KUALA LUMPUR: Supermax Corporation Bhd's subsidiary, Maxter Healthcare Inc, will begin commercialising glove production at its first United States manufacturing facility in Texas by January next year.
In a statement, the glovemaker said that the testing and commissioning of its first batch of production lines will commence in December 2024.
The company anticipates achieving half capacity of Phase 1 operations by next year, producing up to 2.4 billion pieces of gloves anually.
It added that the remaining of Phase 1 is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025, adding another 2.4 billion pieces anually to a total of 4.8 billion gloves per annum for its US production capacity.
"Our US plant incorporates a 'smart manufacturing' process, featuring digital process control and fully automated end-to-end manufacturing," said founder and executive chairman Datuk Seri Stanley Thai.
"This approach reduces our reliance on bluecollar labour and leverages the latest technology, including artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics," he added.
According to the statement, the recently announced decision by the US Trade Representative (USTR) to impose tariffs on Chinese medical glove imports by 50 per cent in 2025 and to 100 per cent in 2026 is seen as a crucial advantage for domestic manufacturers in the US.
Supermax plans for Phase 2 of its production to be installed within the next two years and will be subjected to the global demand and consumption market.
Construction of the Supermax's manufacturing building (B2A) and warehousing cum distribution centre (B5) in Brazoria County, Texas, was completed last December 2023 under the collective efforts of Supermax Healthcare Inc and Maxter Healthcare Inc teams.
While a technical team from Malaysia was deployed to install the manufacturing equipment and to commission the plant.
Supermax was among the top actives today as the share price increased by 17.7 per cent or 14 sen to 93 sen, valuing its market capitalisation at RM2.5 billion.
A total of 88 million shares changed hands.