KP Korean Petroleum, Announces New Investment Plan for Engineering Plastic Compound Plant

[Seoul=TUSER PARABOLA] Yee Na-young, reporter: Plastic specialist KP Hansok Petrochemical announced on the 13th that it will open a specialized factory for engineering plastic (EP) compounding in Okcheon County, Chungcheongbuk-do.

KP Hanseok Oil & Chemical is a subsidiary of Korea Oil Industry, the top domestic manufacturer of asphalt waterproofing sheets. It is a polymer specialist company established in 1991. Its main business areas include engineering plastics and manufacturing plastic packaging containers, as well as distributing synthetic resins. Last year, it established a research institute to expand into new businesses based on technology.

According to the company, this investment in Okcheon County is being carried out as part of its medium- to long-term growth strategy, and will be implemented with a total scale of 1.2 billion won, including land purchase, factory construction, and the introduction of compounding facilities. The company plans to start construction in February of this year and complete the project by May.

The new factory will operate as a specialized production base that produces high-performance engineering plastic compounding products for the automotive, electrical and electronic, industrial machinery, and eco-friendly materials industries. KP Hansuk Petroleum plans to strengthen its customer-tailored material design capabilities and officially launch the development of recycled and eco-friendly composite materials.

Especially in the recent global manufacturing industry, structural changes are rapidly progressing, including lightweighting, high heat resistance and durability, and the expanded application of eco-friendly materials. KP Hansuk Petrochemical aims to establish an engineering plastic compounding production hub targeting both the domestic and global markets, using Okcheon County, which has excellent logistics accessibility in the central region, as a base to respond to these industrial trends.

In addition, it is expected that about 20 new jobs will be created after the factory starts operation, and high-quality employment opportunities centered on technical personnel in areas such as production, quality, research and development, and equipment management are anticipated to be provided in the region. Furthermore, through expanded cooperation with local companies in various fields such as raw material transportation, logistics, and equipment maintenance, positive effects on regional economic revitalization are also expected.

A representative from KP Korean Petroleum said, "Okcheon County is a region where the group has been operating business for a long time, and it is the optimal location with convenient logistics access in the Central region and a stable industrial infrastructure." He also stated, "Through this new factory establishment, we will strengthen the competitiveness of high-value-added material businesses, and create a long-term production base that grows together with Okcheon County."

nylee54@newspim.com