Milliken boosts plastic industry’s ability to supply materials for personal protective equipment

Spartanburg, S.C. – Global materials science expert Milliken & Company is once again leveraging its unique capabilities to help produce needed medical personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The current shortage in plastic materials used for protective face shields is leading manufacturers to offer the readily available polypropylene plastic. The material, however, is naturally hazy, so plastic manufacturers are turning to Milliken and the company’s NX^® UltraClear^™ polypropylene concentrate to produce plastics with clarity levels suitable for healthcare industry face shields.

“In this global pandemic, the need for medical PPE continues to rise,” says Halsey M. Cook, president and CEO of Milliken & Company. “We are committed to finding solutions that assist our customers and allow us to join in the fight against COVID-19 wherever we can make a difference.”

Milliken has collaborated with a number of plastic manufacturers, from global players to regionally based companies, to evaluate NX UltraClear in this new product application. Impact Plastics is among the U.S. companies using NX UltraClear concentrates to make polypropylene clear for use in face shields. Mezger in Germany is also employing NX UltraClear concentrates to produce polypropylene sheet suitable for use in face shields.

Medical face shields made with NX UltraClear polypropylene are now in the market and being used by front-line workers.