The joint venture with Medeco Protective Safety Equipment Manufacturing adds capacity to manufacture critical medical supplies for American allies in strategic Gulf states.
HARVARD, Ill.— U.S. Medical Glove Company (USMGC) reported that it entered into an $80 million contract with Medeco Protective Safety Equipment Manufacturing—a division of Abu Dhabi Medical Devices Company (ADMD) in the United Arab Emirates—to manufacture 12 of its proprietary medical exam glove-making machines.
The contract is part of a joint venture partnership with Medeco Protective Safety Equipment Manufacturing. U.S. Medical Glove Company is the only American manufacturer of the machines, components, and chemicals necessary to make nitrile and polyisoprene exam gloves in the United States, the company stated in a release.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2025, USMGC will deliver 10 nitrile exam glove machine lines and two polyisoprene surgical glove machine lines to Medeco facilities operating in Saudi Arabia. The joint venture is structured for USMGC to retain a 25 percent ownership stake, according to the release.
“This joint venture demonstrates that the United States can be the world leader in the production of personal protective equipment,” said Alex Todoroki of USMGC, in the release. “Building and expanding partnerships like these enables us to increase investments at, and strengthen commitments to, our 350-acre high-tech manufacturing facility in Harvard, Illinois. Our team has revamped crucial infrastructure at the facility, including incorporating advanced 21st-century technologies, such as the recent installation of microturbines for capturing clean-energy efficiencies.”
In the past year, USMGC has added several new operating units to the Harvard facility, including CNC machinery, fiber lasers, control panels, robotic glove-removal and glove-layering machine manufacturing, and one of the largest robotic welding units in the Midwest.
“No longer do American glove makers have to import smaller accessory machines and spare parts,” said Todoroki. “USMGC will serve the Western countries with American machines, spare parts, and American customer service from our massive Harvard facility.”
This new $80-million contract represents the second phase of a multi-year partnership between USMGC and ADMD. Completed earlier in 2024, phase one saw USMGC deliver two machine lines to ADMD’s facilities in the United Arab Emirates. Phase two adds not only new machine lines and additional capacity, but also the strategic location of Medeco’s facilities in Saudi Arabia.
Currently, plans for the third and final phase of the joint venture include an expansion to 100 machine lines in Saudi Arabia and UAE serving national healthcare program facilities across American-allied nations in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).
In addition to the machines, USMGC will supply Medeco with the raw NBR nitrile and polyisoprene required to manufacture medical exam and surgical gloves. This will be done in partnership with U.S. Medical Nitrile and Polyisoprene Chemical Company (USMCC), reported to be the only chemical plant in the U.S. that is currently producing NBR nitrile and polyisoprene.
Based in Honea Path, South Carolina, USMCC is reported to have the chemical capacity to ensure USMGC’s supply chains are “100 percent made-in-America.” This secure supply chain and exclusive production commitments of raw supply are said to provide stable growth and profitability to expand U.S. Medical Chemical Company’s capability in South Carolina and support future USMGC joint venture expansions.
In operation for over 34 years, USMCC employs a long-tenured team of chemists and engineers who devote significant resources to research and development, making innovation central to a commitment to chemical production that advances better customer and environmental outcomes, the release stated.
“Since the pandemic, Americans now understand the importance of secure supply chains,” said Todoroki. “Especially for products essential to American health and security, it’s critical for the U.S. and our allies to control the supplies and the machinery required for their production.”