Koreans form polyurethane grouping

By David Reed, UT EditorSEOUL-Over 120 polyurethane specialists gathered 20 Dec in the Grand meeting room of the Building of the Federation of Korean Industries, to form the country's first-ever professional organisation, designated: Korea Polyurethane Society (Academic).The group-primarily composed of university professors and researchers specialised in polyurethanes, as well as research and development heads of Korean PU industrial concerns-elected Min Woong Pyo as its first chairman, and will focus on the exchange of knowledge through seminars and training courses. It will publish a high-quality researchers' newsletter, and aims to become a portal for exchanging information with international partners, a statement from Pyo indicated.Pyo is a long-established consultant in Korea, with Boowon Corp, and has been editor of the Polyurethane World monthly Korean-language newspaper for 12 years. He is a regular participant in international events and has made presentations at the UTECH meetings organised by Crain Communications Ltd, and the International PU Forum in Japan. He also organised PU Korea 96, the country's first such event.Korea is the world's fourth largest manufacturer of raw materials for polyurethanes, according to Pyo. It has over 1 million tonnes of capacity for the main materials with plants for making propylene oxide, polyether polyols, TDI (toluene diisocyanate) and MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate)."