Give a hand to Covid-19 for spawning US medical glove industry

  • 📰 BDliveSA
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 51 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 24%
  • Publisher: 63%

Nigeria News News

Japanese glove producer sets up a factory in Alabama as demand shifts to Made in America

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.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 12. in NG

Nigeria Nigeria Latest News, Nigeria Nigeria Headlines