LG Chem sets up new petrochemical tech center in Osan

LG Chem's new petrochemical tech center in Osan, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of LG Chem

By Jun Ji-hye

LG Chem has built a new tech center specializing in petrochemicals in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, to enhance research and development capabilities and boost its competitiveness, the company said Thursday.

The nation's leading electric vehicle battery maker and chemical firm has invested 110 billion won ($95 million) in building the facility.

The company has moved its existing tech center in Daejeon to the new location.

In 1995, LG Chem established the tech center dedicated to technical service and development for its clients and partners in the petrochemical sector.

The new five-story tech center was built on a 43,000-square-meter site and is the largest in the nation.

The latest facility has more than 60 laboratories and 200 researchers to test and develop petrochemical products such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyolefin (PO), super-absorbent polymer (SAP) and solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR).

Employees in related sales departments have been moved to the new facility to enhance support for domestic clients.

The company will also utilize the geographical advantages of the new facility, to better support its clients.

“The establishment of the Osan tech center will be an opportunity to provide our clients with advanced technologies more effectively,” said Son Ok-dong, president of the Petrochemicals Company at LG Chem.

“We will consistently carry out exchanges with another tech center built in Guangdong Province of China in 2015 to offer better technical service and development to our global clients.”

Under a goal to become one of the world's top five in the chemical industry by 2024, LG Chem is seeking to develop high-value products and double sales.

During a press conference in Seoul in July, CEO and Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol said the company is aiming to increase sales to 59 trillion won by the end of 2024 from 31 trillion won this year by enhancing its business portfolio and expanding research and development activities.