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Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp. (Seoul, South Korea) has announced that it will invest 46.8 billion won ($41.5 million) for expansion to its PAN carbon fiber production plant in JeonJu, South Korea. According to the company, the expanded plant will produce an additional 2,000 metric tons of carbon fiber annually, resulting in a total production yearly capacity of 4,000 metric tons by the first half of 2020.

The new production line will produce high-performance PAN carbon fibers. The company says this expansion will support growth in industrial markets such as compressed natural gas (CNG) pressure vessels and hydrogen fuel tanks. Hyosung says it will also target aerospace markets by producing intermediate modulus and ultra-high strength carbon fibers developed for next-generation primary and secondary aerospace structures.

“The aerospace community and our industrial customers have wanted to see Hyosung carbon fiber capacity increased and this expansion will support their growth,” says Kwang Seok (Kenny) Han, VP, carbon fiber division. “Our customers have also requested the production of unsized carbon fibers, which we have introduced to support their efforts in high-temperature thermoplastic applications for aerospace, and oil and gas.” 

The JeonJu plant has been manufacturing carbon fiber since May 2013. Hyosung developed its Tansome brand of carbon fiber in 2007, and in 2013, the company was the first to commercially produce PAN carbon fibers in South Korea. 

“The adoption of Tansome fibers by our North American customers for critical high-performance industrial applications has been amazing,” says Paul Kennedy, director of sales and marketing in North America. “Our customers are impressed with our fiber quality, fiber processing and fiber mechanical performance.”