KUALA LUMPUR: HARTALEGA Holdings Bhd’s revolutionary non-leaching antimicrobial nitrile examination gloves are poised to raise the group’s profit margin in the financial year ending March 31 2019.
The first trial will start next month and will last through next year. The trial will study the impact and potential cost savings in a clinical environment.
The first hospital to undertake the clinical trial is University College London Hospital.
Hartalega managing director Kuan Mun Leong said the new gloves would accelerate its target of achieving an output of 42 billion pieces by 2021.
“The growth plan is intact, whether we have the antimicrobial gloves or not. We are a very progressive glove manufacturer. The new product will contribute positively to the company’s future growth.”
Kuan said there would not be any additional capital expenditure for the new gloves, adding that they were compatible with the current production system.
On whether the new glove technology would cost more, Kuan said it was too early to tell.
“When we launch the new gloves in the first half of next year, we will be able to tell you,” he said, noting that Hartalega’s primary markets were the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, China and India.
For the past seven years, Hartalega and its partner, Chemical Intelligence Ltd, have spent about RM36 million to develop the germ-killing gloves.
Executive chairman Kuan Kam Hon said it was the world’s first medical glove that could kill 99.99 per cent of germs, and would be well-received by medical practitioners as it could significantly reduce cross-contamination.
“We are looking forward to this product that could mitigate hospital-acquired infections, which is a serious problem. The medical industry needs this product. We foresee there would be a potential reduction of hospital-acquired infections.”
Kuan said the antimicrobial technology would be progressively incorporated into all its glove products.
“We have done production trial and there is no need to modify the production lines.”
Chemical Intelligence chief executive officer Rob Gros said the United Kingdom-based antimicrobial research and development company would undertake some clinical trials at London hospitals.
On the company’s manufacturing excellence, Kuan said: “We are embarking on Industry 4.0. However, we would like to take things step by step. I think it would take us between three and four years. We are looking at internal integration, connecting all activities and processes within the organisation to make it more efficient.”
Kuan said the company targeted to produce about 25 billion pieces of gloves by the end of this year compared with 20 billion last year.
“We also intend to produce 30 billion pieces of gloves by the end of next year,” he said, adding that Hartalega currently employed 6,400 workers at its next-generation integrated glove manufacturing complex and Bestari Jaya plants.
Kuan said for now, Hartalega had enough foreign workers but would need an additional 2,000 by 2020 to cater for its aggressive expansion.
In 2005, global consumption of nitrile gloves was less than five per cent. In 12 years, it has exceeded 50 per cent.