Korean building materials makers ramp up capacity for glass wool on spiked demand

Major glass wool providers in Korea are aggressively ramping up production of fire-retardant inorganic insulating materials in response to a sharp demand for the building materials amid a tightening of fire safety standards.

According to industry sources on Wednesday, KCC is planning to more than double its production capacity of glass wool for sandwich panels to 155,640 tons from the current 73,640 tons. KCC is now upgrading facilities for glass wool production at its manufacturing sites in Korea and its capacity expansion project is slated for completion by October next year.

Glass wool, an insulating material made from fibers of glass, is used to cover duct, which is a passageway for the flow of air and gas.

Byucksan is following suit in response to a projected demand growth for inorganic insulating materials in the local construction site. The company recently decided to expand its mainstay glass wool product for sandwich panels from 45,320 tons to 105,320 tons per year. The company will increase investment in glass wool production lines at factories in Iksan and Yeoju. It will also invest 110 billion won ($83.3 million) to add lines for glass wool production at another factory in Hongseong, Chungnam Province by 2023.

KCC and Byucksan command the domestic glass wool market with a market share of 50 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Smaller rival Saint-Gobain, headquartered in France, is planning to quadruple its production of glass wool for sandwich panels to 40,000 tons in Korea.

Under the amended building construction rules that took effect in December last year, fire resistant or retardant materials must be used for interior and exterior finishing materials of buildings instead of cheap organic insulating materials such as Styrofoam and polyurethane.

[¨Ï Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]