renamed it Toray Chemical, but continues to produce what the old company had been turning out including raw cotton, yarn, filters, film, aramid, and other new materials.
Toray Industries Inc. operates eight affiliates in Korea besides Toray Chemical, including Toray High-Tech Material and Steco, a joint-venture with Samsung Group. The Japanese group has 151 affiliates in 24 countries including China, the United States and Europe.
President Nikaku revealed that the group’s sales in 2013 amounted to 18.9 trillion won with operating profit of 1.83 trillion won. The company aims to boost its annual sales to 30.9 trillion won by 2020 and operating profit to 3.9 trillion won.
With regard to management and strategies for Toray Chemical, he said synergy should be created if Toray Japan’s technologies and overseas network are combined with Toray Chemical’s know-how.
Toray, which has been supplying its textile products including yarns and fabrics to world-renowned global clothing brands such as Uniqlo will make a great use of Toray Chemical, which aims to boost its annual sales to 2 trillion won and operating profit of 150 billion won in 2020 as announced during the media conference.
President Nikaku said Toray has been engaged in R&D activities for textiles for 80 years and for more than 40 years for carbon textiles. “You should be engaged in R&D activities for a long time for raw materials, as only raw materials can change products. You have to have long-accumulated technologies in the raw materials industry to be successful, otherwise it’s impossible,” Nikaku said.
In the meantime, Toray dedicated its plant for PPS, a kind of industrial plastic, in the Saemankum Industrial Complex on July 8. The Japanese firm plans to invest around 800 billion won by 2018 to expand the production of plastic materials for auto, precision machinery, and chemical plants and export them to the Asian market including China.
In April 2013, the company dedicated a carbon textile plant in the Gumi Industrial Complex in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, under its plan to continue to make investments in Korea.
Chairman Lee Yong-kwan of Toray Chemical, who attended the media conference with President Nikaku, said Korea’s business environment has begun to worsen for foreign companies in Korea, with work hours cut short, increases in salaries, and an extension in the retirement age taking place..
