Hyundai L&C Officially Enters Exterior Materials Business

Logistics center construction image.
Photo by Hyundai L&C

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Hyundai L&C is making a full-scale entry into the exterior materials business by introducing high-quality roofing finishing exterior products.

Hyundai L&C, a comprehensive building materials company affiliated with Hyundai Department Store Group, announced on the 6th that it will launch a building roof exterior TPO (Thermoplastic Olefin) waterproof sheet. Until now, Hyundai L&C has mainly introduced interior finishing materials or products for both interior and exterior use, and this is the first time it has started mass production and sales of exterior-exclusive products.

The TPO waterproof sheet is an eco-friendly roofing exterior material that generates no harmful substances to the human body during production and can be recycled after demolition. It is produced based on polypropylene (PP), an eco-friendly material used for manufacturing water bottles and airtight containers. Roofing exterior materials refer to the final finishing materials for building roofs such as large factories and logistics warehouses, primarily aimed at preventing contamination and leakage.

The TPO waterproof sheet introduced by Hyundai L&C features high durability that maintains key functions such as waterproofing for a long time even when exposed to external natural environments like moisture, rain, and wind, resulting in excellent LCC (Life Cycle Cost) reduction effects.

In fact, compared to coating-type products such as epoxy and urethane, which are currently widely used as roofing exterior materials, the replacement cycle of the TPO waterproof sheet is more than three times longer, reaching 10 years, and the installation time can be reduced by more than 50%.

Additionally, thanks to its high thermal insulation performance with a solar reflectance of up to 86% (when installed in white tones), it also provides cooling cost savings for buildings. According to Hyundai L&C’s own analysis, applying the TPO waterproof sheet can reduce operating costs by more than 40% over 10 years compared to general coating-type waterproof exterior materials.

A Hyundai L&C official said, "The development difficulty of the core technology required for TPO waterproof sheet production is very high, so only a few companies worldwide produce and sell it. Recently, demand has greatly increased as it is gaining attention as an eco-friendly and high-quality product in the construction and interior industries, so its growth potential is very high."

Hyundai L&C has recently signed supply contracts for TPO waterproof sheets with large factories and logistics centers and has begun full-scale product production. The company plans to introduce various exterior product lines utilizing the core technology of TPO waterproof sheet production.

A Hyundai L&C official said, "The TPO waterproof sheet is a new business promoted to diversify Hyundai L&C’s business structure, which has been centered on interior finishing materials. Leveraging the high brand trust of Hyundai Department Store Group and premium-grade TPO products, we aim to become the number one domestic TPO waterproof sheet company within three years."

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