‘Kolon Center for Lifestyle Innovation’
The Kolon Group announced on Oct. 27 that it has joined hands with the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) to develop innovative technology and expand the North American market in earnest through open innovation.
Kolon Industries, the chemical and textile unit of the Kolon Group, has jointly opened “Kolon Center for Lifestyle Innovation (KCLI)” with Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA, in order to secure future technology for the hyper-connected era and establish a next-generation growth strategy.
The opening ceremony held at the Georgia Tech was attended by Kolon Group Chairman Lee Woong-yeul; Kolon Industries CEO Park Dong-moon; Kolon Industries Central Research Institute Vice President Park Jong-Min; Georgia Tech President G. P. “Bud” Peterson; Gary May, dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech; Naresh Thadhani, professor and chairman of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech; and Sundaresan Jayaraman, Kolon professor in the Scheller College of Business and the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech and director of the KCLI.
The KCLI will make an effort to improve the quality and technology of Kolon Industries’ current business, such as vehicles, next-generation displays and chemical materials, and secure future technology that will drive future growth including the Internet of Things, wearable devices and integrated materials.
Kolon Group Chairman Lee Woong-yeul said, “The KCLI is Kolon’s first global open innovation that fully open and cooperate across scopes and boundaries. We hope that the center will serve as an advanced research and development base in North America that develops innovative technology, which connects the present, future and success, and future growth engines.”
In a bid to expand the global market, Kolon Industries has recently secured bases in Vietnam and Mexico that produce auto materials, including airbags and tire cords, and made investments in facilities for colorless polyimide, which is a key material of next-generation displays, and high value-added spunbond.
Kolon Industries and Georgia Tech will jointly invest a total of US$3.5 million (4 billion won) for five years in order to operate the KCLI. The Georgia Tech College of Engineering ranks third in the U.S. engineering institutions and specializes in advanced technology such as computers, polymer materials, aviation and machinery as well as industrial engineering. Since the college pursues practical engineering education and has expertise in commercializing technology, global leading companies are designating it as an advanced base for technology development, carrying out dynamic academic-industrial cooperation programs.