● SK chemicals seeks to coexist with SMEs through new technology
- Realization of “coexistence” and “shared growth” by providing technical support to small and medium-sized partners
- Successfully entered the 50 billion-won domestic market as the first Korean company to develop eco-friendly WPC (wood plastic composite)
- Aiming to enter the global market via ANTEC 2018 in May
The value of “coexistence” was realized through the combination of large company’s technical prowess and the passion of SMEs.
SK chemicals (CEO: Kim Cheol) announced on the 11th that it has successfully developed WPC (wood plastic composite) after a year of cooperation with Dongha, CO., Ltd. (CEO: Hwang Jaesun). This is the first time in Korea that a WPC with eco-friendly materials has been developed.
The foundation of this new technology is the patents of SK chemicals. SK chemicals used Ecozen, the company’s won eco-friendly material, to develop a new copolyester for WPC that has replaced the existing materials such as PVC and PP, and filed patent application in January, 2017.
Since then, SK chemicals has started to cooperate with Dongha Co., Ltd., a company specializing in WPC that has had difficulties in developing new products due to lack of research personnel, analysis equipment, and information on new materials.
SK chemicals succeeded in the development of eco-friendly WPC by dispatching expert researchers to Dongha Co., Ltd. from the beginning of product development to share information and processing know-how about eco-friendly material Ecozen and provide support for technology development.
The WPC developed by SK chemicals and Dongha is eco-friendly and can withstand load as heavy as 1.5 times that of the existing products. Moreover, it can save construction, maintenance and repair costs by reducing shrinkage and expansion due to external temperature change to 50% or less.
The newly-developed WPC has outstanding durability and water-resistance while maintaining the appearance and texture of natural wood, and can be used for hiking trails and bicycle roads. According to Public Procurement Service’s data, the domestic WPC market in 2016 was estimated to be around 50 billion KRW.
“By cooperating with a large enterprise that has expert staff and a lot of know-how, we were able to successfully improve product quality and develop new products, which could’ve not been possible just with our own research,” said Hwang Jaesun, the CEO of Dongha. “I hope other SMEs also achieve such a win-win outcome through cooperation.”
"We are going to announce the new technology at ANTEC, the largest conference in the plastics industry held in Orlando, FL. in May," said Kim Taeyoung, the director of ADC Center at SK chemicals. "We plan to enter the global market with this conference announcement."
In the meantime, SK chemicals will continue to expand the domestic WPC market through cooperation with Dongha and actively review entry into international markets.
Moreover, SK chemicals plans to continue the promotion of shared growth and coexistence by cooperating with SMEs that have advantages in various fields in technological development utilizing Ecozen, eco-friendly copolyester.
※ Glossary
? WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) : A composite of wood flour and plastic that maintains the feel of wood while complementing its disadvantages. WPC can be produced in various shapes, sizes and colors, and overcomes the disadvantages of wood including corrosion, cracking and abrasion.
? Ecozen : Ecozen is the world＇s first bio-copolyester made of bio-monomers derived from natural materials and is widely used for food containers and household appliances because it is eco-friendly and has high transparency, heat resistance and chemical resistance.
? ADC : Application Development Center. An R&D organization operated by SK chemicals with the goal of expanding the application of eco-friendly materials, such as Ecozen, through processing technology.
? ANTEC : The world＇s largest plastics technology conference annually hosted by Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), the largest organization in the industry. 
[Picture: Bicycles on the bicycle road made of WPC, to which SK chemicals Ecozen has been applied.]