[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyungsoo] Comprehensive building materials company ESWAI is showing strong performance. The news that it has started the commercialization of the ‘Fire Resistance Cleanroom Panel for Advanced Factories (hereinafter FRC Panel)’, developed in collaboration with Samsung Engineering, appears to have influenced its stock price.
As of 10:24 AM on the 13th, ESWAI is trading at 4,000 KRW, up 7.82% from the previous trading day.
ESWAI expects that once the commercialization of the FRC Panel is achieved, it will simultaneously enhance cleanroom fire safety, reduce fire insurance premiums for equipment within advanced factories, and shorten cleanroom construction periods.
The FRC Panel (Fire Resistance Clean) is Korea’s first fire-resistant sandwich panel exclusively for cleanrooms, jointly patented by ESWAI and Samsung Engineering. Using the FRC Panel is expected to strengthen cleanroom fire safety. The insulation material, mineral wool (650°C), has an ignition point approximately twice as high as glass wool (350°C), which is fire-resistant. It also does not generate dust that could be fatal to advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Existing cleanroom panels had to use chemically blended organic urethane as insulation to minimize dust generation. Urethane is relatively vulnerable to fire.
A company official explained, “Due to the nature of the factory, it is essential to install and maintain ultra-high-priced equipment, but previously, this required spending an amount comparable to the factory installation cost. Recently, due to a series of large factory fires, awareness of fire accidents in panel structures has increased, causing insurance premiums to rise.”
ESWAI and Samsung Engineering have obtained fire resistance certifications for the FRC Panel for 1 hour, 1.5 hours, and 2 hours of performance, respectively. They are currently preparing to acquire a 3-hour fire resistance certification. For future product expansion, they are also preparing to use the panels as partitions in general multi-use facilities and as general interior and exterior walls beyond cleanroom construction.
An ESWAI representative said, “The idea for developing the FRC Panel product came from the desire to create wind duct walls that prevent fire spread more powerfully and quickly according to advanced factory design standards. Prioritizing safety and functionality, it will establish itself as an essential product for advanced factory construction, where construction speed is crucial to securing ultra-precision technology.”
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