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09 Apr 2008  -  Korea South

Sabic begins producing LFT in Korea

To provide enhanced service and support for customers in Korea and Asia – the fastest-growing market in the world – Sabic Innovative Plastics announced on March 31, 2008 the opening of a major production line at its Chung-Ju, Korea facility. The new line will produce LNP Verton long glass fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites, which are widely used across the burgeoning automotive, telecommunications, and appliance industries in Asia. The company’s continued investment in new production facilities such as the LNP Verton composite line is designed to provide customers with a local source of innovative product solutions and technological expertise.

By providing customers with local production and resources, SABIC Innovative Plastics aims to slash delivery times for LNP Verton composite grades. Local material production can help customers reduce time to market for a competitive advantage, especially in the fast-moving telecommunications and electronics sectors.

“We are demonstrating our ongoing commitment to faster and more responsive customer service by investing in this new production line,” said Alan Leung, Pacific president for Sabic Innovative Plastics. “It will enable us to quickly supply manufacturers and molders in Korea and Asia with our popular LNP Verton composites. These high-performance materials are in great demand as superior replacements for metal and short-fiber-reinforced plastics. We believe easier access can help customers develop and market innovative applications for greater business success.” 

Sabic Innovative Plastics continues to expand its Korean presence to meet the diverse needs of manufacturers and molders. The LNP Verton production line, which will begin operating this month, will run 20 grades of the composites in a variety of resin systems including Polypropylene, Poly Amide and PPA. The new line significantly expands the Chung-Ju facility, which was opened in 1989. The Chung-Ju plant houses a 40,000-ton high-tech manufacturing system, material properties testing equipment, and color-matching equipment to meet customer requirements. The plant develops colors and materials through Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma; the latter is a business improvement methodology that combines tools from Lean Manufacturing for speed and Six Sigma for quality. The result is the highest-quality service with strict quality management (ISO 9002, ISO 14001).

LNP Verton thermoplastic injection molding compounds offer high strength and are an excellent metal-replacement option. They feature long glass-fiber reinforcement produced by a unique pultrusion process. Molded Verton components offer exceptional mechanical performance, combining rigidity and outstanding resistance to impact failure. Widely utilized across all industries, long-fiber compounds bring significant cost savings to many material replacement projects.

For metal replacement, Verton can help customers to save on total cost and increase productivity. For example, according to testing done by Sabic Innovative Plastics’ technology team, mobile phone makers could achieve up to a 30 percent cost savings and a 30 percent increase in productivity by replacing the magnesium or other metal used for internal parts of sliding-type mobile phones with LNP Verton composite. Other benefits include weight reduction and design flexibility.

As a replacement for short-fiber-reinforced plastics, LNP Verton grades provide higher impact and dimensional stability, greater strength and creep resistance, and improved surface finish. 

About SABIC Innovative Plastics
SABIC Innovative Plastics is a global supplier of plastic resins widely used in automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building and construction, telecommunications and optical media applications. The company manufactures and compounds polycarbonate, ABS, ASA, PPE, PC/ABS, PBT and PEI resins, as well as the LNP line of high-performance specialty compounds, under such well known brand names as Lexan, Cycolac, Geloy, Noryl, Cycoloy, Valox and Ultem. 
Sabic Innovative Plastics is part of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), one of the 10 largest petrochemicals manufacturers in the world.

Source : Sabic