Malaysian glove manufacturer Petropolymer Sdn Bhd has announced its plans to build a US$300 million (RM1.29 billion) acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) facility in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi in Johor, Malaysia to keep up with the high demand for the raw material used in producing rubber gloves.
Petropolymer chief executive Datuk Lee Son Hong said the raw material was currently imported from Taiwan and Thailand, with the demand by local glove manufacturers seen at 600,000 metric tonnes annually.
The investment potential is very high as it was supported by the Petrochemical Integrated Development project, which is also based in Pengerang, he told reporters after the signing ceremony of a collaboration agreement between Petropolymer and a state-owned company, Permodalan Darul Takzim (PDT), in Johor Baru earlier this week.
Lee signed the agreement on behalf of Petropolymer, while PDT was represented by its chief executive, Lukman Abu Bakar.
Lee said the NBR factory would be developed in two phases, with the first phase, costing US$150mil, would be built on a 60.7ha site, with the capacity of producing 100,000 metric tonnes of NBR for local rubber manufacturers annually.
He said the total production could be increased up to 200,000 metric tonnes by 2025.