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KUALA LUMPUR: Top Glove Corporation Bhd
It is expected to resume operations at its 28 glove manufacturing plants in Meru, Klang, within the next two to three weeks, said Tan Sri Chairman Dr Lim Wee Chai.
It said seven plants had resumed operations during the first stage of what began yesterday, and the second stage would see another seven plants restarting operations next weekend.
“Hopefully all (28) factories would be up and running and everything would be back to normal in the next two to three weeks,” he said in a virtual briefing on the company’s results for the first quarter (Q1) that ended on 30 November 2020. Here today.
Top Glove had temporarily closed 28 of its factories in Klang due to the increase in COVID-19 infections among its workers there. These 28 plants represent approximately 50 percent of the company’s production capacity.
However, Lim said that the closure of factories in Klang from November this year was anticipated to affect just four percent of the company’s revenue for this financial year ending August 31, 2021 (FY21).
To decrease reliance on foreign workers and create job opportunities for locals, said Managing Director Datuk Lee Kim Meow, Top Glove was aiming to hire 7,000 local employees in fiscal year 21 from about 5,000 in fiscal year 2020. .
When asked about the government’s sanction following the company’s violation of the Minimum Standards for Housing and Workers’ Services Act of 1990 (Act 446), Lee said that thus far, Top Glove has yet to receive news from the relevant authority.
“But we want to appeal to the government to help us, and let them know that we are a serious company and we want to comply (with the regulations),” he said.
On how the COVID-19 vaccine would affect the company’s growth next year, Lim expressed confidence that demand for gloves will remain strong globally despite the availability of the vaccine.
“Judging from our order book with next year’s capacity fully booked, it shows that the vaccine would not affect global glove demand,” he said.
According to the presentation slides, demand for Top Glove products remained strong in the first quarter of fiscal 21. This was driven by Asia excluding Japan, which increased 72.9% YoY (YoY), and Europe western, which was up 70.2% year-on-year.
However, North American demand was down two percent in the first quarter of fiscal year 21 from a year earlier, primarily affected by the import ban issue related to State Customs and Border Protection. United. – Bernama
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