Dow Reichhold speeds up plans for nitrile latex plant in Asia

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina - Dow Reichhold Specialty Latex has accelerated its evaluation of a project to set up manufacturing capacity in the Asia-Pacific region for the company's line of nitrile latices used in glove manufacturing . Dow-Reichhold said the evaluation will focus on identifying a comprehensive plan to continue a high level of support for the company's customers in the region.

“This evaluation is the next step in our continuing investment in the global glove industry,” said Jeffrey Welker, president of Dow Reichhold. “This evaluation step has been in our plan, but we have recently made a decision to accelerate the process,” Welker concluded.

“We are in the early stage of commercialising of DR 3988 Latex, offering performance enhancements for thin-film medical glove applications,” said Robert Ewing, global marketing manager for gloves. “Additionally, we are well into the development and qualification process for up to three more new polymers that will help our customers compete in their most important applications,” Ewing noted.

“Margin improvement is a key indicator for us, and we are cautiously optimistic that the industry is headed in the right direction,” said Dave Gartshore, global vice president for sales for the company. “More improvement is necessary, but in general our customers understand the long-term importance of overall industry profitability and have been supportive.”