National oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc has started commercial production of non-woven fabric, a key raw material to make single-use medical equipment, another step in its diversification into the medical industry.
The factory, located near an oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Rayong operated by IRPC, a petrochemical arm of PTT, is expected to support government efforts to make Thailand a regional medical hub.
The 260-million-baht facility has the capacity to produce 5,600 tonnes of non-woven fabric a year.
The factory is operated by Innopolymed Co, a joint venture with 40% investment from PTT's wholly-owned Innobic (Asia) and 60% investment from IRPC.
The fabric is made of non-phthalate polypropylene using a melt-blown technique. Its nanometre or micrometre fibre has high-quality filtration.
The fabric can be used to produce N95 face masks, personal protective equipment, medical filters, respirators, diapers, gowns and other single-use medical equipment.
"This factory marks a significant step for PTT in entering the medical equipment industry," said Auttapol Rerkpiboon, chief executive of PTT, during the opening ceremony of the factory yesterday.
"It will also help Thailand reduce imports of medical equipment made from non-woven fabric, as well as create stability and competitiveness in the country's medical equipment industry."
PTT has diversified into life science businesses through Innobic (Asia), which is pushing ahead with many projects.
One of them is a plan to produce generic drugs for non-communicable diseases. Innobic plans to target medicines that are about to lose their 20-year protection under the patent law and will be available for commercial production.
Innobic also announced it wants to develop Thailand's first pharmaceutical factory to produce cancer treatment drugs at a cost of 2.5 billion baht with the Government Pharmaceutical Organization.
The company also forged a partnership with Mahidol University's Institute of Nutrition to jointly develop food products for elderly people.