Hyosung Corp., a South Korean maker of textiles and heavy machinery, began mass-producing the country’s first indigenous carbon fiber Monday, significantly reducing the need for imports, the government said.

With a ceremony marking the construction of the plant in Jeonju, some 240 kilometers southwest of Seoul, Hyosung started commercial production of carbon fiber, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Carbon fiber is an advanced material that is 10 times stronger but weighs about 80 percent less than steel. The material is commonly used in auto parts, aircraft and various other applications.

“The plant will greatly contribute to creating new quality jobs as carbon fiber represents a new growth engine that can be integrated into the automobile, aerospace and machinery industries,” Trade and Industry Minister Yoon Sang-jick said at Monday’s ceremony, according to his ministry.

The Hyosung plant has a maximum output of 2,000 tons of carbon fiber per year, but the company plans to invest an additional 1.2 trillion won ($1.08 billion) by 2020 to boost its annual output to 14,000 tons, the ministry said. South Korea currently imports about 3,000 tons of carbon fiber every year. (Yonhap News)