이 기사는 2022년 05월 12일 07:41 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korea’s Hyosung Group, which hit the jackpot with an investment in spandex, is looking to expand the nylon film business amid growing demand.

Hyosung Chemical is preparing to build a nylon film plant in Quzhou, China, according to industry sources. The company established Hyosung Film in China in January by injecting capital of 23.8 billion won ($18 million). The company said it hasn’t drawn up a specific plan yet on the construction of the plant.

Hyosung Chemical runs nylon film plants in Daejeon and Gumi in Korea. Hyosung Advanced Materials has a nylon film factory in Jiaxing, China.

Hyosung plans to build another nylon film plant in China as it aims to meet growing demand there. “The investment is planned to be made to respond in advance to the continuously increasing demand for nylon film in China,” the company said. The nylon film market is expected to grow thanks to the reopening of global economic activities and the growth potential of the secondary battery industry.

Nylon film has excellent impact strength, pinhole property, printability, and oxygen barrier properties, and it is widely used for food packaging and as a packaging material for various household products.

Market watchers are paying attention to the fact that nylon film is used for secondary battery cell pouches. China, the world’s largest market for electric vehicles (EV) is witnessing a rapid growth in the secondary battery market. South Korea’s three major battery makers, LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI operate their battery plants there.

Hyosung has showed positive performance by making preemptive investments. The company built its spandex plants in China, Vietnam and Turkey and has been the world’s largest single spandex manufacturer since 2010.

Its spandex business has sharply grown as international demand for the stretchable synthetic fabric increased after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The group’s textile and trading unit arm Hyosung TNC’s operating margin increased by 434% in 2021 from the previous year.

Hyosung Advanced Materials saw its operating profit jump by 1178% to 437.3 billion won in 2021 thanks to a rise in polyester tire code price amid growing demand for tires. (Reporting by Wie-su Kim)