By Min Woong Pyo, South Korean correspondent
Seoul -- Kumho Mitsui Chemicals (KMCI), a joint venture of Japan Mitsui Polyurethane and Korea Kumho Chemicals, is increasing capacity at its Yeosu-based methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) facilities, in an expansion which is expected to be completed in the second part of 2012.
The debottlenecking of this Korean MDI plant will see its full capacity rise by 50 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa), to 200 ktpa, a company source said 12 July.
To cope with rapid automobile and consumer goods development in China and South Korea, the market demands for MDI and polyurethane products keep at high levels.
MDI, which is one of the main raw material for polyurethane materials, is mainly used in the fields of auto interior parts, refrigeration insulation, and building materials.
A Kumho Mitsui spokesperson said, "we will establish a strong markets in the world by managing demand of foreign customers", and "the company will invest a total of $30 million to expand the MDI facility and through this, we can not only revive local economy but also increase sales to $1400 million a year."
BASF also recently announced that it would increase its MDI capacity at Yeosu by 60 ktpa to 250 ktpa.
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