LG Chem and Malaysian chemical company Petronas Chemical Group will develop a nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) latex production unit at Pengerang Petrochemical Complex in southern Malaysia.
The contract agreement concluded between the two companies aims to start construction of the project in 2021 and complete construction to commence operations in 2023.
Strong demand for disposable and reusable gloves market from wide end-user industries including medical, food and beverages, industrial, and other applications is encouraging new capacity additions in the industry. Currently, Malaysia is the leading producer of nitrile gloves worldwide.
The planned NBR latex project will involve a $132 million capital expenditure and will have 200,000 tons of capacity.
LG Chem plans to utilize the infrastructure of Petronas Chemical Group in Malaysia and ensure secure availability of raw materials for manufacturing NBR latex through the agreement.