[Source: Kolon Industries Inc.]

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Kolon Industries Inc., South Korea’s biggest manufacturer of aramid fibers, will supply aramid to the world’s largest cable solution provider Prysmian Group, a move that is expected to help the Korean company accelerate its inroad into the fifth-generation (5G) telecommunications optical fiber cable market.

According to multiple industry sources on Sunday, Kolon Industries has agreed with Italy’s Prysmian Group to supply aramid for optical fiber cables. The Korean company that has been in partnership with Prysmian Group for several years has recently increased supply of its products to the Italian company as demand for high-quality material for optical fiber cables increases to meet the growing global demand for high-speed internet.

Industry figures show that the global optical fiber cable market, excluding China that has high barrier to entry, is projected to grow at an annual average of 6 percent from $6.2 billion in 2021 to $8 billion in 2025. North America and Europe account for more than half of world’s optical fiber cable market.

Aramid fiber is considered an optimum reinforcing material for optical fiber cables that deliver big amounts of data at the velocity of light as they are vulnerable to temperature and pressure. Aramid fiber is light and more durable.

Aramid fiber weighs only 20 percent of steel but it is five times stronger. It also withstands heating above 500 degrees Celsius. Also called “super fiber,” aramid is used not only in fiber-optic cables but also in bulletproof jackets, vehicle components, and aerospace planes.

Japan’s Teijin and U.S.’s DuPont together account for about 80 percent of the global aramid market. Kolon Industries in 2005 built the world’s third aramid production facility in Korea. It manages a 7,500-ton aramid production line in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, which will be ramped up to 15,000 tons by 2023.

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