ADAMSON UNIVERSITY

Ermita, Manila

College of Engineering
Chemical Engineering Department

REQUIREMENT FOR
FIELDTRIPS AND SEMINARS

Latex Gloves by Mercator Medical S.A.

Submitted to:
Engr. Jerry G. Olay
May 20, 2020
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................2
COMPANY PROFILE..................................................................................................................3
COMPANY HISTORY.................................................................................................................4
NATURE OF BUSINESS AND PRODUCTS.............................................................................5
MANUFACTURING PROCESS.................................................................................................6
MANUFACTURING FLOW CHART........................................................................................7
MAJOR OR MINOR RAW MATERIALS................................................................................7
UTILITIES.....................................................................................................................................7
WASTE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES..........................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................8
INDIVIDUAL LEARNING INSIGHTS......................................................................................8
INTRODUCTION

At times of public health threats like covid-19, the importance of hygiene, health, and
self-care is mostly needed to protect yourself from getting sick. Alcohols, medical supplies,
masks, personal protective equipment and gloves are used to protect you from getting infected
mostly to the health workers that are fully exposed. And by the time that the corona virus or
covid-19 is announced as a pandemic, infecting the World, stocks of food, medical supplies,
vitamins and flu medicines were hoarded by panic of the people wanting to protect themselves.
Due to this pandemic, the supplies began to increase in demand in every part of the world. The
so-called frontliners, the medical workers, police, hospital janitors, public officials, essential
store owners and many more, who are in need of this supplies experienced a shortage when it is
needed the most. In order to supply the increasing demand, companies of medical supplies and
other essentials needed for this pandemic are working on full scale to increase the stocks in the
market. Some of the companies that are also capable of producing the needed supplies right now
are converting their raw materials to produce the supplies mostly needed right now by reducing
the amount of products they produced for their specific products. One of the big companies of
medical supplies is the Mercator Medical. Mercator Medical is a company in Poland that
manufactures personal protective equipment and many more used in hospitals. Mercator Medical
is now working on full capacity production of their products to supply in the market.

COMPANY PROFILE

Mercator Medical is a Polish company established in Kraków in 1996, involved in the

manufacture of disposable personal protective equipment for medical purposes and surgical
drapes (medical gloves, disposable medical devices, dressings, and protective products made of
non-woven fabric). As of 2018, Mercator Medical have over 1200 employees. The company
operates globally in over 60 countries, offering about 120 of its own products and the products of
leading international brands. The range offered by Mercator Medical is supplemented by
protective products made of nonwoven, such as medical disposable clothing and surgical drapes.
Among the customers of Mercator Medical there are health service units, industrial plants, chain
stores, and pharmaceutical wholesalers.
Mercator Medical Group comprises the following entities: the Polish parent company
Mercator Medical S.A. and its subsidiaries: Mercator Medical TOB in Ukraine, Mercator
Medical s.r.l. in Romania, Mercator Medical J.V. partnership in Russia, Mercator Medical
(Thailand) Ltd. in Thailand, and a branch of Mercator Medical S.A. in Hungary. The
manufacturing part of the company is located in Thailand, as this location offers access to an
important raw material, natural rubber (latex). The objective behind the purchase of a production
plant for medical gloves in Thailand was to ensure the secure supply of the key raw material
required for the manufacturing of latex gloves; this was also the first industrial investment by a
Polish company in that country.

COMPANY HISTORY

In 1989, Piotr and Wiesław Żyznowski started a new business under the name Mercator
Żyznowski i Spółka. In 1993, it was transformed into a joint stock company. Further
development made it necessary to divide the company into three independent partnerships. As a
result, the following entities were established: Mercator Medical S.A., in 1996, and Mercator
Papier S.A. and Mercator Poligrafia S.A., in 1998. The company started its business operations
by distributing medical and protective gloves. Over the course of time, the product line was
extended to include dressings, disposable clothing and surgical drapes. In 2011 these were
extended to include the manufacture of medical examining gloves and dressings, purchasing,
storing, packaging and customizing, as well as domestic sales and export of medical products
and personal protective equipment. Mercator Medical is the first polish company which has done
industrial investment in Thailand. Company has 1% of sales of medical gloves globally, delivers
medical products to 45 countries in the world.
NATURE OF BUSINESS AND PRODUCTS
 Mercator Medical manufactures medical disposable clothing (masks, gloves, PPEs) and
surgical supplies (bandages and orthopedic supplies). Mercator Medical began manufacturing
and distributing the company’s own brands of Comfort, Santex, and Proster medical gloves in
1997. Then, in 2012, the available product line was expanded with the inclusion of surgical
draping sets and specialized surgical sheets. This period of time saw the introduction of Comfort
PF and DermaGel powder-free examination gloves with low latex content, and Vinylex vinyl
medical examination gloves, constituting the first alternative to latex gloves in Poland. In 2005,
the product line was expanded with the inclusion of Orthopeg, Microtex, Gynoglove, and Syntec
Neoprene specialist surgical gloves, as well as Texident gloves designed for dentists, gloves
designed for procedures involving increased risk of infection, ProHand sterile examination
gloves, and powder-free vinyl gloves. The decision to purchase the medical gloves production
plant in Thailand resulted in the introduction of a new group of products, i.e. dressings that
included the following: gauze compresses, non-woven fabric compresses, high-absorbency
compresses, adhesive tapes on various types of carriers, dressings for the fastening of cannula,
surgical dressings, plaster bandages, stabilising supports, and net bandages.

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The manufacturing part of the company is located in Thailand, as this location offers
access to an important raw material, natural rubber (latex). The objective behind the purchase of
a production plant for medical gloves in Thailand was to ensure the secure supply of the key raw
material required for the manufacturing of latex gloves. The latex, which is the basic raw
material for medical gloves, is obtained from Hevea brasiliensis trees. The tree bark is tapped
and a white milky liquid flows into the tapping cups. Latex collection is carried out early in the
morning between 5 and 10 am, as the latex can spoil. If it is not collected at the right time, its
physical properties change in warm temperatures, with the latex becoming more sticky and
hardening. At the collection centers, the fresh latex is centrifuged, pre-heated and then left to
mature for 21 days as the quality of the latex and the composition of the chemical mixture used
in the production process influence the quality of the final product. After compounding the
mixture, the porcelain formers are dipped in acid and basic solution, brushed, rinsed hot water
and dried. Dry formers are coated with coagulant which prevents latex from adhering to them
during the production process. Following coagulation, the formers are put into an oven where
they undergo thermal treatment after which they are dipped in latex and again put into the oven
where they are vulcanized. Vulcanization is necessary to obtain the final form and properties of
the glove. Before and after vulcanization, gloves, while still on the formers, are leached in a bath
of hot water to wash out chemicals and proteins. The water in which the gloves are leached is
constantly changed, which ensures that the washed out allergens do not go back into circulation.
Next the gloves, while still in liquid form, on the formers are powdered with corn starch. Then
they are dried in hot air and removed from the formers. Finally, the gloves are air-tested,
packaged and made ready for shipment.

MANUFACTURING FLOW CHART

MAJOR OR MINOR RAW MATERIALS

The major raw material involved in production of medical gloves is the latex that came
from the Hevea brasiliensis trees or called as Para rubber tree. The milky liquid (latex) that came
from the wound of the tree bark contains about 30 percent rubber, which is why gloves are
elastic.
The minor raw materials used in the process are acid and base solutions for latex dipping,
coagulants for coagulation (for a thicker latex mixture), and corn starch which helps in final
drying.

UTILITIES

The utilities involved in the production of medical latex gloves are hot and cold water for
washing and leaching, and dry air for testing and drying.
WASTE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

The Mercator Medical Group uses packaging made from recyclable materials, optimizing
the size of packaging, and taking other appropriate logistic steps. The packaging used can be
treated as household waste, whereas used and contaminated products themselves must be treated
as medical waste. The Group complies with legal requirements concerning environmental
protection, including requirements relating to recycling and recovery with agreements from
Waste Recovery Organizations in the various countries in which the Group operates. In the field
of production, the Group pays particular attention to environmental aspects, using raw materials
of natural origin which do not affect the ecosystem negatively, as well as trying to improve
energy efficiency and making use of all options to reduce emissions of contaminants. Medical
products offered by Mercator Medical have no negative impact on the environment during
transport, storage, and use. Requirements for product storage are detailed on individual and bulk
packaging, on labels in the form of standardized pictograms, and in user instructions. These
requirements concern temperature and humidity conditions and protection from direct light.

REFERENCES

 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_Medical_S.A.
 http://mercatormedical.eu/
 https://healthcaremarketexperts.com/en/news/the-coronavirus-epidemic-a-chance-or-a-
treat-to-pharmaceutical-companies/
 https://www.britannica.com/plant/rubber-tree

INDIVIDUAL LEARNING INSIGHTS

Dimalibot, Patricia Allaine D.

The shortage of medical supplies in the market today creates a big impact in saving lives
of the people infected of covid-19. Big companies like Mercator Medical are operating on full
capacity to help increase the demand needed during these times. We really appreciate these
companies that are willing to help the world to defeat covid-19 despite the risks and struggles
brought by the pandemic. The importance of the products like medical gloves can save a life
from the virus with proper use. Wearing medical gloves prevents the virus from spreading in
direct contact to the skin. The differences of gloves are also important for every use. And also
the proper waste treatment of disposable items like gloves should be implemented more
importantly in this pandemic. By learning the process of making medical gloves, it is very
important to still preserve the raw material sources as a step to prevent shortage in the materials
needed in times of crisis like this. Crisis like the covid-19 pandemic can’t be predicted so we
people must learn to conserve the materials we used everyday.