Annual production of 15,000 tons! South Korea's largest daily chemical company invested 96.7 billion won to build the country's first TPC plant to accelerate the global market for aramid fiber

Aekyung Chemical, South Korea's top daily chemical brand, will invest a total of 96.7 billion won to build a mass production facility for TPC (terephthaloyl chloride), the main raw material for aramid fiber, by the end of 2025. This will be the first such facility in South Korea with an annual production capacity of 15,000 tons.

Aekyung Chemical held a board meeting on September 5 and decided to invest 96.7 billion won to build a TPC mass production plant. The investment amount is 13.1% of its own capital. The investment period is from now until the end of 2025 and will start soon. The investment aims to establish a production plant for TPC, the main raw material for aramid, to seize new markets and secure new growth momentum.

Aramid fiber is called "super fiber" and has attracted much attention as a special material. It is a fiber material that weighs only one-fifth of steel but is more than five times stronger than steel. It is used as electric vehicle tire cord, optical cable, aerospace materials, etc. The Korean market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 9.1% and the overseas market at an average annual rate of 4.1% by 2036.

Aekyung Chemical has been researching TPC, the main raw material of aramid, since the mid-2010s and has developed its own technology. In 2020, a demonstration plant began operating at the Ulsan plant. Unlike traditional production methods that produce harmful gases such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen chloride, Aekyung Chemical suppresses the production of pollutants through the "light method". Aekyung Chemical plans to complete the facility by the end of 2025 and start full-scale mass production in January 2026.

A person related to Aekyung Chemical emphasized that "the TPC business will become a growth engine for creating new profits in the promising aramid fiber market in the future. Before the full-scale production of TPC is launched, we will do our utmost to ensure that all procedures are safe and compliant."