Notice Regarding Emergency Supply of Nonwovens for Medical Gowns
Supporting frontline health care providers in the fight against COVID-19
2020.04.30
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo: 4183; President & CEO: HASHIMOTO Osamu) has started to supply nonwovens as raw materials for isolation gowns in an effort to support health care providers on the front lines in cutting-edge medical facilities. This effort comes as the increasing spread of the virus has made isolation gowns – for which Japan has been largely reliant on foreign imports – difficult to obtain amid the global pandemic.
To establish this supply, Mitsui Chemicals is making use of wholly owned subsidiary Sunrex Industry Co. Ltd. (President: KAWAHITO Koichiro), which serves as a major plant for nonwovens production. Mitsui Chemicals is taking production facilities here that normally produce nonwoven sanitary materials and repurposing these to begin production of nonwovens for isolation gowns.
This has then ensured a production system able to create enough nonwovens for over 10 million gowns per month. To supply medical sites as quickly and promptly as possible, Mitsui Chemicals is also coordinating with the likes of sewing companies, and through this has contributed from the raw material stage toward efforts to quickly establish a fully domestic supply system for isolation gowns.
Overview of nonwovens production for isolation gowns
| 1. Target product | Spunbonded nonwovens (product name: PS-105-GW) |
|---|---|
| 2. Company name | Sunrex Industry Co. Ltd. |
| 3. Location | 1, Asake-Cho, Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture |
| 4. Production goal | Manufacture of nonwovens suited to use in isolation gowns |
| 5. Production output | Sufficient nonwovens to create 10 million isolation gowns per month |
In other efforts aimed at stopping the novel coronavirus, Mitsui Chemicals is already contributing significantly to domestic mask production by supplying melt blown nonwovens and nose clamps. But to help resolve the current mask shortage, Mitsui Chemicals is also pursuing plans for further production increase.
As it supplies these nonwovens for isolation gowns, Mitsui Chemicals would like to continue both helping society and thanking the medical workers who are engaged in stopping the spread of COVID-19.