LXMMA
The first and leading MMA manufacturer in Korea through a one-stop total package of C4-to-MMA
Became a leading MMA manufacturer in Korea with repeat licenses that smoothly, reliably and efficiently process our C4 fraction to top quality MMA products.
When the predecessor of LX MMA (Lucky MMA) was incorporated to enter into MMA monomer business, Korean PMMA companies including LX MMA used to import all of their MMA monomer used for PMMA as a raw material because there was no domestic MMA manufacturer. That means that it was prone to the vagaries of global MMA market. Accordingly, it was a common requirement between Korean PMMA manufacturers to secure MMA feedstock within Korea. One of possible solutions was the manufacturing of MMA monomer from isobutylene by their own, since low-cost C4 fraction containing isobutylene was easily available from naphtha crackers located around Korea. However, the biggest obstacle to accomplishing this goal was the concern about stable and robust operations of an MMA monomer plant due to the widely-known fact that MMA monomer can readily polymerize if not properly handled.
In such a situation, LX MMA took a step towards becoming an MMA manufacturer, and Sumitomo Chemical provided them with the innovative C4-to-MMA technology license along with detailed supports and extensive training. Being a sort of one-stop technology solution covering the processing of C4 fraction to MMA monomer, Sumitomo Chemical was confident that LX MMA would easily and robustly start up and operate the facility even though they had no prior experience in this field.
LX MMA achieved a smooth start-up from oil-in to on-spec isobutylene and MMA monomer products, and has continued stable operations after its vertical launch through the application of various measures for the prevention of polymerization.
Furthermore, LX MMA enjoys the MMA business widely with surprisingly high quality of the MMA monomer that can be used for PMMA production, for which transparency is of paramount importance for avoiding product quality problems.
Currently, LX MMA is the leading MMA manufacturing company in the Korean MMA market by high competitiveness and high-quality product. LX MMA has constructed multiple plants using Sumitomo technologies and continues to grow in both domestic and global MMA markets.
Remarks by Sumitomo Chemical
This success story fully demonstrates how potential clients can take advantage of Sumitomo Chemical’s innovative C4 fraction-to-MMA technology, to turn their inexpensive and readily-available C4 fractions into top quality MMA products that can then further serve the PMMA downstream, thereby broadening their share in the MMA and PMMA markets. Furthermore, even in cases where C4 fraction is not available to potential clients, Sumitomo Chemical is able and willing to provide another technology configuration where MMA monomer can be easily and smoothly manufactured available MTBE.
We are the only company that has the entire manufacturing technology from C4 fraction to MMA monomer. In addition, since we also have the requisite experiences in the manufacturing and sales of PMMA, we therefore fully understand the needs of downstream PMMA users, and our MMA technology was developed so that the MMA product can meet even the strictest quality requirements.
It is our pleasure to continue supporting LXMMA who has adopted multiple licenses of our C4 separation and MMA production technologies in tandem with their continuous growth and expansion into the MMA market, and we are happy that they are satisfied with our technologies.
LXMMA has had a highly executive corporate culture, groomed and cultivated over the years as the first and leading MMA manufacturer in Korea. It was therefore unsurprising to us that they were very eager to learn our technologies when they first introduced our licensed process. And even after acquiring multiple licenses from us, they continue to exhibit that grit and determination to continuously learn new methods, and in our view, this has been one of the contributing factors to their continuous successes. We are very proud that they have mastered our technologies and we remain committed to helping them attain new frontiers in the future.
Sumitomo Chemical also develops and manufactures the proprietary catalysts for our MMA technology. By continuing to improve our MMA catalysts, we will also be able to continue our contributions towards LXMMA maintaining their high competitiveness in the MMA and PMMA businesses.