According to a study by The Business Research Company, nitrile gloves are driving the growth of the worldwide industrial gloves market. With an expected CAGR of 11.2%, the market is projected to reach USD 16.06 billion in 2023, recovering from the COVID-19 post-pandemic oversupply problem.
So, what is the future of Industrial Nitrile Gloves?
To give you a better understanding of the current scenario, we will be discussing key trends, opportunities, and difficulties related to industrial nitrile gloves.
Trends
Strategic Location
Southeast Asia is one of the greatest regions of glove manufacturing. Geographically speaking, Southeast Asia nations like Malaysia are positioned in a region where labor costs are considerably cheaper than other developed nations.
The glove industry manufacturers in Southeast Asia also possess excellent Technical Know-How. The Asia Pacific region is a strategic location for the raw materials supply chain, and it gives a competitive edge in terms of manufacturing costs.
The Rising Demand for Occupational Safety
According to International Labour Organization (ILO) report, they have estimated about 340 million males and females globally are involved in occupational accidents annually.
Another report from the Bureau of Labour Statistics discussed in the National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries shows that fatal injuries were reduced from 5,333 cases in 2019 to 4,764 cases, a 10.7% reduction in occupational injuries. According to the presented data, many businesses prioritize improving employee safety, particularly hand protection.
Therefore, it shows that the increased awareness of occupational safety, especially in construction, hygiene, utilities, and manufacturing leads to the growth of using personal protective equipment (PPE), especially industrial gloves.
Growth of Automation in Glove Manufacturing
The production of gloves is a labor-intensive industry. It requires a high number of semi-skilled and skilled workers for tasks such as compounding, dipping, washing, post-processing, quality checking, packing, and maintenance.
The demand for industrial nitrile gloves has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in industries such as janitorial cleaning, chemical handling, oil and lubricant exposure, and food processing. These are the workplace where safety is of utmost importance.
However, industrial glove manufacturing is a complex process. It requires skilled workers to keep the machines running smoothly and to perform quality checks and sorting. Implementing automation systems has greatly assisted glove manufacturers in tracking, monitoring, and controlling production processes.
Opportunities
Implementation of Innovative Technologies
The adoption of innovative technologies is a key trend gaining traction in the industrial glove market. Nitrile gloves have undergone significant transformations since their first introduction in the mid-1990.
Below are some of the innovations in industrial nitrile gloves that have been disrupted:
- Grip: From smooth palm surface to texture and sandy surface.
- Thickness: From 5 mil (0.13mm) to 33mil (0.84mm)
- Inner liner: From chlorination to polymer coating, flock lining, and textile lining with cut resistance.
- Nitrile latex layer: From single layer to multiple layers coating.
- Other innovations: electrostatic discharge, food contact, pesticide resistance, chemical resistance, cut resistance, puncture resistance, etc.
These advancements in industrial nitrile gloves have brought new functions and protections to end users, ensuring their hands are always protected.
Expansion of Sales Channel
Whether the companies are dealing in business-to-business (B2B), or business-to-consumer (B2C), they can broaden their sales avenues through e-commerce and other platforms. This ensures that they can reach new customers easily and expand their customer base globally.
Moreover, companies are not limiting their sales channels solely to disposable gloves, but also incorporate industrial gloves in their offerings.
Industrial gloves such as nitrile gloves serve different purposes, such as preventing the spreading of diseases in healthcare sectors. For food processing industries, industrial nitrile gloves are crucial for tasks such as cutting seafood with shells or extracting aloe vera gel from stems.
Thus, a good pair of industrial nitrile gloves can maintain overall hygiene and decontamination in low and high-hazard areas.
Increase Awareness of Occupational Safety
The industrial and chemical manufacturing sectors have experienced growth after the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.
It is noticed that employers are promoting the use of industrial gloves in handling dangerous substances like oils, lubricants, and chemicals. This can protect workers from injuries, chemical exposures, and contaminations.
Employers are also playing a critical role in occupational safety awareness as well. They can demonstrate their dedication to employee safety by reinforcement of wearing gloves during working in a hazardous environment. Thus, they can increase companies’ productivity while reducing the risk of diseases and accidents at work.
Challenges
Industrial nitrile gloves are facing several challenges in the current market situation.
Raw Material Price
Since the demand for gloves has increased after COVID-19, the raw material price has spiked. This gives a direct impact on the total production cost of industrial nitrile gloves. As the price of raw latex is getting more expensive, this makes it difficult for manufacturers to maintain consistent pricing and profitability.
Rise of New Gloves Market Players
If you notice that in the current glove market situation, there are a bunch of new players venturing into the glove business and this has created intense competition in the market. This has created difficulties for manufacturers to differentiate the unique features of their gloves in the market.
Growing Concern about Environmental Sustainability
In recent years, communities have raised concerns about the environmental impact of gloves. They are not easily biodegradable and may even pollute the environment. Manufacturers start to find alternatives by using greener chemical agents, biodegradable additives, or using recycled materials to produce disposable and industrial nitrile gloves.
Summary
In short, there is still good potential growth in the industrial nitrile glove industrial segment. Innovation has become one of the good driving forces for a glove manufacturing company to continue to grow.
In Nastah, we serve our customers the best quality industrial nitrile gloves to ensure their hands are protected. Our BEST SELLING NF1513 industrial nitrile gloves perform superior quality and durability on occupational safety. For food processing workplaces, we offer our unlined industrial nitrile gloves NU1113 and NU1513 to keep their hands away from the risk.
We are always looking for areas for improvement every day so that we can provide good satisfaction to our customers.
