President Jeon Hae-sang of Toray Advanced Materials Korea receives the presidential award from Vice Minister Park Jin-gyu of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at a ceremony to celebrate the 34th anniversary of Textile Day at the Textile Center in Seoul on Nov. 11. (Photo: TAK)

President Jeon Hae-sang of Toray Advanced Materials Korea was presented with the presidential award at a ceremony to celebrate the 34th anniversary of Textile Day. The ceremony took place at the Textile Center in Seoul on the same day.

TAK President Jeon said at the awards ceremony that he was taking the opportunity to redouble efforts to promote co-prosperity between his company and the textile industry.

President Jeon was one of the individuals and organizations who received 56 orders and other government prizes in recognition of their contributions to the development of the textile industry.

He has been credited with his contribution to upgrading technologies such as next-generation, value-added meta aramid and carbon fibers and stabilizing the supply of masks by substituting non-woven fabric production facilities, thus helping the nation cope with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Toray Advanced Materials Korea is putting societal contributions into practice in accordance with its management tenet “Contributing to Society through Creative Management.”

In particular, as in the COVID-19 pandemic era, the company has contributed to overcoming a shortage of protective masks. Its role, and the significance of raw materials, have been placed under the public spotlight.

In 1990, Toray Advanced Materials Korea launched a business of the non-woven fabric polypropylene, a major raw material for producing masks, for the first time in Korea.

The company has become Asia’s No. 1 non-woven fabric maker with continuous investments and R&D.

The company has been praised for contributing to stabilizing the supply of masks in the face of a shortage. Korea once suffered a short supply of “melt blown filters,” an essential raw material for producing masks to protect people from the coronavrius.

President Jeon of Toray Advanced Materials Korea converted facilities to produce hygienic items for the COVID-19 cause, including converting diaper production sites to mass production centers for melt blown filters.

In order to realize social responsibilities ahead of immediate profits, the company reduced production for non-woven fabrics for diapers and supplied the melt blown filter earlier, contributing to stabilizing the supply of masks.  

Toray to Enter Five Major Business Areas 

 Chairman Lee Young-kwan of Toray Advanced Materials Korea gave a special lecture on the success factors of Toray Advanced Materials Korea, and the future business strategies it would employ, at the “Seoul-Tokyo Forum.” The event happened at the Korea Toray R&D Center on Nov. 10.

The lecture was attended by some 20 members of the SETO Forum, an exchange group of experts between Korea and Japan.

The lecture was held under the title “Toray, a Global Materials Company, and Growing Korea Toray Group.” Chairman Lee lectured on the innovation of Toray Group and the background of Korea Toray Group’s growth, and the future business strategy of Toray Advanced Materials related to Vision 2030.

Chairman Lee stressed the endless challenges and tenacity of Toray Group, such as extreme high quality pursuit, autonomy and creativity in the field of research, and development of carbon fiber, as factors that helped the company to become one of the world’s leading material companies.

He also emphasized that the success of Toray Advanced Materials was based on close cooperation with Toray Industries, successful convergence of corporate culture and continuous change. Innovation leads to competitiveness, and a stable organizational culture of trust and co-prosperity.

In order to achieve Vision 2030 and respond to global business changes by developing and harnessing these innovative DNA, he said the company will actively enter five major business areas, including next-generation displays, new mobility, and eco-friendly materials.

After hearing the lecture, the participants showed a fervent response by asking questions about areas of interest, such as Korea Toray Group’s investment expansion in Korea and Korea Toray Group’s business areas and products.