Ansell completes first gloves shipment from greenfield plant in India

RICHMOND, Australia—Ansell Ltd. completed the first full shipment of rubber gloves from its greenfield manufacturing plant in India.

The $80 million, Tamil Nadu, India-based greenfield plant was designed for the surgical and life sciences market, but it will accommodate future expansion capabilities, according to Ansell, as it will manufacture "a wide range of Ansell products" and support the company's "differentiated growth strategy in the coming years."

The facility, known as the Kovai project, became operational in July 2022 and is expected to be complete in 2024.

Upon completion, Ansell said, the plant will occupy over 760,000 square feet with a nearly 463,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing plant, compounding facility, dipping hall, post-processing building, warehouse packaging facility, administrative block, canteen, biomass hot water generators and an industrial gamma irradiator.

The plant "will set a new benchmark for Ansell's sustainable manufacturing," Ansell added, noting the facility will operate with zero liquid discharge as all wastewater is fully recycled and re-used in production.

The Kovai buildings also are designed according to sustainability criteria set by the Indian Green Building Council in 2001 by using low-carbon, low-impact, nontoxic and repurposed construction materials.

"Ansell has made a commitment to shift away from fossil-fuel based energy sources at our plants to renewable energy," the company said. "As a result, the new plant design minimizes water and energy use and maximizes renewable energy sources, including sustainably sourced biomass for thermal energy and solar photovoltaic panels as we move toward our goal of 100 percent renewable energy use at this site."

Once fully operational, the Kovai project will employ 1,800, mostly from local work forces, with room to grow.

Ansell CEO Neil Salmon said the new plant creates the opportunity to onboard an engaged work force while creating new jobs that benefit the surrounding economy.

"We look forward to leveraging the opportunity to build our greenfield foundation so that we maintain business continuity whilst creating and sustaining best industry practices from a people perspective," he said.