Sempermed Builds New Glove Factory in Malaysia – largest investment ever made by Semperit

Vienna, Austria/Kamunting, Malaysia, 25 June 2014 – The Semperit Group is expanding production capacity at the Kamunting, Malaysia site of its Sempermed segment. A total of about EUR 50 million (MYR 220 million) will be invested in the period 2014 – 2016 to build a new glove factory. This is the largest investment in capacity increase ever made in the history of Semperit.

Construction of the new facility will take place on the premises of the Kamunting plant, where Semperit has been operating six production facilities for medical and protective gloves since its acquisition of Latexx Partners Berhad in 2012. The first gloves are expected to leave the production lines starting in the middle of 2015, with the entire project scheduled for completion at the end of 2016.

Next step in the growth strategy

“The integration of Latexx Partners into the Sempermed segment was successfully concluded last year. The capacity expansion drive at Latexx Partners will enable us to strengthen our position on the global glove market and move a decisive step closer towards achieving our designated growth targets”, says Thomas Fahnemann, Chief Executive Officer of Semperit AG Holding. “We can only reach this goal by offering competitive production costs. For this reason, the new facility will deploy state-of-the-art technologies as the basis for a high level of automation and the optimal use of natural resources. It will be one of the world’s most efficient manufacturing plants for nitrile gloves”, CEO Fahnemann continues.

Production speed will be significantly increased compared to the performance of existing factories. The new facility will also boast 50% lower gas consumption, and electricity needs will be about 20% less than for conventional glove manufacturing technologies.

The new investments will lay the groundwork for Sempermed to continue its expansion path on the growth market for examination gloves featuring an increase in demand of about 5-7% annually.

About Semperit

The publicly listed company Semperit AG Holding is an internationally-oriented group that develops, produces, and sells in more than 100 countries highly specialised rubber and plastic products for the medical and industrial sectors: examination and surgical gloves, hydraulic and industrial hoses, conveyor belts, escalator handrails, construction profiles, cable car rings, and products for railway superstructures. The headquarters of this long-standing Austrian company, which was founded in 1824, are located in Vienna, and the global R & D centre is in Wimpassing, Lower Austria. The Semperit Group employs about 10,800 people worldwide, including more than 8,000 in Asia and more than 700 in Austria (Vienna and production site in Wimpassing, Lower Austria). The Group has 22 manufacturing facilities worldwide and numerous sales offices in Europe, Asia, and America. In 2013 the Group generated sales of EUR 906 million and an EBITDA of EUR 133 million.

About Sempermed

Sempermed is the largest segment in the Semperit Group, and ranks among the world’s leading manufacturers of medical and industrial gloves. The research centre of Sempermed located in Wimpassing, Lower Austria continuously develops and tests new products in cooperation with users and experts. Sempermed has been producing gloves of the highest quality for more than 90 years, and as the world’s technology leader sets standards in quality and innovation. Sempermed guarantees optimal safety and reliability thanks to state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies, the highest attainable production hygiene and the strictest quality controls. In 2013, the Segment Sempermed generated revenue of EUR 435 million (approx. 48% of Group revenue) and an EBITDA of EUR 59 million.