Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, more than 10 enterprises that produce epidemic prevention raw materials in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park increased their production quantity and cooperated with each other to ensure increased production and supply of epidemic prevention materials.

According to Xie Ling, commercial director for polypropylene and polyethylene products of Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Company Limited, since the outbreak, procurement demands have been coming in from all over the country.

"According to the original plan, the company's polypropylene product output in February was 8,000 tons, but after the outbreak, the company raised it to 16,000 tons," said Xie.

"Although profit is not high, the enterprise must take on its social responsibility during the epidemic."

After SECCO increased the quantity of polypropylene and other products, the amount of isobutylene, a by-product, also increased. Due to outbreak control efforts and other factors, original customers cannot handle the sudden increase in isobutylene.

Rohm, another company in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park, is mobilizing all its resources to cooperate with SECCO to absorb the increased isobutylene.

The methacrylic acid produced by Rohm is an important material for nitrile gloves. After the outbreak, the company donated 200,000 pairs of medical nitrile gloves to Shanghai's anti-epidemic front line through the Shanghai Red Cross Society.

Raw materials for epidemic prevention have been continuously sent to all parts of the country from Shanghai Chemical Industry Park.

Only three days after the local face mask fabric enterprise in Hubei province ran out of raw materials, 58 tons of polypropylene products just off the Shanghai production line arrived in Wuhan, Hubei province, followed soon after by more than 230 tons.