According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc., a subsidiary of Japan-based Toray Industries Inc., has completed construction of a plant designed to manufacture polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin, PPS compound and raw materials in Saemangeum Industrial Complex in North Jeolla Province. The company held a ceremony on Wednesday completing the two-year construction. 

The facility on a site of 215,000 square meters is the world’s first plant that would produce PPS resin, PPS compound and its raw materials sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaSH) and paradichlorobenzene (p-DCB) at one site.

The construction project has drawn 190 billion won ($163 million) including 86 billion won in foreign direct investment, and 110 billion won will be additionally invested by 2018 for facility expansion. The plant aims to manufacture 8,600 tons of PPS resin and 3,300 tons of PPS compound a year.

PPS is a high-performance material that is used in a variety of component parts for automotive, electrical and medical products to provide light-weight solutions. PPS resin is an ideal replacement for metal due to its high strength, heat-resisting property, and high dimensional stability. The demand for PPS is growing rapidly as it expands its applications in electric and hybrid vehicles.

The locally produced PPS will also be exported to other Asian countries including China and Europe. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy estimates that the local production of PPS would have 1.2 trillion won worth of economic benefits as it substitutes import and boosts export, and create 150 or more new jobs. Toray is hopeful for increased demand from China riding on the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

By Yoon Jin-ho

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Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (Jul. 6, 2016)