Malaysian rubber glove manufacturer Top Glove expects to double its output to 18 billion pieces and its revenue to RM800 million in the next three years, CEO Lim Wee-Chai told today's New Straits Times .

The company plans to open a new RM25 million factory every year to meet growing demand worldwide, said Lim, who is also executive chairman.

Top Glove already has 10 factories - seven in Malaysia, two in Thailand and one in China - all running 24 hours a day at full capacity.

Lim said his optimism for the future was based on annual compounded growth of 38 percent for the past 10 years.

"Global demand for rubber gloves grows at 10 percent every year in tandem with increasing awareness of health standards among consumers worldwide," he said.

"The sectors include food, medical, industrial and supermarket. Every three years we double our revenue and production capacity," Lim said.

China option

An eleventh factory will be built in Klang, west of Kuala Lumpur, next year and six others are on the drawing board although their locations have not been finalised.

"Land in Thailand is 50 percent cheaper compared to Malaysia. Land in China, in turn, is 50 percent cheaper than in Thailand. So we are still pondering the location of our future factories," Lim said.

Top Glove today announced third quarter to April results showing sales of RM111.35 million compared to RM72.52 million in the same quarter last year. Net profit for the quarter were RM10.03 million compared to RM6.66 million previously. - AFP