MEDICAL PLASTICS
Coronavirus creates sharp rise in global demand of masks / PetroChina and 3M currently expanding production
Responding to skyrocketing demand, PetroChina (Beijing; www.cnpc.com.cn/en) built six production lines for masks in February 2020, with a capacity totalling 600,000 units/day. The state-owned group also known as China National Petroleum (CNPC) has announced that it will build another 21 mask production lines in March, to reach a capacity of 1.5m units/day.
It is estimated that China had a capacity of around 20m masks/day in January, and according to figures released by the Chinese government, production capacity reached 116m units/day on 29 February. This data includes regular masks, surgical/medical masks and “N95” masks.
It is estimated that China had a capacity of around 20m masks/day in January, and according to figures released by the Chinese government, production capacity reached 116m units/day on 29 February. This data includes regular masks, surgical/medical masks and “N95” masks.
 Demand for masks worldwide is causing some companies to divert production (Photo: PantherMedia/TheVisualsYouNeed) |
Chinese automotive manufacturers have also been building up mask production lines. By the end of February, the mask manufacturing capacities of BYD, SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) and Guangzhou Automobile had reached 5m units/day, 2m units/day and over 1m units/day, respectively. In Japan, electronics giant Sharp is reportedly using its TV manufacturing facilities to increase the production of masks, aiming for approximately 500,000 units/day for domestic demand.
The masks are commonly made from melt-blown polypropylene, and there are more than 30 manufacturers in China producing this material for nonwoven fabrics. It takes approximately 4 t of PP to produce 1m masks. Chinese demand for melt-blown PP was around 80 t in January 2020, and this jumped to 464 t in February.
With demand for respirators and masks currently outpacing supply, 3M has also announced that it is expanding production at its facilities “as quickly as possible.” This includes its sites in Asia, Europe and the US.
The WHO’s situation report of 3 March 2020 shows that globally there were 90,870 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 1,922 new cases in the previous 24 hours. The numbers of cases outside of China are rising, with Italy having more than 2,500. France and Germany have over 200 confirmed cases each, Spain more than 150 with other European countries having single- to double-digit numbers so far. The WHO’s risk assessment of “Covid-19” on a global level is “very high”.
The masks are commonly made from melt-blown polypropylene, and there are more than 30 manufacturers in China producing this material for nonwoven fabrics. It takes approximately 4 t of PP to produce 1m masks. Chinese demand for melt-blown PP was around 80 t in January 2020, and this jumped to 464 t in February.
With demand for respirators and masks currently outpacing supply, 3M has also announced that it is expanding production at its facilities “as quickly as possible.” This includes its sites in Asia, Europe and the US.
The WHO’s situation report of 3 March 2020 shows that globally there were 90,870 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 1,922 new cases in the previous 24 hours. The numbers of cases outside of China are rising, with Italy having more than 2,500. France and Germany have over 200 confirmed cases each, Spain more than 150 with other European countries having single- to double-digit numbers so far. The WHO’s risk assessment of “Covid-19” on a global level is “very high”.
05.03.2020 Plasteurope.com [244673-0]
Published on 05.03.2020
German version of this article...