l       SK chemicals has founded SK Utis, a new materials venture business

l       Impact-mitigating, light-shielding and heat-adjusting materials for mobile phone, LCD and HDD parts.

l       New materials by utilizing polyurethane and IT materials technologies.

 On April 1, SK chemicals announced that it has established SK Utis, a new materials venture business to further accelerate its development of new electronic part materials.

SK Utis, whose incorporation procedures were completed on the day, is a venture business that was organized by exploring the promising technologies SK chemicals has developed for new electronic part materials.

SK Utis has a capital of 4 billion won, 60% of which has been invested by SK chemicals. Yeo In-mook, former SK chemicals executive director and head of its Specialty Chemicals Division, has been elected as the SK Utis CEO to run the new company.

The company was named SK UTIS, an acronym of ‘Unique Technology for Innovative Solutions’, to signal its intention to satisfy the fast-changing needs of IT industry customers with superior quality products. SK Utis, having its facilities at Pyeongchon, Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, plans to develop and supply mainly electronic part materials for mobile handsets, PDAs and other portable electronic appliances to both the domestic and overseas markets. SK Utis will produce the most advanced IT device materials, based on the technological capabilities SK chemicals has developed for IT appliance parts and polyurethane resin production.

To this end, the company has secured technologies for the production of advanced applied products as well as for specialized technologies for controlling energy sources like light, heat and impact. It plans to develop and market core part materials with the capacity to reduce physical impact, block light diffusion and control thermal factors for mobile phonesets, LCDs and HDDs. SK Utis will market its products under the brand name eSORBA (abbreviating Energy Absorption). In addition, the company also has strategic plans to actively develop materials for parts reducing vibration in cars and the impact of airbags.  Its customers include such leading Korean electronic giants as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and SK Teletech, as well as electronic set producers in China, Chinese Taipei and Japan.
It plans to achieve annual sales totalling 100 billion won in 2007.

“We have founded this venture business to actively implement our business plans and establish a prompt decision-making structure, and accomplish our goals fully,” said one SK chemicals executive. “We have now achieved results in develop in-house R&D capabilities and competent technical personnel.”

“We have developed new decisive technologies concerning advanced impact reducing materials for various IT appliances,” said Yeo In-mook, SK Utis CEO expressing his intention as follows: “We will realize substantial sales in the latter part of the year as our products have been fully commercialized for immediate launch in the market. SK Utis will demonstrate its technological capabilities by the development of applied products for electronic equipment and automobiles as well as IT appliances.”