Kolon Industries (120110.KS), HS Hyosung Advanced Materials (298050.KS) and Taekwang Industrial (003240.KS), the three domestic producers of para-aramid fiber, are moving to improve profitability on the back of the spread of artificial intelligence data centers. The plan is to lift earnings that had been weighed down by a supply glut from China by increasing shipments of para-aramid used in fiber-optic cables for AI data centers.
The three Korean chemical and textile companies are expanding para-aramid output in step with the surge in AI data centers, according to industry sources on the 26th.
Para-aramid is a high-performance industrial fiber with tensile strength five times greater than steel. It also resists heat, withstanding temperatures above 500 degrees Celsius. Those properties have made it widely used in automotive tire cord and body armor, and it also serves as a key reinforcing material that prevents sagging and breakage in fiber-optic cables, which have limited durability.
Known as a "super fiber," para-aramid had been considered a leading high-value-added material but has gone through ups and downs as Chinese companies entered the market one after another. Prices for commodity-grade products collapsed as Chinese producers embarked on large-scale capacity expansions. "For every one production facility a Korean company has, China has six or seven," an industry official said. "Supply increased indiscriminately, and para-aramid prices fell sharply."
What changed the landscape of the stagnant market was AI data centers. With para-aramid chosen as an essential material for improving the stability of fiber-optic cables used in AI data centers, demand from infrastructure construction is translating directly into product orders. IBK Investment & Securities projected that demand for para-aramid for data centers could grow by as much as 16,000 tons by 2028 from current levels.
Para-aramid exports are also showing a clear recovery. Exports of high-tenacity aramid filament yarn totaled $105.04 million (about 145.3 billion won) in the January-July period this year, up 8.8% from a year earlier, according to trade statistics from the Korea International Trade Association.
Korean companies are raising output to match the market recovery. Kolon Industries invested 300 billion won last year to more than double its para-aramid production capacity to 15,310 tons a year from 7,500 tons. Its plant utilization rate rose to 90% in the second quarter of this year from 50% in the first quarter of last year, and the facility is now running at full capacity.
HS Hyosung Advanced Materials is targeting new demand with Alkex, its in-house developed para-aramid. Annual production capacity stands at about 3,700 tons, and the company is focusing on securing supply volumes for AI data centers in North America.
Taekwang Industrial is also accelerating expansion, working to increase capacity to 5,500 tons a year from the existing 1,500 tons. "Aramid is an industry we are nurturing, and that is why we are expanding capacity," a Taekwang Industrial official said.
