We’re going to talk all about the disposable gloves that gained prominence over the pandemic today. 

Founded in 1989, our guest is Thailand's largest gloves producer Sri Trang Gloves Thailand. 

The firm makes a wide range of natural latex and nitrile examination gloves as well as general-purpose disposable gloves that cater to a wide variety of uses such as healthcare and medical, food processing and handling, as well as manufacturing. 

Just to give you a sense of the company’s scale of operations, Sri Trang Gloves Thailand has production facilities in three provinces in Thailand producing over 49.5 billion pieces of disposable rubber gloves every year. 

Why are we talking about Sri Trang Gloves you might ask? Well, glove companies the likes of Top Glove, Sri Trang, Supermax were put into the spotlight in prior years as the pandemic pushed up demand for personal protective equipment and protective gear.

While that interest has somewhat fizzled as economies opened up post pandemic, causing a supply glut, the sector was put into the spotlight once again amid a rise in infection numbers within Southeast Asia last December. 

But is the recent rise in interest sufficient to drive up demand for the near term? What are glove makers doing right now to position themselves for more sustainable and reliable growth in the future?

And is the current lull period a good time for glove makers to reassess their portfolio, consolidate business units and improve their financial standing?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to  Jarinya Jirokul, CEO, Sri Trang Gloves Thailand.