Domestic Additional Production of MB Nonwoven Fabric for 6.5 Million Masks per Day Officially Begins

Daily production of 13t... Production speed 5 times faster than existing equipment

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun visited the factory of Toray Advanced Materials, a mask nonwoven fabric manufacturer, on the 3rd. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Starting from the 31st, additional production of nonwoven fabric (meltblown) for mask filters capable of producing 6.5 million KF-80 grade masks per day will begin domestically.

On the 26th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Toray Advanced Materials announced, "From the 31st, Toray Advanced Materials will officially start producing 13 tons of meltblown nonwoven fabric for filters per day."

According to Toray Advanced Materials, this amount is sufficient to produce 6.5 million masks daily. The existing diaper material production line at the Gumi plant in Gyeongbuk was converted into a production line for KF-80 grade mask filters.

The new production line was originally scheduled to operate from May, but following a visit by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on the 3rd and consultations with the government, mass production was established earlier.

Typical health masks are made by separately producing spunbond nonwoven fabric used for the outer and inner layers and meltblown fabric that serves as the filter, then bonding them together. In contrast, Toray Advanced Materials' equipment is an innovative process that combines two types of nonwoven fabric on a single line and produces them at once.

This process is five times faster than equipment that produces only meltblown fabric, increasing production volume fivefold.

This material completed safety testing this week at the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR). After approval procedures by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, it is scheduled to be actively used in health mask production starting on the 31st.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "In cooperation with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and Toray Advanced Materials, we plan to prioritize supply to mask manufacturers experiencing production disruptions due to meltblown nonwoven fabric shortages."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.