Thai state-owned oil and gas company PTT’s subsidiaries, IRPC and Innobic (Asia) establish a joint venture, Innopolymed Company Limited, to produce non-woven fabric from the melt-blown process, and which are raw materials for the filtration in medical masks, N95 respirators, and gowns. This non-woven fabric will offer nanometre or micrometre fibre with high-quality filtration, produced from PP melt blown grade. IRPC is the sole company in Thailand that conducts R&D and produces this smart material.
The commercial production is expected in the fourth quarter of this year. Innopolymed, registered with a capital of THB 260 million, is a 40% stake held by Innobic (Asia) and a 60% stake held by IRPC.
As a related development, PTT and IRPC had earlier on entered into a strategic cooperation to study melt-blown fabric, as well as on the production of nitrile butadiene latex (NBL), a key component for nitrile glove. The collaboration aims to secure domestic medical supplies, decrease the import amount of medical equipment, as well as increase the country’s competitive edge in the medical device industry in the global market. The melt-blown fabric and NBL plant will be located at the IRPC complex in Rayong province and planned to be in commercial operation in 2022 and 2025, respectively.