T-FIT® is the Insulation Solution of Choice for Chinese Vaccine Manufacturing Facilities

T-FIT^® modular foam insulation has been installed in the cleanrooms of nine major vaccine manufacturing facilities across China.

Several vaccine manufacturing facilities in China have produced billions of doses for administration worldwide through various commercial partnerships and donations. Keeping up with demand whilst expanding and upgrading cleanroom facilities, such as foam pipe insulation, is of vital importance for these vaccine manufacturers.

Speed has been of the essence in bringing large-scale vaccine manufacturing facilities online. Most pipe insulation projects required a 40- to 60-day construction window — an exceptionally demanding schedule considering sites cover around 30,000 square metres and produce 400,000 vaccines each day. Speed of delivery and installation was therefore an important consideration for vaccine manufacturers when selecting the cleanroom pipe insulation.

Designed for cleanroom and FMCG manufacturing applications respectively, the T-FIT Clean and T-FIT Hygiene closed cell foam insulation ranges are manufactured in China at T-FIT’s production facility in Kunshan, and are typically available on a short lead time of just one week from order to delivery on the Chinese mainland. Installation, too, is simple and straightforward, involving minimal tooling and vaccine production downtime.

In contrast, delivery times for traditional pipe insulation solutions — for example, stainless steel case products with a fibre liner, PVC and open cell foam materials — were up to three times longer or more labour-intensive to install. Produced from Zotefoams’ ZOTEK^® high-performance foam, T-FIT is also the only genuine crosslinked PVDF foam insulation on the market. It combines the highest performance with the highest levels of protection of any insulation material — crucial factors in its selection. Post-installation maintenance routines and costs for other materials would also have been greater if other insulation solutions had been used.

One of the vaccine manufacturing facilities is biological products developer and manufacturer Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co Ltd, which expanded and upgraded its cleanroom facilities using T-FIT Clean. The company’s requirements included an operating temperature range of 0^oC – 150°C, low VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions, exceptional corrosion resistance, and a smooth closed cell surface for easy cleaning. In addition, with a thickness of just 6.35mm, T-FIT Clean fits into the tightest spaces that characterise complex pipe runs.

Because it is particulate-free, installation took place during routine vaccine production, without the need for PPE or special containment measures such as tents or hoods. Downtime was therefore minimised, with installation taking less than one month and production continuing uninterrupted for 80% of that time.

New website shows commitment to market

T-FIT has also launched a new dedicated website for the Chinese market — www.t-fit.cn. The site is a simple-to-navigate but comprehensive source of technical data and information on T-FIT Clean, T-FIT Hygiene and T-FIT Process, and also holds an extensive library of case studies and installation guides.