The eco-friendly next-generation industrial zone in Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, also known as “carbon valley,” was witnessing the foundation of a string of carbon fiber material related companies

December 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Fiber cities revive on industrial new material

2013.12.24 17:43:07

The eco-friendly next-generation industrial zone in Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, also known as “carbon valley,” was witnessing the foundation of a string of carbon fiber material related companies Monday. The industrial zone already houses 35 companies including DACC, which makes high-performance aircraft brake disks by using carbon fiber composites, and CNF, a specialist in carbon fiber production and related equipment design. Jeonju, which used to be the heart of Korea’s prominent textile companies such as Samyangsa and Taihan Textile in 1980s, found an opportunity in the crisis. The city audaciously walked away from the apparel textile business as it slid down the value chain and switched to industrial textile. Jeonju attracted many carbon fiber research and development facilities, an emerging material in the car and aerospace sectors for its high intensity and lightweight, and established pilot carbon fiber production facilities for the first time in the country in 2007. Industrial fiber as new material is also emerging as a next-generation growth driver of Daegu and Busan used to be conventional hubs of the textile industry. Daegu and North Gyeongsang province are searching for a breakthrough in the “super fiber.” The flagship example is Ukseong Chemical, a textile snow chain manufacturer based in Seongju-gun in the province. Ukseong Chemical used to make textile for shoes, but confronted with a huge challenge from Chinese competitors, the company turned to industrial textile products since 2007 and successfully developed textile-based snow chains. Meanwhile, the number of textile companies in Busan is projected to skyrocket from 3,704 in 2010 to 5,835 by 2020, said the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade.

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