This article delves into the history of Top Glove Corporation Bhd., the world's largest glove manufacturer, highlighting its journey from a small business venture to a global leader. It explores the challenges faced by the company throughout its growth, the key turning points, and the strategies employed to navigate a competitive market.
Top Glove Corporation Bhd. (Top Glove) is the world's largest glove manufacturer, owning and operating approximately 50 production facilities in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and China. It also has marketing offices in these countries, as well as the United States, Germany, and Brazil. Established in Malaysia in 1991 by Tan Sri Dr. Lim Wee Chai as a business venture, Top Glove now dominates the global latex glove market. Journalists from Utusan Malaysia, Zakkina Wati Ahmad Tarmizi and M.
Firdaus M. Johari, interviewed the Founder and Executive Chairman of Top Glove Corporation Bhd., Tan Sri Dr. Lim Wee Chai, on the occasion of the launch of his long-awaited biography titled, 'Must Know, Must Do, Must Teach', in Setia Alam recently.UTUSAN: What drove Tan Sri to start Top Glove and what challenges did the company face at its inception? LIM WEE CHAI: I started Top Glove in 1991. I was involved in the glove business because I saw its good potential and sustainable future. At that time, demand for gloves was very high due to the AIDS epidemic, which increased awareness about hygiene and health standards. Demand for rubber gloves far exceeded supply at the time, making the profit margin very attractive. The growing emphasis on health would also increase demand for medical gloves. Moreover, as glove usage was still very low in many countries, its growth potential was enormous; meanwhile, as a necessity and disposable product, its demand would be continuous. When we first started, we faced problems like getting financing, and my wife and I had to invest our entire savings of RM180,000 in the business. As newcomers to this business, we also had to work hard to gain customers, earn their trust, and build a good reputation. At that time, competition, both domestic and international, was also very intense, and we needed to work hard to ensure that we stood out from our competitors in terms of product quality and service. Besides, the lack of technical knowledge about the manufacturing process and the shortage of skilled labor were also issues we had to face. When we grew and tried to be listed on the public market, the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process involved a lot of planning and hard work. However, we succeeded through that process because we saw the value in becoming a listed company. Even after becoming the world's largest rubber glove manufacturer, we cannot be satisfied because gaining the top spot is difficult, and staying at the top is even harder. In addition, could Tan Sri share the challenges of being a rubber glove maker? The environment is becoming more competitive, quality standards are higher, as are customer expectations. Moreover, with the growing number of employees, numbering 11,700, management requires more time and effort. Recently, after two years of recording the highest sales and profits during the pandemic, the rubber glove industry has gone through a challenging period due to excess supply and intense competition, which we are now recovering from. As we can see, business is a cycle; it goes up and down. All businesses are challenging, especially international businesses. It's like the Olympics where we compete in the global market with the best. Challenges may be different at different stages of business, but the approach to overcoming them is the same. Most challenges are external factors that are not within our control. To stay afloat and succeed, we focus on internal factors such as improving glove quality, production and cost efficiency, and the quality of our workforce.The most important thing is that we must be a positive contributor. We need to ensure that our net contribution is positive by covering the ongoing costs every day. How has Top Glove grown over the past three decades and what were the major turning points for the company? Top Glove has been operating for 33 years now, and we are proud to have achieved many milestones along the way, earning recognition for our financial performance and sustainability efforts across all elements of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), both domestically and internationally. Some key turning points for Top Glove include when the company was listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2001
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