Mar 07, 2017
Two South Korean suppliers of specialized chemicals, LG Chem and Kumho Petrochemical, are expanding their production facilities for the production of synthetic rubber.
LG Chem, according to the Korean edition of Korean Joongang Daily, improves its business model, strengthens research and development and is preparing to focus on the biotech manufacturing segment to "enter the top five of the world's chemical corporations by 2025."
To implement this plan, LG Research and Development Center will upgrade and develop technologies for the production of elastomers and solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR).
The company plans to increase its production in this segment from 90,000 tons per year to 290,000 tons by 2018.
According to the Korea Times, Kumho Petrochemical is also expanding its rubber production.
Kumho Petrochemical plans to improve its strategic partnership with tire manufacturers in China as a leading supplier of neodymium-polybutadiene rubber. The company allocates significant sums ("hundreds of billions won", says Korea Times) to double its production capacity of this raw material - up to 400 thousand tons per year.