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Solvay to nurture Korea as production, R&D hub
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Jean-Pierre Clamadieu
By Lee Hyo-sik
By Lee Hyo-sik
Solvay, the world’s third-largest chemical company by sales, will foster Korea as its production and research hub in Asia, the company CEO said Monday.
At a press conference marking the 40th anniversary of Solvay Korea, CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu said the Brussels-based firm would continue to expand investments, hire new workers and boost its partnership with Samsung, LG Hankook Tire and other leading Korean companies.
“Solvay is celebrating 40 years of presence in Korea, which has been a key development and growth platform for its research and innovation, and for the production of specialty chemicals and high-tech materials,” Clamadieu said.
“We highly value Korea’s potential as its high-tech industries and highly talented workforce make it a strategically important market and a base to set up a presence in other Asian countries We will continue to expand operations here as a production and innovation hub,” he said.
Solvay Korea, founded in 1975, employs 516 people and runs three plants, two research and innovation centers and one joint venture, as well as the global headquarters of Solvay’s global business unit, Special Chem.
The Korean unit, which has invested 250 billion won over the past 10 years, posted 490 billion won in sales in 2014.
“Over the past four decades, Solvay has been able to strengthen and multiply its partnerships with Korea’s global players in electronics and automotive industries,” the CEO said. “Our collaboration with local researchers helps us fully leverage our global innovation capabilities.”
In April, the company began building a highly dispersible silica production plant in the Saemangeum Industrial Complex, North Jeolla Province, with an annual capacity of more than 80,000 tons to tackle growing demand for energy-saving tires and other innovative products in Asia.
Solvay plans to produce the latest and most advanced grades of high-performance silica for energy-saving passenger car and truck tire compounds.
“The plant, which is scheduled to be operational in October 2016, will be equipped with Solvay’s most up-to-date, innovative processing technologies,” Clamadieu said.
In June 2014, the company opened its new research and innovation center at the Ewha Womans University in Seoul, putting itself in a better position to work more closely with the school’s talented researchers.
Solvay said its joint research with Ewha seeks to develop materials for lithium-ion batteries and other energy-saving industrial components. The school also has Solvay’s new electronics laboratory to develop organic light-emitting diode displays and lighting technologies.