ULSAN, South Korea – Having started to develop functional monomers about two years ago, SONGWON has now begun bulk manufacture at its production site in Ulsan, South Korea. These monomers provide resins and polymers with special functions, one of the most important being improvement of the physical and chemical properties of the final product. Applications include resins, sealants, adhesives and engineering plastics designed for use in coatings, the automotive sector and electronic packaging.

“With this new capacity, our production site in Ulsan can now supply medium volumes of specialized monomers at competitive prices. Subsequent development of further products at our Technology Innovation Center and scaling up of production will allow us to follow the market’s technology roadmaps,” said Heinrich Schulte, Leader, Market Center Functional Monomers.

The first functional monomers manufactured in Ulsan are dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) phenol oligomers (known in the industry as ERM-6085 and ERM-6140, for example, depending on softening point) and bisphenol trimethylcyclohexane (BP-TMC).

DCPD functions mainly as an epoxy resin modifier in chain-extending reactions and is primarily used in the manufacture of epoxy composites. The softening point and functionality of DCPD phenol resins can be widely varied, and these products are therefore ideally suited to serve the growing market for special epoxy resins that exhibit high dielectric constants and low dissipation factors at high frequencies. They are, for instance, used for wiring boards and packaging material that can meet the new 5G transmission standard requirements.

SONGWON’s standard-grade BP-TMC monomer is available for use in epoxy or epoxy novolac resins, while the high-purity grades are designed for high-impact, transparent polycarbonate.

Building on more than 20 years of expertise in the production and modification of products based on phenol chemistry, SONGWON will continue to develop new functional monomers and manufacture them in Ulsan.