Gothenburg, Sweden-based Mölnlycke opened a new surgical glove plant in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah on 20 September 2022.
The plant worth 50 million Euros (RM233 million), occupies a 29,164 sq metre lot, with the building occupying 14,620 sq metres.
It’s fully equipped with cutting-edge automated glove production and packaging lines, as part of Mölnlycke’s WeCare sustainability roadmap to meet the healthcare manufacturing industry’s demand for sustainably produced surgical gloves.
The plant is expected to create some 400 new jobs. Mölnlycke will also increase its production capacity substantially to meet future demand on high-quality surgical gloves. It will be exporting 100% of its output.
Mölnlycke has 14 manufacturing sites in eight countries, mostly in western and northern Europe, as well as in Malaysia, Thailand and the United States. It has sales and marketing offices in 38 countries and is represented by distributors in over 63 countries.
The company entered the Malaysian market in 1990 and currently employs over 2,500 Malaysians. It has three other factories in Malaysia, two of which manufacture surgical gloves and the third for packing.
Sustainability
Its new plant in Kulim is constructed in partnership with global sustainability solutions providers, ENGIE and Veolia Water Technologies.
Veolia will assist 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 per cent.
ENGIE will be supplying the plant with its energy source by installing solar panels to power the manufacturing production and operations, thus enabling Mölnlycke to achieve its commitment to net zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 by running its operations in a less resource intensive way.
Mölnlycke endeavours to build a sustainable healthcare manufacturing ecosystem that would effectively meet the industry’s demand for high-quality surgical gloves, with minimum environmental impact.
The company’s international standards certifications include ISO 9001 quality management, ISO 13485 quality management system for medical devices, ISO 14001 environmental management, OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management, and the International Medical Device Regulators Forum’s (IMDRF) Medical Device Single Audit Program (MDSAP).
MDSAP allows a recognised auditing organisation to conduct a single regulatory audit of a medical device manufacturer that satisfies the relevant requirements of the regulatory authorities participating in the program. Currently, IMDRF members comprise health and regulatory authorities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The inauguration of the Kulim plant was officiated by Kedah Chief Minister, YAB. Dato’ Seri Haji Muhammad Sanusi Bin Md Nor, Ambassador of Sweden, H.E. Dr. Joachim Bergstrom and Mölnlycke Health Care AB President and Chief Executive Officer, Zlatko Rihter.
Also present were Senior State EXCO Member for Industry & Investment, Higher Education, Science, Technology & Education, Dato’ Wira Dr. Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail; Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman; Chief Executive of the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Mohammad Haris Kader Sultan; and Chair of the Board of Mölnlycke, Karl-Henrik Sundström.
“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”, said the Kedah Chief Minister in his welcoming address.
The plant will also accelerate the development of high-technology and digitalisation ecosystem in the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, which is classified as Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) Special Promoted Area.
Mölnlycke has been awarded with an NCER Special Tax Stimulus Package in February 2022 and is committed to embark on local vendor development in automation and digitalisation. The company’s expansion on innovative and advanced products is in line with the government’s efforts to create 500 high-skilled employment opportunities in the science and technology field, for the benefit of the citizens.
“We have chosen Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah as the new location of our plant, as we believe the state has the right infrastructure, talent, and capabilities to meet the demands of the manufacturing industry. 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,” said Vice President Global Operations of Mölnlycke Gloves, J.C. Guillou.
“This is a story of successful cooperation, a win-win, between Mölnlycke – Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah, which is also the story of our two countries. Sweden and Malaysia have a great history of producing win-wins and we will continue to do so”, said Sweden’s Ambassador, H.E. Dr. Joachim Bergström.
Besides medical gloves, the company also has core businesses within the wound care, operation room solutions (ORS), and antiseptic segments.
