SY Expands 'Naehwa' Sandwich Panel Products... "Leading the Building Materials Market"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Comprehensive building materials company SY announced on the 29th that it will expand its range of high-performance fire-resistant sandwich panel products. The company plans to lead the fire-resistant building materials market with performance far exceeding the strengthened fire safety standards for building materials that will be implemented in the future.

Fire-resistant sandwich panels are composite materials recognized for their ability to resist fire for more than 30 minutes and block flames. According to the Building Act, non-combustible materials are certified if they are heated for 20 minutes without emitting harmful gases or undergoing self-combustion, but fire-resistant sandwich panels meet even higher standards. They must pass the strict certification criteria of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology to be distributed commercially. Due to their excellent fire safety, they are also used as fire compartments in large buildings over 1000㎡.

SY has consecutively launched premium fire-resistant products that offer fire resistance for over one hour along with additional functionalities.

The ‘Norivet Fire-resistant Panel’ released this year maximizes construction convenience with patented technology and has received positive evaluations on-site. It is characterized by maintaining fire resistance without the need for dense rivet (nail) installation to ensure airtight construction that prevents fire leakage. Since fire-resistant construction methods are subject to monitoring by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, ease of installation is an important consideration on-site. The company stated that omitting the cumbersome construction process reduces the construction period to about half and cuts construction costs by approximately 20% compared to existing methods.

The Hidden Metal 2 is also undergoing certification for one-hour fire resistance. It is a product with high waterproofing and durability due to reinforced joints and full-length reinforcement on the rounded edges finished without bending, and has been used in semiconductor factories and other facilities.

According to the insurance industry, buildings applying fire-resistant structures are subject to fire insurance rates of grade 2 or lower. Non-combustible materials are rated as grade 3, and other materials generally receive grade 4. The lower the grade, the lower the insurance rate and thus the cheaper the premium. Using fire-resistant sandwich panels on exterior walls results in about a 40% discount on insurance premiums compared to using non-combustible materials. For a 10 billion KRW insurance policy, the annual premium savings amount to about 20 million KRW. The company explained that the increase in material costs is offset by insurance premium savings over 5 to 10 years depending on the scale.

An SY official said, “Following the Icheon fire, institutional changes are being promoted to mandate the use of semi-noncombustible sandwich panels instead of cheap combustible materials, and we expect the sandwich panel market to become more premium-focused with quality competition rather than price competition.” He added, “Since one-hour fire-resistant certified panels used on building exteriors receive discounts on fire insurance rates, securing both safety and economic benefits, SY will expand the market itself with premium products enhanced with functionality.”

Meanwhile, SY sold its EPS (Styrofoam) foam factory and EPS panel production plant, which used combustible insulation materials, last year and completed investment to expand the production line for glass wool panels, an inorganic insulation material with semi-noncombustible performance. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that from 2022, it will gradually transition sandwich panel cores to inorganic materials such as glass wool.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.