SKC

● Signing a tripartite MoU on the 22nd ··· aspiring to release biodegradable LIMEX paint containers in Q1

​● ​Replacing dozens of thousand tons of plastic containers a year with eco-friendly alternatives··· eco-friendly biodegradable materials to support a variety of applications

SK TBM Geostone, SKC (CEO: Woncheol Park)’s biodegradable material-producing investee, joins hands with Samhwa Paints to market eco-friendly paint containers.

SK TBM Geostone, Samhwa Paints, and container manufacturer P&B signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of biodegradable eco-friendly paint containers at SKC head office in Jongro-gu, Seoul on the 22nd. The signing ceremony was attended by leading figures of the parties involved in the MoU including CEO Jihyeon Yang of SK TMB Geostone, CEO Kiboong Ryu of Samhwa Paints and CEO Yeonki Hwang of P&B.

The purpose of the MoU is to allow the three parties to actively cooperate in ▲designing and distributing eco-friendly paint containers, ▲developing and sourcing eco-friendly ingredients optimized to container design, and ▲developing and manufacturing paint containers.

Samhwa Paints plans to adopt paint containers manufactured by P&B out of SK TBM Geostone’s eco-friendly biodegradable LIMEX material in Q1 of this year. SK TBM Geostone has developed LIMEX based on biodegradable PBAT ((Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate) and natural limestone to deliver durability, workability and sealing performance comparable to conventional containers.

The Korean paint market is valued at around 4 trillion won. Conventional plastic containers are lightweight and easy to use, but they do not decompose when buried or incinerated, triggering pollution with plastic particulates. In contrast, biodegradable LIMEX containers not only uses eco-friendly ingredients but also decompose more than 90% back to nature in six months when placed under the right composting conditions.

SKC founded SK TBM Geostone in a joint venture with TBM of Japan that has LIMEX technology back in 2021 to commercialize biodegradable LIMEX solutions. SKC is also seeking to commercialize high-strength PBAT, a proprietary material developed by its investee Ecovance. Targeting 2025 as the starting year of operation, SKC is building the world’s biggest PBAT production plant to produce 70,000 tons a year and a LIMEX production facility to deliver 36,000 tons a year in Haiphong City, Vietnam. 

“The collaboration among Samhwa Paints and P&B known for their remarkable competitiveness in paint and container markets and SK TBM Geostone that possess proprietary biodegradable material solutions will produce strong synergy,” said CEO Yang Ji-hyeon of SK TBM Geostone. “We will further diversify the applications of biodegradable materials to enhance our biodegradable material business lineup.” [End]

[SK TBM Geostone, Samhwa Paints and P&B sign a MoU on the development of biodegradable eco-friendly paint container at SKC head office in Jongro-gu, Seoul on the 22nd. CEO Jihyeon Yang of SK TBM Geostone, CEO Kiboong Ryu of Samhwa Paints and CEO Yeonki Hwang of P&B (from the left) are showing signed copies of the MoU.]

[SK TBM Geostone’s eco-friendly paint containers made of biodegradable LIMEX solution]