SPRING – ExxonMobil has expanded its portfolio of healthcare solutions as it looks to meet changing medical market needs for healthy, safe material options for improving cleanliness and better infection protection.
Adhering to industry requirements for testing, quality assurance and traceability, the portfolio unites a wide range of high-performance products that are produced using Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for batch-to-batch product consistency.
The portfolio has been created to provide the building blocks to engineer a range of applications including medical supplies, infection protection products, and pharmaceutical and laboratory supplies. The portfolio includes Achieve Advanced PP, ExxonMobil PP, Vistamaxx performance polymers, Exact polyolefin elastomers, ExxonMobil butyl polymers, Exxpro specialty elastomers and ExxonMobil Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA).
“The decision to create a portfolio of healthcare solutions, supported by a dedicated team of trusted industry application experts, was cemented by a combination of market factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Market Development Manager Gertrud Masure. “With a legacy of innovation that spans over 100 years, ExxonMobil is well placed to meet demand from customers for a broader selection of alternative solutions that promote healthy and safe patient care.”
The COVID-19 pandemic, which required rapid production of face masks and other products to help combat virus transmission, was a major factor in ExxonMobil’s decision to create a portfolio of healthcare solutions.
The healthcare industry’s desire for a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) replacement was another market driver which led ExxonMobil to develop suitable alternatives. While another motivating factor was customers’ preference to do business with a single-source materials supplier.
According to ExxonMobil, its compliant-safe material solutions enable tailored innovation for the optimized performance and longevity of medical supplies, including drug/medical fluid delivery. Applications include syringes, infusion bags, IV/saline containers, ostomy bags, inhaling systems, drug and vitamin tubes, bottles, vials, containers, caps, seals, closures, briefs, and absorbent pads.
It also ensures the purity required to meet the toughest standards for laboratory components and pharmaceutical packaging solutions, including labware, sanitizers, bio reactor bags, and pharmaceutical stoppers/seals, as well as cleanliness and safety for protective products, such as face masks, gowns, gloves and alcohol wipes that help prevent infection.
The portfolio also offers softness, loft, strength, improved barrier performance and ease of processing for spunbond or meltblown nonwoven products. Typical applications include absorbent articles, medical PPE, bandages, masks, gowns and wipes, surgical drapes and gowns, medical protective gowns, shoe covers, disposable bedding and hospital apparel, pads, wraps, and filtration media.
To support its commitment to the healthcare industry, ExxonMobil says it is dedicated to fulfilling the future business needs of its customers by continuing to invest in production capacity and comprehensive supply chains. For example, ExxonMobil’s Polypropylene Growth Project in Baton Rouge is nearing completion, and the company continues to make good progress in support of a 2023 startup of the $2 billion investment to expand its Baytown chemical plant with a new Vistamaxx unit and world-scale, full range Linear Alpha Olefins unit. Products from both are expected to be used for a broad range of applications.
