SY and POSCO Join Forces to Pioneer 700 Billion KRW Market with Earthquake-Resistant Modular Bricks

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Comprehensive building materials specialist SWY is joining forces with POSCO and others to jointly secure seismic performance for the Slim Brick Rail System and pioneer a market worth 700 billion KRW.

SWY announced on the 22nd that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 17th with POSCO, POSCO Construction, and others for the "domestic joint market development and commercialization of the Slim Brick Rail System through the development of technology for PosMAC steel-based welding-free seismic support materials."

The Slim Brick Rail System is a modular brick exterior material that fits together like Lego using wall rails and slim brick units. It is a product independently developed by SWY, specialized in prefab (factory-made) building materials.

An SWY official explained, "Brick exterior finishes are aesthetically popular in architecture, but there was no specialized modular method other than adhesive-type decorative bricks. The Slim Brick Rail System installs steel plate rails on the wall and then inserts custom slim bricks, allowing unlimited daily work volume. It is especially advantageous in terms of constructability and economy for high-rise buildings and large-scale structures, receiving positive feedback on-site."

Traditional brick exteriors use masonry methods, stacking bricks with cement that requires curing time and load considerations, limiting daily work hours and requiring more labor and construction time compared to other methods. Structurally, they are also known to be vulnerable to earthquakes.

SWY stated that based on multilateral technical cooperation, they have also succeeded in securing the seismic performance of the Slim Brick Rail System. This was proven in an experiment conducted last month by the Korean Society of Earthquake Engineering, which verified the "seismic wave structural stability."

An experiment official explained, "The test specimen was composed by combining the Slim Brick Rail System with a welding-free exterior support made of PosMAC steel. It reflected all amplification factors for the largest possible earthquakes in Korea, yet showed stable behavior without structural failure or detachment of components."

Other MOU participants, including Asan Co., Ltd., CT Korea Co., Ltd., and Jushin Enterprise Co., Ltd., also plan to actively pioneer and expand their respective exterior material markets using welding-free seismic support technology applied with PosMAC steel.

Meanwhile, according to Statistics Korea, the domestic brick market size was 677 billion KRW as of 2019. With the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's seismic design standards for buildings (KDS41-17-00) mandating seismic design for structural elements of construction costs, the market for exterior decorative materials such as bricks is expected to be reorganized into a market incorporating seismic design.

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