21 June 2022 - 17:43Newly updated nitrile glove producing machinery is pictured at a factory of Showa, a large Japanese glove producer, in Fayette, Alabama, US, in this June 2 2022 file photo. Picture: REUTERS/MARVIN GENTRYRising from a muddy field on the outskirts of the small town of Fayette, Alabama, is a bricks-and-mortar symbol of the global Covid-19 pandemic: a new glove factory.
Demand for gloves spiked early in the pandemic, spotlighting a glaring weakness in the US supply chain for all types of medical safety equipment. Most of it comes from factories in Asia. At least 12 other companies — a mix of domestic start-ups and Asian and US producers looking to gain or expand US footholds — are building new glove plants, including the one inside the former Baltimore steel mill and another in a former Caterpillar factory outside Chicago. One entrepreneur wants to build a plant on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico.
“The VA, DHS, TSA, they all use huge amounts of gloves,” said Izhaky, reeling off a list of federal agencies. “We’re expecting that they’ll be mandated to purchase Made in America.” Modern glove factories are modelled on those developed in Asia, a reverse of the decades-old pattern of companies in advanced economies developing industries in low-cost regions. Izhaky’s project has 45 US employees and a team of 28 in Malaysia with industry experience.