Toray Advanced Materials Korea (TAK) plans to expand polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin production capacity in Korea.
TAK said on Feb. 6 the company will implement a project to expand its PPS plant in Gunsan with an additional annual capacity of 5,000 tons by the end of 2024.
The expansion will raise TAK’s PPS production capacity to a combined 13,600 ton per annum, the most-ever one in Korea.
The expansion will raise Toray Industries Group’s global PPS production capacity to 32,600 tons per annum.
PPS is a heat-resistance, mechanical strength, flame retardant, super engineered plastic.
PPS is a value-added replacement to metal products thanks to properties, such as lightness and excellent fabrication.
Demand on EV lightweighting materials is on the rise, and the use of PPS is expanded to markets, such as electrical, electronics devices, housing facilities and industrial parts in recent years.
Toray is doubling down on expanding carbon fiber production in Korea and other countries.
Toray Industries plans to spend about 1 trillion won to expand production centers, including one in Korea, this year.
The move is designed to meet mid- and long-term demand by raising production of carbon fiber composites, which have emerged as a core material of future new industries, such as hydrogen, aerospace and aviation.
Attention is now being paid to how much Toray’s will invest.
Business sources said on Jan. 16 that Toray Industries (TAK) would splurge on 100 billon yen (968.3 billion won) to expand the production capacity of carbon-fiber reinforced polymers by 2025.
In particular, the investments will be made into production centers in Korea, the United States and France.
Toray’s decision to raise production capacity may be based on expectations the aviation industry may get back to life and the renewable energy sector grows as the COVID-19 pandemic eases.
It may be construed as Toray’s bid to meet demand by customer companies timely by securing CFRP production capacities in advance amid rising orders of airplanes, hydrogen fuel tanks and wind power generators.
CFRP is carbon fiber composite with high strength and elasticity, made by combining carbon fiber and plastic. CFRP is 25 percent lighter than steel and is 10 times more elastic.
It is used to produce a wide range of items ranging from golf clubs to rockets and missiles.
CFRP, in use for hydrogen storage containers, is evaluated to be an advanced future material to lead the hydrogen economy.
Toray Industrials is expected to announce the investment plan next month.
The Japanese company is expected to raise an overall production capacity of CFRP and increase production capacity in general use application areas, including the energy sector, by about 20 percent.
TAK, a Korean subsidiary of Toray Industries, has a production plant with an annual capacity of 4,700 tons in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
The first production line of the Gumi plant was dedicated in 2013 with the completion of an additional line in 2015, securing the nation’s largest production capacity.
Korea is the third country in which Toray Industries has carbon fiber plants, following the United States and France, except Japan.
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