Today, various types of plastics, especially thermoplastics, are actively used in almost all industries. Due to the excellent technological performance of modern polymer materials, they are used in aircraft construction, mechanical engineering, instrument making, construction, light industry, textile industry and other industries. Of course, it is also important that the processing of polymers is a relatively simple process in terms of technological intensity, which cannot be said about the process of their manufacture. If we take Russia as an example, then almost 55% of all polymers, including EPDM, PVC and SBS, come to us from abroad. Korea and Western European countries stand out among the manufacturers. SBS Korea is very popular due to its low price, but many experts in Russia note that at a relatively low the price of raw materials from Korea is of slightly better quality than Russian.
The process of obtaining SBS is quite techno-intensive. If we are talking about the mass production of these raw materials, then it is worth noting that not only the machines necessary for technological production processes are required, but also huge areas for storage, sequential storage and settling, as well as developed transport, raw materials and commodity logistics. Korea has become one of the world leaders due to the fact that the country is distinguished by the presence of a very high level of technology development, as well as a developed system of intra-national infrastructure. This allows us to make production very technological and efficient, as well as quickly move goods in export directions.
The same SEBS is produced in huge quantities. After packing, the materials are not sent to temporary storage warehouses, they are immediately packaged in containers and sent by sea to other countries. At the same time, relatively small distances within the country make all processes very fast and efficient, which is very important for the industry, which takes not so much "quality" as "quantity". Indeed, upon reaching a certain level of technology at enterprises, the main task of the company is to increase production volumes. Western countries faced problems that were not expected, namely, the need to attract a large number of hired personnel, which is expensive in Europe, with full automation of production. Korea has managed to avoid these problems: automation has reached a critical point, but the labor force is cheap in the country, production is cheaper, and the state provides the industry with subsidies and benefits.
All this together made Korea the leader in the polymer market in the world, and our proximity to Northeast Asia and the constant work of the Russian Government towards integration with the Asia-Pacific region are the reason why there are so many thermoplastics from Korea in Russia.
