American Nitrile launches U.S.-based nitrile glove manufacturing business in
Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, OH (September 8, 2021) – To help meet the surging demand for medical
and non-medical latex-free nitrile gloves, American Nitrile, a newly launched Columbus,
Ohio-based company, is building the most advanced U.S. manufacturing facility
dedicated to producing nitrile gloves for healthcare, government and industrial use.
Production at the 527,000-square-foot industrial facility in Grove City, OH, a southwest
suburb of Columbus, is expected to begin early next year, creating 400 new jobs.
“American Nitrile is fulfilling a critical and rapidly growing need for medical and
non-medical nitrile gloves made in the United States, while reducing our country’s
vulnerability to the supply chain disruptions experienced during the pandemic.
COVID-19 was a catalyst, but demand for nitrile gloves extends far beyond immediate
needs,” said Jacob Block, founder and chief executive officer of American Nitrile.
“American Nitrile’s launch of its new manufacturing facility in Columbus is an example
of enterprising Ohioans seizing the unprecedented opportunity to on-shore PPE
production and rebuild the U.S. supply chain here at home,” said Ohio Governor Mike
DeWine. “This cutting-edge facility will create hundreds of new advanced
manufacturing jobs and produce essential medical gloves stateside with homegrown
Ohio talent.”

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased global glove demand, resulting in
critical shortages. U.S. medical facilities and businesses across industries are
dependent on foreign suppliers. Most glove manufacturing occurs in Malaysia with
other suppliers based in the Asia Pacific region. Less than one percent of U.S. demand
for nitrile gloves is produced domestically according to IndustryWeek.
Advanced and sustainable manufacturing

To streamline and kickstart production, American Nitrile has secured an exclusive North
America partnership with Luster Industries (LTER.KL), a publicly listed, global industry
leading OEM with responsibility for sourcing, manufacturing, installing, and maintaining
the product lines. American Nitrile has strong partner relationships in place for sourcing
raw materials and other production requirements.
American Nitrile’s manufacturing facility will leverage Industry 4.0 principles, including
machine-to-machine communication, to increase automation and self-diagnosis. In
addition to reducing carbon footprint by eliminating the need for transpacific vessels
for shipping, the American Nitrile facility will also employ sustainable manufacturing
processes that will revolutionize industry sustainability standards, including a
state-of-the-art water reclamation process that recycles 50% of wastewater.
Funding for Phase One operations secured

American Nitrile has raised capital from strategic investors and is proceeding with
retrofitting its Grove City production facility, which was formerly a warehouse, and
upgrading utilities for advanced machinery. The company expects to have all 12 lines
of Phase One running in 2022, with additional phases planned over the next three
years. Phase One production is expected to yield up to 40,000 gloves per hour per line,
or approximately 3.6 billion gloves per year. This will be more than any other domestic
nitrile glove production facility.