International medical product and solutions company, Mölnlycke of Sweden has commenced operations of a new surgical glove plant in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah, with sustainable production as its backbone.
With a total investment of €50 million (RM233 million), the new facility is a major milestone and part of Mölnlycke’s sustainability roadmap – WeCare, to meet the healthcare manufacturing industry’s increasing demand sustainably, producing surgical gloves.
The new manufacturing plant was officiated by Dato’ Seri Haji Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, Chief Minister of Kedah, Dr. Joachim Bergstrom, Ambassador of Sweden and Zlatko Rihter, CEO of Mölnlycke.
Also present were Dato’ Wira Dr. Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail, Senior State EXCO Member for Industry & Investment, Higher Education, Science, Technology & Education; Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, CEO of Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA); Mohammad Haris Kader Sultan, Chief Executive (CE) of Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) and Karl-Henrik Sundström, Chair of the Board of Mölnlycke.
The new production site, which has a land area of 29,164 sqm and a building footprint of 14,620 sqm, is fully equipped with a cutting-edge automated glove production and packaging line.
With the addition of the new plant, Mölnlycke expects to create some 400 new job opportunities within the state. Mölnlycke will also increase its production capacity substantially to meet future demand for high-quality surgical gloves.
The manufacturing plant is constructed in partnership with global sustainability solutions providers, ENGIE and Veolia Water Technologies. Veolia will be assisting in improving the plant’s wastewater management, effectively recycling water, and further improving the discharge quality.
With Veolia’s digitalised system, water consumption is expected to be reduced to 50 percent. Moreover, ENGIE will be supplying the plant with its energy source by installing solar panels to power the manufacturing production and operations.
In his welcoming address Muhammad Sanusi said: “The state of Kedah is very proud to be the host of Mölnlycke’s new state-of the art factory, and in that being recognised as a state providing the right prerequisites for sustainable production of high-quality surgical gloves, and in that enable Mölnlycke to live its vision to improve hand performance for health care professionals across the globe – because hands deserve better.”
Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, CEO of MIDA said, “The establishment of Mölnlycke’s new production facility in Malaysia is a mark of confidence in the continuous sustainable growth of the Malaysian economy and will be a boon for Malaysia to maintain its leadership position in the glove manufacturing sector.”
Once implemented, the company’s state-of-the-art automated facilities, which have adopted sustainable practices, would be exporting 100 percent of its production to the global market, making Malaysia part of its key value chain internationally.
Mohamad Haris Kader Sultan, CE of NCIA further added, “NCIA is proud to facilitate Mölnlycke’s expansion in the medical devices sector as it will accelerate the development of high-technology and digitalisation ecosystem in KHTP, Kedah which is classified as NCER Special Promoted Area.”
JC Guillou, Vice President Global Operations of Mölnlycke Gloves,“With the addition of this new facility in our pipeline, we are confident that we would be able to capture and capitalise on the industry’s demand, not only in Kedah or Malaysia but in the region in general.”
Malaysia has been actively promoting and implementing sustainable development initiatives aligning with the National Investment Aspirations (NIA) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) principles.
In line with this, Mölnlycke through its shared value creation WeCare roadmap, aims to contribute towards Malaysia’s sustainability goals, such as energy usage reduction, wastewater management, economic growth, and innovation in infrastructure. WeCare is Mölnlycke’s sustainability roadmap for the company’s growth, innovation, and productivity drive.
