SKC was honored with the IR52 Jang Yeong-sil Award for the 38th week with its horizontally and vertically extended, bio-disposable PLA film on September 2. The award is jointly organized by the Korea Industrial Technology Association and the Maeil Business Newspaper, and presented by the Minister of Education, Science and Technology. The award is the highest honor in Korea presented to a company or individual who developed an outstanding new technology product through distinguished scientific skills. All products cited by the award are exhibited at the Seoul Science Museum.

SKC’s bio-disposable PLA film is an eco-friendly film that causes no environmental pollution. The film is made from materials sourced from plants, and when buried after use, returns 100 percent to soil in a short period of time. SKC successfully commercialized a process for extending the film horizontally and vertically for the first time in the world after starting its development in 2003. The film has been used in packaging Sun Chips, a flagship snack of the U.S. food and beverage giant PepsiCo since this year. In tune with an industry-wide trend that has put emphasis on the environment, the green packing market is expected to see exponential growth, even as new areas for its applications are being developed. As such, demand for green packing materials is expected to increase 40-fold from this year’s level by 2013.

At the award ceremony, Park Kwang-ho, director of SKC’s research center, received the award on behalf of President Park Jang-seok of the company, accompanied by four executives and staff who participated in the development of the film. This latest is the fifth time that SKC has been honored with the Jang Yeong-sil Award, including a previous win for its creation of a heat-contracting film in 2003.