Province Supporting Glove Manufacturing Facility in Ontario

First-in-Canada manufacturing facility will create hundreds of jobs and secure reliable domestic supply of critical PPE

Photo of Ontario Minister Ross Romano

LONDON – The Ontario government is creating a secure and reliable source of medical grade nitrile gloves by enabling the construction of a new 120,000-square-foot facility. The construction of this state-of-the-art factory is made possible with the government’s investment and will see the creation of hundreds of jobs for London area workers.

Ontario has already secured a long-term supply of domestically produced N95 respirators and medical grade surgical masks, however nitrile gloves are the remaining major PPE category not produced in Ontario and have some of the greatest supply chain uncertainty. As the first manufacturing facility of nitrile gloves outside of Asia, this plant will ensure a secure source of this critical piece of PPE for our robust stockpile and be a major supplier to other Canadian provinces and the North American market, further building Ontario’s manufacturing sector and strengthening economic development.

“Building this nitrile glove manufacturing facility in London means we will be ready to respond to future emergencies without having to rely on uncertain foreign supply,” said Ross Romano, Minister of Government and Consumer Services. “On top of protecting the safety of Ontarians, we’re growing our economy by supporting domestic businesses and creating hundreds of good manufacturing jobs for our workers.”

Once the facility is fully operational, it is expected that the first Ontario-made medical grade nitrile glove will be available by spring of 2024. As part of its contract, Manikheir Canada Inc. will provide at least 500 million medical grade nitrile gloves annually for up to 10 years. The new facility and contract will further strengthen our PPE supply chains in line with the government’s efforts to shore-up the domestic production and maintain a robust stockpile of critical supplies through the recently passed Personal Protective Equipment Supply and Production Act, 2022 (PPESPA).

Once fully operational, the facility is expected to employ over 145 people, with the ability to double this number as part of any future expansion. Additionally, it will create about 300 indirect jobs in the region and up to 1,000 temporary jobs during the construction and machinery set up phase.

A nitrile glove manufacturing facility in Ontario is important to ensuring a readily available stockpile of medical grade nitrile gloves. This is essential in the creation of new manufacturing capabilities, more local jobs, and a strengthened domestic supply chain as Ontario continues on its journey towards growth and economic recovery.

Quick Facts

  • The development of an Ontario-based manufacturer of medical nitrile gloves is consistent with the goals of the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022 (BOBIA) and the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative (BOBI). BOBI and BOBIA will use Ontario’s public sector spend to spur Ontario’s economic growth, build businesses and communities, and create jobs across the province while ensuring greater security of the province’s supply chain.
  • Establishing an Ontario-based producer of medical grade nitrile gloves manufactured to Health Canada standards and that were widely adopted as the standard glove across the public sector during the pandemic is a foundational element to realizing the objective of the Personal Protective Equipment Supply and Production Act, 2022.
  • Ontario is strengthening our pandemic supply chain by continuing to purchase essential goods and supplies to protect against COVID-19 and its variants.

Quotes

“Our investment in Manikheir will ensure a secure and reliable supply of nitrile gloves. This critical piece of PPE will reduce Ontario’s dependence on foreign suppliers and brings us closer to having a fully integrated PPE supply chain right here in Ontario.”

– Vic Fedeli
Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

“Today marks the start of an important new chapter in Medicom’s history. After opening a surgical mask and N95 respirator plant and announcing a new facility to produce raw materials for these PPE in Quebec, we are very proud to hit another milestone for nitrile gloves by expanding our Canadian production to the industrial engine of the country, Ontario. This move will help secure the supply of this critical medical resource for both Ontario and all Canadian hospitals. This is possible thanks to the vision and leadership of Premier Doug Ford.”

– Ronald Reuben
Founder and CEO of Medicom

Source Province of Ontario 

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