Rubber industry in Sabah

Sabah, one of the states in Malaysia, is located at the northern region of the island of Borneo.
Dubbed “The Land Below The Wind”. Sabah is endowed with vast exterials of resources and
is recognised globally for having a rich bi-diversity of flora and fauna. Its people comprise of
over 30 different ethnic groups, of which Sabah is known for its harmonious multi-cultural
setting.
The Production of Standard Malaysia Rubber (SMR)
Tuaran SMR Factory is well-equipped with modern rubber processing facilities to ensure that
Standard Malaysian Rubber or SMR grades that are produced at the factory meet the stringent
processing conditions and quality, strictly in accordance with the SMR specifications. The
main grades of SMR produced by Tuaran SMR Factory are SMR 10 and SMR 20, and the
raw materials used are mainly unsmoked rubber sheets and cuplumps. As the raw materials
are usually varied in quality particularly on dirt, viscosity, and plasticity rapid index or PRI,
the rubber manufacturing process is also intensively scrutinized with strict process control
measures to ensure that the rubber produce does not only conform to the stringent
specification requirements of SMR, but also to ensure that the produce is of consistent quality
throughout. As such, as a prerequisite to obtaining consistency in quality, as well as the level
of properties to be achieved in accordance to SMR specification, an elaborate blending
process in adopted at the Tuaran SMR Factory. The raw materials, in the form unsmoked
rubber sheet and cuplumps, on arrival at the factory, are separately distributed into the
reception tanks, and thereafter, fed into the slab cutters, simultaneously to be cut into uniform
sizes. The raw materials that have been cut into uniform sizes are the blended at an
appropriate ratio, and subsequently stored, until the blended raw materials are sufficiently
aged, before processing into SMR grades. The processing of SMR grade involves several pre-
cleaning stages, blending, and size reduction of the raw materials. Approoriate processing
machineries are installed throughout the processing chain, whereby it culminates in a
adequate shearing of the raw to ensure sizes of crumbs are discrete and even. Drying of the
SMR is carried out at an appropriate pre-set temperatures and drying time in each of the
dryers installed at the Tuaran SMR Factory. Prior to baling, the rubber biscuits are cooled
down to below 50 degrees Celcius by cooling facilities fitted on the dryers. The cooled
biscuits are subsequently weighed accurately to 35 kilograms each and baled in hydraulic
presses which have 100 metric tones capacities.
The cooled biscuits are subsequently weighted accurately to 35kg each and baled in
hydrauluc presses which have100 metrics tonnes cappacities. To ensure SMR grades
produced by the factory conformed to quality specifications. Metal detectors are installed
along the processing line to detect the possible presence of any metal piece in the bale. Every
fifth bale is then cut open for visual inspection to check presence of any abnormality such as
the presence of virgin rubber or foreign contaminants. The pressed bale, each weighing 35
kg, are then wrapped in 0.04 mm thickness polythene wrappers and placed in wooden pallets
or shrink-wrapping. Each unit of such can accommodate 36 bales of rubber, making total
weight of 1,260 metric tonnes. To ensure that the quality of Standard Malaysian
Rubberproduced by Tuaran SMR Factory conform to strict quality requirements, SMR
samples are sent for testing at the Quality Assurance Unit, an approved SMR Laboratory
belonging to Sabah Rubber Industry Board. In accordance to SMR testing procedure
established by Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia, or RRIM, sampling is done with the
intensity of 10 percent for a production lot of 2,52 metric tonnes
The Production of Specialty Rubber
Beaufort Specialty Rubber uses state of the art manufacturing technology to manufacture
superior quality vulcanised and grafted rubber from natural rubber latex for a niche market
which specialises in adhesives and engineering applications. The main raw material, field
latex, is brought in to the factory from the plantations managed and operated by the Sabah
Rubber Industry Board the management at the respective plantation is tasks to ensure that
only the best quality of field latex is sent to the factory. The field latex is preserved with
ammonia and transported to the factory by means of transport tankers which are constructed
of stainless steel materials. This will ensure the field latex is free of any bacterial
contamination. All documentation from the plantations are carefully verified and weight of
the field latex is captured by the computer assigned for this operation. At this stage, a sample
of foeld latex is drawn from the lorry to determine the quality of the latex. Various tests are
carried out the Quality Assurance Laboratory to determine the quality of the field latex. Only
field latex that conforms to quality specifications are accepted. After conforming the quality
of the field latex, the transport tankers are allowed to drive up to the reception area where the
field latex shall be carefully discharged to the selected products.
The field latex from the transport tankers are discharged through very fine mesh strainers the
remove any impurities.
The field latex received from various sources are first bulked and homogenise. Chemicals,
such as curatives and preservatives, are added to the homogenised field latex. The completed
mix is steam-heated under controlled conditions to ensure the latex reaches a vulcanised state.
The entire operation of vulcanisation is automated and controlled by computers. This is the
nerve centre of the factory where computers are used for chemical addition and process
control. The computers are programmed to monitor the varios stages of the process to
eliminate defect and inconsistencies in the products. The vulcanised latex is then added with
fresh proportions of field latex and coagulated with matching coagulants. The coagulated
ruber is floated out of the coagulating troughs for crushing and size reduction. The rubber is
now passed through a series of rollers, called grappers, for shearing, blending, and de-
watering of the rubber. Fresh clean water is added along the creping process to remove excess
chemicals. The creped rubber sheets are passed through machines to shred the rubber into
fine rubber crumbs. The crumbs are pumped up and separated through screens. The fine
crumbs are filled in dryer boxes for subsequent drying process. The dryer boxes, filled with
wet rubber crumbs, are mechanically fed into the drying apparatus for the removal of
mositure. The dryers are equpped with multiple heating banks. Which electronically monitors
and controls the entire drying process. The system ensures the dried rubber has a consistent
quality profile. State of the art- electronic equipment digitally controls the drying process of
the rubber. The dried rubber is meticulously inspected for any irregularity before they are
pressed to shape. The inspected dried rubber is weighed to the specific weight and pressed for
packaging. The presses bales are available in 20.83 kg and 33.33 kg. After through visual
inspection, the pressed bales are wrapped according to the end-user's requirements. The
wrapped rubber is finally unitises and stored for its final destination. Samples from the final
products are tested rigorously in the in-house laboratory to ensure the quality of the products
strictly conforms to the end-user's specifications. The major portion of the plant operation is
computer-aided. Varios stages along the manufacturing operation is closely monitored by
digital sensors and display which allows the operation to be eliminated from any defect and
inconsistency in the products manufactured by the plant.