Fabricated chemical products are products manufactured using other chemical products as main raw materials. The products produced in the two industries of this sub-sector are the nonwoven and the adhesive tape industries.

Nonwoven products are made from synthetic fibers and chemical binders while adhesive tapes are made from plastic films and chemical adhesives.


The Nonwoven Industry

A nonwoven fabric is a bonded or interlocked fiber structure produced through mechanical or chemical means or a combination of thereof.

Fabrics usually are formed by spinning fibers into yarns and then weave and knitted. Nonwoven fabrics, however, are produced by forming the fibers into a web and then bonded by chemical means or interlocked by mechanical means. Two widely used web-bonding methods are chemical adhesion using thermoplastic polymers and mechanical fiber interlocking by needle punching process.

The two major nonwoven products are interlining and fiberfill both produced locally. Interlining fabric is a thin, high-density web used as stabilizer or stiffener in garments such as in collars. A fiberfill is a high soft low-density web, suitable for mechanical or thermal insulations like insulations for winter jackets or those used by quilting or padding for brassieres.


Historical Profile

The nonwoven industry is closely tied up with the garment manufacturing industry and its growth is highly dependent on the growth of the garment industry.

The first nonwoven plant was set up in the 1974 and before that year, the Philippines was heavily importing all its nonwoven requirements for its garment industry. Today, seven nonwoven companies are operating: two produce interlings; three are in fiberfill; and the remaining two produce both.

This industry is highly price sensitive and presently is under serious threats from importers who can bring in the product at a much cheaper cost because of the reduced tariff duties under the AFTA program.

The industry needs more than retooling to effectively meet competition. The support it needs from the government is a reasonable cost of power supply, which comprises a big portion of the production cost. The industry is also exploring cheaper sources of fibers, rayon and polyester, to reduce its manufacturing cost.


The Packaging Tape Industry

The tape industry is composed of companies manufacturing pressure-sensitive plastic tapes used for sealing boxes, bundling and other uses. The product is popularly known as packaging tapes, which are sometimes called carton-sealing tapes.


History

In the sixties, the Philippines was importing all its packaging tape requirements from the US, Japan and Europe for direct consumption or resale. In the seventies, coating machines were acquired, and in the early eighties, a biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) extrusion plant was set up. Added to this, the chemical industry also started polymerizing the adhesives for the tape industry. Thus, from there on, the packaging tapes were all locally produced. BOPP packaging tapes gained acceptance because of its balanced properties and cheaper costs.