KUALA LUMPUR (Sep 17): Supermax Corp Bhd (KL:SUPERMX) said on Tuesday that it will begin commercialising its glove production at its first US manufacturing facility in Texas by January 2025.

In a bourse filing, the company said its wholly-owned subsidiary, US-based Maxter Healthcare Inc will commence testing and commissioning of its first batch of production lines in December 2024 and commercialisation of glove production is expected by January.

Supermax also said the phase one operation has a total production capacity of 4.8 billion pieces of gloves per annum, and it expects to achieve half capacity by next year.

The remaining capacity expansion is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Based on analysts’ compilation, Supermax's current production capacity is about 21 billion pieces of gloves per annum. Some 29% of its total sales are to the US, the reports showed.

“Our US plant incorporates a ‘smart manufacturing’ process, featuring digital process control and fully automated end-to-end manufacturing," Datuk Seri Stanley Thai, founder and executive chairman of Supermax, said.

"This approach reduces our reliance on blue-collar labour and leverages the latest technology, including artificial intelligence, automation and robotics," he said in the statement.

The company also has plans for phase two of its production to be installed within the next two years, and this will be subjected to its monitoring of the global demand and consumption market.

It was revealed that the construction of the Supermax’s manufacturing building (B2A) and warehousing cum distribution centre (B5) in Brazoria County, Texas, was completed in December 2023.

A technical team from Malaysia was deployed for installation of the manufacturing equipment and commissioning of the plant.

The company also said the recently announced decision by the US Trade Representative (USTR) to increase and pull forward tariffs on China-based medical glove imports by 50% in 2025 and to 100% in 2026 is seen as a crucial advantage for US-based manufacturers like Supermax-linked Maxter Healthcare Inc.

Maxter Healthcare Inc is on the board of the American Medical Manufacturers Association (AMMA).

All glovemakers’ share prices surged on Tuesday after the US tariffs increase news broke over the weekend. The Bursa Malaysia Healthcare Index surged over 10% on Tuesday following the announcement, adding to recent renewed interest in Malaysian glovemakers amid news of the mpox outbreak recently.

Shares in Supermax settled up 14 sen or 17.7% to 93 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.53 billion. The recent rally has nearly erased all losses in Supermax this year, with the counter now down just 1.1% year-to-date.