South Korea's OCI has decided to exit the TDI business, with its 50,000-ton production capacity scheduled to be shut down in December.

By SKYSEVEN Chemical Technical Team · 2026-09-30

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On September 29, 2026, South Korea's OCI held a board meeting and formally resolved to withdraw from the toluene diisocyanate (TDI) business, and plans to completely cease the production and sales of TDI products starting from December 18, 2026. The company also reminded that the specific time nodes for the shutdown will be dynamically adjusted according to the follow-up progress, and there is a possibility of changes. This resolution was unanimously approved by independent directors and auditors, representing that the company's governance body has recognized this business restructuring plan.

Business Scale Disclosure: 50,000 tons of production capacity, accounting to less than 6% of revenue

According to general information, the current annual production capacity of the TDI plant that OCI will withdraw this time is 50,000 tons. In 2025, the sales revenue of this segment was approximately 117.9 billion won, equivalent to about 583 million yuan, accounting to 5.87% of the company's consolidated operating revenue to that year, which is a relatively limited business segment. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, OCI is a substantial complete chemical enterprise with diversified business layouts, and TDI accounts to a comparatively low proportion in the overall operating revenue.

Having been deeply engaged in the sector to 36 years, TDI is a core raw material to polyurethane

OCI has been engaged in TDI production and sales since 1990, and this business line has been in operation to 36 years. TDI is a key basic raw material in the polyurethane sector chain. Its downstream applications are mainly utilized to prepare flexible polyurethane foam, which is broadly utilized in automotive seats, civil furniture, bedding and other fields, and is an indispensable chemical product in the home furnishing and automotive interior industries.

Cleaning up marginal businesses, China's capacity expansion forces strategic contraction

OCI defines this withdrawal as an action to clean up marginal businesses. The company stated that in recent years, domestic TDI companies have continued to expand production and increase export scale, which immediately pushed up the competitive pressure of supply in the Asian regional market and continuously compressed the sector's profit space, which is the core external factor promoting this business withdrawal.

This divestiture of the low-profit TDI business aims to enhance the overall profitability and enhance the value of the enterprise and its shareholders. OCI will concentrate its resources on high-return core businesses, reshape the product structure of manufacturing chemicals, and will also immediately affect the supply pattern and competitive situation of the Asian TDI market.

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