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Custom compounder Polymax TPE, Waukegan, Ill., has expanded its P-Series and A-Series, medical-grade thermoplastics elastomers (TPEs) used in products to help meet the increased demand caused by COVID-19.  The company has been actively increasing production of medical-grade TPE’s since February, starting with their P-Series product line. One of these grades, P3838, is molded into a diaphragm, serving as a critical component for a sputum aspirator. With rapidly spiking demand for medical-grade TPE’s, the company has increased its focus on producing TPE’s suitable for facemask applications and other personal protection equipment (PPE).

TPEs have previously been identified as a possible substitution for traditional materials used to make facemasks, such as silicone and latex. As the needs have changed, Polymax is among the companies that have shifted their focus, helping to provide solutions to meet the growing demand for reshoring of PPE products to North American production. Said Polymax TPE’s v.p. of sales Tom Castile, “There are multiple design criteria that need to be considered when creating TPE materials for PPE applications, and our wide range of medical-grade P-Series, has allowed us to provide solutions to molders for years. The COVID-19 crisis has quickly created an urgency to source TPE products domestically.”

Polymax has also expanded its A-Series, a medical-grade TPE material that adheres to engineered resins and features the widest hardness range of its kind in the industry. Some specialty production will be moved from their Nantong, China facility to their Waukegan, Ill. location to assist end-customers who are now reshoring production. This move will result in a quicker response to all domestic PPE production, allowing for faster deployment of this high-in-demand equipment.

“As a global leader of TPE solutions and the brand owner of Maxelast, Polymax technologies can meet the demanding needs of many air-purifying respirators (PAPR) and PPE applications, essential in the battle against COVID-19. Our ability to also provide custom TPE solutions without the typical high cost associated with these solutions has been important for many molders as they continue to develop and introduce new products,” said Castile.