ExxonMobil expands health care portfolio to meet changing market

SPRING, Texas—ExxonMobil has expanded its portfolio of health care products to meet changing medical market needs for "healthy and safe" material options.

The expanded portfolio consists of a wide range of "high-performance products" that are manufactured using "good manufacturing practices" to offer reliable "batch-to-batch product consistency," ExxonMobil said in a Sept. 26 statement.

The new portfolio, said the Texas-based chemicals supplier, improves performance and longevity for a range of medical supplies, including seals and tubes, while delivering high-purity products for laboratory components and pharmaceutical packaging.

Among the offerings, ExxonMobil told European Rubber Journal, are the company's existing range of Exxon chlorobutyl rubber, Exxon bromobutyl rubber and Exxpro speciality elastomers suitable for health care applications.

"Building on these foundational offerings, we have expanded our portfolio to also include several polyolefin resins and elastomers including Achieve Advanced PP, ExxonMobil PP, Vistamaxx performance polymers and Exact polyolefin elastomers," it added.

A combination of market factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, prompted the expansion to the portfolio, according to Gertrud Masure, market development manager.

In addition, he noted, the health care industry's desire for a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) replacement was another market driver, which led ExxonMobil to develop alternatives.

As part of the plan to expand the offering, ExxonMobil said it currently is carrying out a "polypropylene growth project" in Baton Rouge.

The company also is making good progress in support of a 2023 startup of a $2 billion investment to expand its Baytown chemical plant.

The facility will include a production unit with the capacity for 400,000 metric tons per year of the propylene-based olefin elastomer Vistamaxx.