Sabic’s polypropylene material finds use in N95 masks

Photo Credit: Sabic

Using polypropylene material from Sabic, a Saudi Arabian medical products company has produced N95 masks in Saudi Arabia for the first time.

The Saudi Mais Co. has produced the N95 masks in collaboration with Demas Factory for Non-Woven Fabrics using Sabic’s polypropylene material.

According to Sabic, the company has obtained the necessary approvals after conforming to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority specifications.

In a news release, Sabic officials said the project involved a Sabic team visiting Demas and Mais factories where they met with plant executives. The decision was then made to involve Sabic’s Hygiene and Healthcare unit, which had been launched in September 2021. “The aim was to keep pace with the world’s changing requirements by promoting the contribution of petrochemicals to the medical equipment sector,” Sabic officials said. “This was especially necessitated after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting the global supply chains of hygiene products and leading to severe restrictions on medical product exports in many countries.”

“Sabic is strongly committed to contributing toward achieving Saudi Vision 2030 goals through NUSANED, a Sabic national initiative that enables the development of strategic industries and supports Saudi companies to maximize local content,” said Sabic vice chairman and CEO Yousef Al-Benyan. “Sabic is working closely with local manufacturers to create innovative and sustainable solutions and is developing the necessary raw materials to produce quality products.”

Al-Benyan added that the local production of masks is an important step in localizing medical products that contribute toward improving public health. He noted that the NUSANED initiative covers a wide base of entrepreneurs and manufacturers to help localize strategic industries and transfer the necessary technologies.