SEOUL—Kumho Petrochemical plans to invest $225 million in a new nitrile rubber latex plant at its Ulsan petrochemical complex.
The new production line will have the capacity to produce 236,000 metric tons per year of nitrile-butadiene latex, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, Kumho said June 22.
The "aggressive investment" is in response to the rapidly growing demand from the gloves and medical industry, the Korean petrochemicals manufacturer said.
Kumho expects to increase its nitrile latex production capacity to 710,000 annual tons by the end of this year. The latest investment will bring the company's output close to 1 million tons per year by the end of 2023.
According to Kumho, the new production line in Ulsan will have room for further expansion to produce up to 470,000 annual tons of nitrile rubber latex, if demand rises.