Toray Opens MLCC Film Lines 13 and 14 in Gumi, Lifting Capacity to 900 Million m²

Toray Advanced Materials Korea has brought its annual MLCC film capacity to 900 million square meters with the completion of two new production lines at its No. 5 plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province.

The company held a completion ceremony on the 12th for its 13th and 14th MLCC film production lines, the Gumi city government said. The two lines together can produce 300 million square meters per year. That figure sits on top of the output of the twelve existing lines, which the new additions now join.

The guest list at the ceremony signaled the project's regional weight. Toray Advanced Materials Korea Chairman Motohisa Kuno and Chief Executive Kim Young-sub attended, alongside North Gyeongsang Province Vice Governor for Economic Affairs Yang Kum-hee and Gumi Deputy Mayor Jeong Seong-hyeon.

What does the new capacity produce?

MLCC film is an essential material in the manufacture of multilayer ceramic capacitors, a core component in electronic devices. The film allows capacitors to be built in ultra-thin layers and stacked with precision.

Multilayer ceramic capacitors appear across electronic hardware, and the film that enables their layered construction is the specific product now running on lines 13 and 14 in Gumi. The 300 million square meters of added annual output represents a 50 percent increase over the 600 million square meters the site could produce before the expansion.

Why did Toray expand now?

The company tied the investment to demand. It expects MLCC demand to keep growing alongside the advance of high-tech industries, and it said the expansion will allow it to stay ahead of market demand while supplying differentiated, high-quality products on a stable basis.

Stable supply is the operating word. Toray positioned the added lines as insurance against demand outrunning capacity, rather than as a response to a current shortage.

What does it mean for Gumi?

Local officials framed the completion in economic terms. Deputy Mayor Jeong Seong-hyeon said: "The completion of the 13th and 14th MLCC film lines is a milestone in Gumi's leap toward becoming a hub for core advanced materials."

He added: "We expect it to contribute significantly to quality jobs and to revitalizing the local economy."

The ceremony's attendees reflected that framing. A provincial vice governor for economic affairs and a deputy mayor joined Toray's chairman and chief executive, a line-up that placed the plant opening on the regional economic agenda rather than a purely corporate one.

Gumi's No. 5 plant now hosts fourteen MLCC film lines. With 900 million square meters of annual capacity, Toray Advanced Materials Korea has positioned the site as its anchor for a material that high-tech device manufacturing depends on.

The lines are built. The demand they anticipate is the variable to watch.