Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc., a subsidiary of Japan's Toray Industries Inc., has completed the construction of a factory on reclaimed land in the southwestern coastal area of Saemangeum, officials said Wednesday.

The company had a ceremony in the region located in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, earlier in the day to mark the end of two years of construction worth 190 billion won ($163 million), according to its spokesman Lee Jae-sun. It plans to make an additional investment of 110 billion won by 2018 to expand the facility.

The plant is designed to produce polyphenylene sulfide resin. PPS is often called "super engineering plastic" for its light and heat-resistance characteristics. It is used for materials for chemical plants, semiconductors, precision devices and automobile parts among its various purposes.

The plant boasts an annual production capacity of 8,600 tons of PPS resin and 3,300 tons of related compounds, directly employing more than 150 workers.

It's expected to produce 1.2 trillion won in economic effects especially through import substitution and increased exports, said the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Toray wants to use the factory as a strategic base for reaching out to China, with which South Korea has a free trade agreement.

"Toray's factory in Gunsan is a successful case to establish a globally competitive value chain by combining South Korea's superb FTA platform and Japan's advanced technology," Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said in his congratulatory speech.

It's also a fruit of South Korea's efforts to draw foreign investment into the Saemangeum zone close to China.

The country hopes to transform Saemangeum, more than four times the size of Manhattan, into an eco-friendly waterfront town with high-end industrial, tourism and agricultural facilities as well as science and research institutes. (Yonhap)

 

Source : koreaherald.com

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