Standing on the Frontline to Protect People’s Health by Providing Medical Materials

Far Eastern New Century Corporation (Stock code: 1402, hereinafter referred to as “FENC” or “the Company”) is currently the largest global PE/PP and PE/PET medical material suppliers, and the only local supplier of inner layer materials to Taiwan medical facemask manufacturers. Currently, FENC can provide medical materials not only for the daily demand of 13 million facemasks in Taiwan but can meet future increases up to 20 million per day. In addition, FENC has supplied PE/PET bi-component fiber for N95 masks globally and will fully support the Taiwan policy of increasing the production of N95 medical masks.

With current technology, the nonwoven material used for the middle filtration layer of medical masks is commonly made from PP fibers with meltblown technology and then charged with static electricity. Due to the wide spread of the coronavirus, meltblown nonwoven supply is far below its demand. FENC has, however, developed a new kind of microfiber which can be used as the filtration layer of masks to replace meltblown nonwoven. The nonwoven made by this kind of material has a multilayer structure based on close to nanoscale fibers. This structure gives the nonwoven the ability to capture every small particle and allows these facemasks to be washed in water and reused. Tests have shown that the filtration ability of these masks is much better than the normal type of medical masks, with a similar standard to that of N95 masks, and excellent filtration result for PM2.5. FENC is now actively supporting facemask manufacturers for the testing and development of this new product.

As one of the leading nonwoven material suppliers, especially in the hygiene field, FENC provides high quality fibers to well-known global brands. In recent years, the Company has been actively developing medical functional fibers and virus resistant fibers, and also stepped into the protective apparel field, including isolation gowns, protective clothing, and surgical apparel etc. With deep roots in Taiwan and expanding production sites in China and Vietnam, FENC has been exporting globally the newest and highest quality materials in the medical and health care fields.
“As one of the members of the Taiwan National Medical Masks Production Team, FENC has confidence in our ability to protect the health of frontline medical teams and all Taiwanese. We are proud to have the chance to fulfill our social responsibilities” said a company representative.

Glossary for medical masks:
In general, medical masks are made of three layers,
1. Outer layer, water resistant filtration layer: The main purpose is to prevent infection by blocking water droplets. This layer is conventionally made from PP, but FENC has developed PE/PP and PE/PET bi-materials as alternatives.
2. Middle layer, filtration layer: The main purpose is to block small particles such as bacteria and viruses. This layer is conventionally made from PP, but FENC has developed microfiber (PE/PET, Nylon/PET) as an alternative.
3. Inner layer, water absorption and skin affinity layer: The main purpose is to have a better feel between the mask and the face and to prevent the droplets from spreading. This layer is mainly made from PE-PP and PE/PET and FENC is the only supplier in Taiwan.＃