SY, Industry's First Mineral Wool Panel Fire-Resistant Structure Certification... "Expanding Sandwich Panel Market Dominance"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Comprehensive building materials specialist SY announced on the 14th that it has become the first in the industry to obtain fire-resistant structure certification for mineral wool panels. Fire-resistant structure certification refers to a building material certification that prevents fire spread for a certain period of time during a fire. It is a mandatory certification when supplying to large buildings such as multi-use facilities and factories.

SY has secured not only fire-resistant structure certification but also quasi-noncombustible performance reports for mineral wool panels. Mineral wool is an inorganic insulation material made from stone powder and is the best insulation material in terms of fire safety. Due to the recently revised Building Act, the flame retardant performance standards for composite materials have been strengthened, increasing demand.

Overseas, mineral wool is more widely used than glass wool, but in Korea, distribution has been limited due to insufficient related certification documents. For domestic fire-resistant materials, glass wool, which is the same inorganic insulation material with good fire safety, is relatively lighter and has better insulation performance compared to mineral wool, so it is preferred on-site, and related certifications are mainly for glass wool.

Currently, due to repeated large-scale fire incidents, the Building Act, which mandates fire-resistant roofing structures and the use of composite materials with quasi-noncombustible or higher ratings, is being revised and implemented. Although demand for fire-resistant materials with related certifications is increasing, supply cannot keep up with demand, causing delays in construction schedules.

SY is evaluated to have secured competitiveness in supplying high-priced fire-resistant materials by obtaining fire safety-related certifications and test reports for mineral wool panels faster than anyone else in the industry.

A company official said, “Currently, the organic insulation sandwich panel market is shrinking, and the high-priced inorganic insulation sandwich panel market is expanding. With the expansion of certified materials, we expect to strengthen market dominance as we can secure delivery competitiveness for large-scale construction projects.”

SY possesses the most advanced technology in the industry, including jointly developing the ‘Fire-resistant Cleanroom Panel (FRC Panel)’ for advanced factories with Samsung Engineering. Among sandwich panels, its inorganic insulation products, which are part of the premium lineup, hold more than 30% market share.

Meanwhile, the domestic sandwich panel market is estimated to be around 2.5 trillion KRW annually, and according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s regulatory impact analysis at the time of the 2020 law revision, the sandwich panel market is expected to increase by 4.7 trillion KRW over 10 years.

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