LG Electronics is intensifying its efforts to commercialize functional material after it identified the market as another key growth driver in business-to-business transactions and is also looking to significantly expand its distribution channels.

The company announced on Tuesday that PuroTec has been selected as the innovative product for 2024 at CHINAPLAS 2024 held in Shanghai, China. An antimicrobial functional material, PuroTec was developed based on LG Electronics’ proprietary glass formulation design technology and home appliance manufacturing capabilities.

LG Electronics plans to showcase PuroTec at the upcoming NPE in the United States in May 2024. The NPE is considered one of the world’s top three plastic material industry exhibitions alongside CHINAPLAS and Germany’s K-SHOW.

“We will introduce PuroTec to the global market at exhibitions and also lay the groundwork for business expansion,” a company spokesperson said.

PuroTec has antimicrobial and antifungal effects that prevent odor, contamination, and discoloration when added in small amounts to materials such as plastics, and demand for antimicrobial functional materials has surged amid the Covid-19 pandemic. LG Electronics began selling PuroTec domestically in 2023 in response to this demand and has already expanded the market to include countries such as Vietnam and India a year later.

“We expect PuroTec sales to grow by more than 700 percent compared to 2023,” the company spokesperson added.

LG Electronics has been researching glass powders since 1996, which laid the foundation for its achievements in functional material development.

By Seong Seung-hoon and Minu Kim

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