By Kim Tae-gyu
Polycarbonates are a very convenient brainchild of scientists as the materials boast of a wide range of applications thanks to their notable features, including temperature and impact resistance while being very light.
Yet, the drawback has been that in order to churn out the versatile and tough plastics, producers had to depend on phosgene, a colorless gas used as a chemical weapon in the past, greatly posing a health threat to employees.
Subsequently, a lot of innovative companies have worked on ways of manufacturing polycarbonates without resorting to phosgene as is the case of the Kayan project in Saudi Arabia.
Korea’s Daelim Industrial took charge of the $1.35 billion scheme of building an eco-friendly polycarbonate factory in an industrial complex in Al Jubail, which is designed not to use phosgene.
The Seoul-based builder completed the mission midway through last year, and the facility has an annual capacity of 260,000 tons.
``We applied new technologies to enable non-phosgene procedures, the tasks were regarded as extremely difficult compared to generic petro-chemical plants,’’ a Daelim official said.
``Because the Al Jubail factory does not use phosgene, it is environmentally friendly as well as being energy efficient. We showcased our technological competence and expertise through the project.’’
Daelim said that there are just four polycarbonate factories in the globe based on the alternative non-phosgene system including the one in Saudi Arabia, which was commissioned by Saudi Kayan Petrochemical. Among the four, Daelim built two.
Upon its completion last year, the Al Jubail plant become the world’s top in production of polycarbonates, which are used for various products like compact discs and bullet-proof windows.
``In the Al Jubail industrial complex, so many international constructors worked on their own projects. Among them, Daelim gained good feedbacks thanks to sincere effort and technological prowess,’’ the official said.
As the oldest builder here, whose history dates back to the late 1930s, Daelim has been a living legend in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The corporation has been responsible for so many flagship buildings and facilities including the Gyeongbu Expressway, the National Assembly building, the Olympic main stadium and the Bank of Korea building to name but a few.
Daelim Vice Chairman Kim Jong-in said that the legacy of Daelim shines not only in Korea but also outside the nation.
``As such, we have been actively involved in the construction of the country’s major buildings, and we can proudly say that our construction history is that of the country,’’ the chief executive officer said.
``In particular, we have earned a reputation of being the first foreign-currency earner in overseas construction and the first exporter of overseas plants, proving that our technology and business capabilities are highly esteemed abroad.’’
Without resting on past laurels, Kim vowed that Daelim will continue to progress to create other exploits.
``We are also committed to turning our construction work into not only our pride but also the country’s pride. We build milestone buildings that future generations will be able to boast about,’’ he said.