MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell is to build a new production line capable of producing up to 4.5 million FFP2 and FFP3 disposable face masks per month at its Newhouse site in Scotland, United Kingdom, said Britishplastics.
These masks will assist the UK Government’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the new production line is expected to create approximately 450 jobs at the site. The UK Government has ordered 70 million of the locally produced Honeywell SuperOne face masks, with production expected to start as early as July 2020.
"As a global leader of high quality personal protective equipment, Honeywell is committed to getting safety gear to those who need it most, including workers on the front line of the fight against COVID-19,” said Will Lange, president of Honeywell’s personal protective equipment business.
"Our Newhouse facility has both the physical capacity and technical capabilities to launch a large-scale respirator production line in such a short timeframe. We are proud of our teams who are bringing new manufacturing capabilities to the United Kingdom as quickly as possible to support the country’s response to the pandemic."
This is the third new face mask production line Honeywell has announced in the last two months. The company started two new manufacturing lines in the United States for the North American market. Honeywell’s Newhouse plant specialises in electronic systems assembly and testing and other advanced manufacturing capabilities for several of Honeywell’s business groups and will continue to do so alongside the new face mask line.
"These 70 million masks are the result of our challenge to UK industry to scale-up domestic PPE manufacturing," said Matt Hancock, Health Secretary, UK Government.
"This deal is brilliant news for the whole United Kingdom, which will not only deliver the masks we need but create around 450 jobs in Newhouse, Scotland. I’m delighted to team up with Honeywell to open up another avenue to get millions of masks to the frontline and strengthen our ongoing response to the outbreak."
Honeywell will supply the 70 million face masks from Newhouse to the UK Government over an 18-month timeframe.
As MRC informed before, in September 2019, Honeywell announced that PKN orlen had licensed the UOP MaxEne process, which can increase production of ethylene and aromatics and improve the flexibility of gasoline production. The project, for the PKN Orlen facility in Plock, Poland, was in the basic engineering stage then.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
MRC