SK Group, Honam's First Manufacturing Plant is Battery Material 'Dongbak'

SK Nexilis Expands 5th and 6th Plants in Jeongeup
First Manufacturing Plant in Honam Region Located in Jeongeup

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoonju Hwang] As SK Group expands its investment in the electric vehicle battery business, it will have its first manufacturing plant in the Honam region. This is about SK Nexilis (formerly KCFT), which SK Group affiliate SKC acquired earlier this year.

SK Nexilis is a company that produces 'copper foil,' one of the materials for electric vehicle batteries, and was incorporated into SKC's affiliates earlier this year.

The predecessor of SK Nexilis dates back to 1996 at LG Metal. When LG Group spun off its affiliates, it was incorporated into LS Group, then acquired by private equity firm KKR, and later SKC took over the business site. While non-manufacturing affiliates such as SK Telecom have established production corporations in the Honam region before, this is the first manufacturing plant.

SKC completed the acquisition earlier this year and changed the company name from KCFT to SK Nexilis in April. The biggest change since joining SK Group is aggressive investment. The mobility sector (electric vehicle batteries and battery materials) is a new growth engine that SK Group is nurturing.

Kim Young-tae, CEO of SK Nexilis, said, "Being incorporated into SK Group allows timely decision-making on investments, which is a crucial point," adding, "SK Nexilis is gaining significant momentum for growth since SK Group's acquisition."

In fact, SKC decided to expand its 5th and 6th plants in the first half of this year and immediately started construction. The completion rate of the Jeongeup 5th plant has reached 67%, and the 6th plant's construction progress is about 10%. SKC aims to operate the 5th plant starting next year. Since domestic expansion alone cannot keep up with the rapidly increasing order volume, it is also considering establishing production plants overseas.

Jeongeup City is reportedly also pleased with SKC's generous investment. An SKC official explained, "Jeongeup City contacted us wanting to include SK Group on the city entrance signs," adding, "The fact that this is SK Group's first manufacturing plant investment in Honam and the investment in new growth engine sectors seems to be attracting attention from local governments as well."