Higher demand for rubber gloves seen

The World Health Organisation (WHO) upgraded its A/H1N1 flu alert level to its highest by declaring the virus as a "pandemic." According to the report of the WHO, about 59,814 people in 113 countries and territories were confirmed to have been afflicted by the disease, and more than 200 people have died. Asian countries are now closely monitoring the spread of the disease and are now taking measures to prevent the spread of this high communicable flu through massive information drive and preparing the necessary health facilities and medical supplies to support increasing requirements for treatment. With the flu season now in full swing in Asia, the demand for medical supplies such as masks and gloves have increased. In particular, the swine flu pandemic has increased global purchases of protective examination gloves more than expected, as reported by Top Glove Corp., the world''s largest rubber-glove maker. Top Glove expects profits growth this year to double the earlier company estimate seeing the impact of swine flu on the demand curve, and the decline in the cost of raw materials. At the same time, the stronger dollar has driven the value of sales in the U.S., Top Glove''s biggest market. Top Glove can produce more than 30 billion gloves annually at its factories in Malaysia, Thailand and China. The factories are currently running at more than 90 percent of capacity. The last time the company operated at full capacity was during the SARS outbreak in 2003. Europe and North America are its largest customers at present due to the outbreak of the swine flu, although demand in Asia has also grown. Since its inception in Malaysia in 1991 which saw the setting up of one factory with three production lines, Top Glove has embarked on an impressive expansion plan to become the world''s largest rubber glove manufacturer. The company is currently listed in the Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur in year 2001 and in a short span of slightly more than a year, Top Glove''s listing has been successfully promoted from the Second Board to the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 2002. Focused on being a "One-stop Complete Glove Sourcing Centre", Top Glove has kept its R&D strong to produce a wide and diversified range of high quality and valueadded glove products in order to cater to the ever-increasing expectations of endusers. The company collaborates closely with government agencies to keep itself abreast of the latest development in rubber research technology. The upgrading and collaborations of R & D is to enable Top Glove to be a world class cost effective producer with the most extensive range of premium quality glove products. Aside from Top Glove, Malaysia''s No. 2 rubber glove manufacturer, Supermax, has also recorded improvement in sales as a result of the flu pandemic, which boosts sales for such products. The company''s factories are running at full capacity. Even for the usually lean July-August period, the orders for rubber gloves have jumped as customers stock up on such products to prevent the further spread of the virus. Supermax sold about 11 billion gloves worldwide last year, and the company is increasing its production capacity by another 1.7 billion gloves by end-2010. But even with the surge in demand, it does not intend to expand through acquisition. Growing range of rubber gloves A wide range of rubber gloves are now available in the market today. Made from natural rubber latex (NRL) offers users the best barrier protection in areas of potential risk associated with blood-borne pathogens and other substances or biohazards. The physical properties of the material provide excellent flexibility and uncompromised protection with high degree of sensitivity. It provides excellent comfort and feel. Latex outperforms other glove materials in teAir Jordan 4 IV Retro 30TH