With the world now struggling in the face of the pandemic, medical supplies and equipment are deemed more essential than ever. Across the board, gloves companies are working relentlessly to supply medical gloves to cater to the shortage. Here, Top 10 of Malaysia shares its list (presented in random order) of Top 10 World Class Malaysian Glove Companies that have also contributed in combating the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of these companies are listed in Bursa Malaysia while some of them have hogged the limelight during these challenging times.
Brightway Holdings Sdn Bhd
Brightway Holdings Sdn Bhd has been a leader in the medical and industrial specialty glove business since 1988. Founded by Dr Govindasamy Baskaran and his wife, Ramola Baskaran, they have grown from a single factory in Klang to having over 7 factories across the nation. With 48 production lines and 3 cleanrooms, Brightway ships their products all around the world to customers who require quality and functionality above all else. Priding themselves on having the most extensive range of natural and synthetic latex rubber gloves, it offers customers a full suite of customisation unrivalled in the industry. With a passion for doing the impossible, Brightway even provides tailored gloves to individuals who have unique hands and disabilities. Together they have a realised a vision of providing bespoke gloves for every need. At Brightway believes it is The Specialty Glove Company, hallmarked for its innovation and meeting customer aspirations with comprehensive solutions.
Top Glove Corporation Bhd
Top Glove is one of the world’s largest gloves manufacturers, commanding a 26% global market share. Established by Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai in 1991, it now has operations spanning across Malaysia, Thailand, China, US, and Europe while it also exports to over 2,000 customers in 195 countries worldwide. Top Glove was listed on the Malaysian Bourse in 2001 and mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in 2016, and has since demonstrated steady growth with an annual growth rate of 21.7% for revenue and 19% for profit after tax in the past 18 years. Offering a wide range of products, it now includes a non-glove segment comprising condoms, face masks, dental dams and exercise bands, meeting demand in both the healthcare and non-healthcare segment. Top Glove has set its sight on increasing its world market share to 30% by the end of 2020 and becoming a Fortune Global 500 Company by 2040.
Hartalega Holdings Bhd
What started out as a single-line operation back in 1988, has now evolved to a company that has revolutionised glove making. Inventing the world’s first lightweight nitrile glove in 2005, Hartalega Holdings Bhd is now one of the largest producers of nitrile gloves in the world, with an average of output 36 billion gloves a year. Founded by Kuan Kam Hon, Hartalega has a workforce of 7,800 people across 8 dedicated manufacturing facilities and are committed in ensuring that its gloves are manufactured with equal emphasis on efficiency and quality.
Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd
Founded by Tan Sri Dato’ Lim Kuang Sia in 1979, Kossan is one among the largest manufacturers of latex disposable gloves in the world with a production of 28 billion pieces. A large portion of its products are exported to over 130 countries. Kossan offers an array of products comprising highly technical input engineered rubber products used in automotive, infrastructure, marine, aviation, rail and mining industries through its Technical Rubber Product Division and latex disposable gloves through its Glove Division. It has 20 plants (19 in Malaysia and 1 in China), with more than 6,000 employees incorporating both locals and foreign nationals. Kossan joined Bursa Malaysia as a public listed company in 1996 and has since been in the radar for both foreign and domestic investors for various reasons, mainly consistency in performance, proven execution capabilities, technical know-how in the rubber products industry, consistency in dividend payments and prudent management philosophies.
Supermax Corp Bhd
The Supermax Group was founded by Dato’ Seri Stanley Thai and his wife Datin Seri Cheryl Tan in 1987 as a trading business distributing latex gloves. Through brand embodiment, creative packaging and premium quality products, Supermax gained a substantial foothold and commands a significant market share in the US dental market. Supermax has since carved a name for itself and is currently exporting to over 160 countries worldwide in the regions of America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and the South Pacific. Producing up to 24 billion pieces of gloves per year, and meeting approximately 12% of the world demand for latex examination gloves, Supermax Group has eleven manufacturing plants based in Malaysia equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, energy-saving biomass systems and a research and development centre.
Comfort Gloves Bhd
Comfort Rubber Gloves Industries Sdn Bhd (CRG) was established in 1993 as the glove manufacturing subsidiary of Comfort Gloves Berhad (formerly known as Integrated Rubber Corporation Berhad)) which is listed on the main board of Malaysia’s Stock Exchange – BMSB (Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad). Located in Taiping, Perak, CRG’s factory is equipped with advanced machineries and operations that are capable of producing wide range of quality gloves. Currently CRG’s gloves are exported to the Northern American, Oceanic Countries, Middle East countries, Europe, South America, Africa and Asia-Pacific region. One of CRG’s main growth strategies for the future is to establish manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Careplus Group Bhd
Careplus Group Berhad was listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Securities in 2010. It has been in the glove business for over 20 years and is expanding its capacity to meet growing demands. It was incorporated in Malaysia on 30 March 2010 under the Companies Act 1965 of Malaysia as a private limited company under the name Careplus Group Sdn Bhd. Subsequently, in 2010, Careplus converted its status from a private limited company to a public limited company to facilitate its listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Securities. While it is principally an investment holding company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries are involved in the manufacturing, processing and trading of gloves.
Rubberex Corp Bhd
Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd is principally an investment holding entity. The company through its subsidiaries manufactures and sells rubber gloves. Rubberex offers a wide range of industrial and safety gloves, nitrile gloves, household rubber gloves and disposable vinyl and nitrile gloves. It operates in three principal geographical areas – Europe, North and South America, Asia and rest of the world. Europe contributes the vast majority of its total revenue.
Koon Seng Sdn Bhd
Established in 1987, Koon Seng is one of the leading manufacturers of high-quality latex powdered, latex powder free and nitrile powder free examination gloves. The company is led by Robert Yeo, who is the Group Managing Director with many years of experience in glove manufacturing. Koon Seng currently exports to the US, Europe, Korea, Middle East, China, Australia and Latin America. Among the mentioned, US and Europe are Koon Seng’s largest markets.
Tan Sin Lian Industries Sdn Bhd
Tan Sin Lian Industries Sdn Bhd (TSL) was founded by Super Tan, its current Managing Director in 1990. Being a gloves manufacturing company in Malaysia, it is one of the leading suppliers and exporters for latex examination gloves and latex surgical gloves. Currently, TSL exports to over 45 countries. It customises the gloves packaging according to specific customers’ requirements such as small poly bag packaging, small box packaging and the like. The company also arranges for goods consolidation for customers who do not have sufficient goods to fill a full-loading container. TSL emphasizes stringent quality control in order to adhere and meet with Good Manufacturing Practice and Standards.
