Do you still remember those days when we were still in primary days of schooling and the teacher would tells us that we are going on a field trip, we are so excited. Field trip means fun and most of all information gathering. It is our time to know how thing were made of or how are thing been done.
I was so happy to when a co-blogger mentioned to me that we are going on a field trip to one of the most fascinating plant in the metropolis, the URATEX Plant. Just like a child, I waited for that day. The moment finally came and I want to share to you the photos and information that I have gathered.
The Management welcoming remarks
Photos of machineries and stocks
They even make plastic containers
Foam, how do you make them?
Being one of the largest foam-makers in the region and with advanced foam manufacturing equipment, let us see how a Uratex foam product is made:
- The Research & Development laboratory – Just like cooking, a good foam starts with the perfect recipe, and in foam-making, the R&D facility of the RGC Foam Group, one of the country’s most advanced, is where it all starts. There, Uratex laboratory personnel develop formulations that result to certain types of foam and also conduct tests to ensure that the formulation will meet final product specifications that customers look for. Over the years, this department has developed thousands of formulations that benefited the Philippine industrial history, from the car development program of the 1970s to the footwear, garments and electronics boom in the 1980s and 1990s.
- Foaming – Once the formulation is finalized, it is entered into the foaming machine’s computer system. There, up to 26 streams of different chemicals are doused using computer-controlled metering pumps for precision. The liquid will turn into cream within seconds and then into solid state within 1.5-2 minutes, and where the solid foam block may be cut between 1 to 60 meters in length. At the Muntinlupa plant, the foam is cut in 30-meter lengths. This high-tech machinery is complimented by a quality management system and ran by highly-trained personnel.
- Curing area – The 30-meter long blocks are then picked up by an overhead crane and transferred to the curing area. Foam is produced via an exothermic reaction where the center may reach up to 145-165 degrees Celsius within 20-30 minutes. It will not start to cool for another 3-4 hours but will reach room temperature within 24 hours and is “cured”.
- Foam block warehouse – This is the storage area for the foam blocks. From there, the plant’s production department will request for a specific type of block with different sizes as per orders coming from customers. These blocks are then moved to the production area where they will be cut according to the desired sizes.
- Production area – It is from this area where the Uratex products that we all see come from. The foam blocks are cut into the requested size and then “contoured” based on the type of product to be produced, whether a pillow, a mattress, or even a car seat foam. Once cut and contoured, the product goes straight to packaging under strict quality control standards, ready for delivery to the customer.
The RGC Group of Companies revolutionized foam making back in 1987 when they set up the first continuous foaming machine in the country called the “Vertifoam” process. This involves computerized metering of materials to form perfectly-shaped foam with lesser scrap that benefited both the market and the environment because of less wastage.
In 2001, the group further blazed the trail in foam-making when it installed new foaming equipment called “Hennecke.” Tagged as the “Mercedes Benz” of the foam-making industry, this German-manufactured equipment is regarded as the best in the world. On December 2009, the RGC Group invested on another Hennecke machine with the latest technological improvements to serve as back-up to the year 2001 version.
For more details about Uratex, visit www.uratex.com.ph.
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