Research Triangle Park, North Carolina – September 27, 2006 – Dow Reichhold Specialty Latex has announced a price increase of 15 percent for synthetic latexes sold globally to manufacture dipped gloves. The price change is in addition to any previously announced increases.

“We are committed to improving our margins to the point where we can continue to invest in this industry,” said Rob Ewing, global marketing manager for Dow Reichhold. “The dramatic escalation in raw material and energy costs combined with stagnant prices for both latexes and finished gloves have brought this industry to a crossroads. Prices must go up through the entire value chain in order to enable continued capacity expansion and the development of innovative products. The need is immediate,” he concluded.

According to Thomas Kraska, vice president for supply chain for the company, there are many examples of the imbalance between raw material costs and latex prices.

“Butadiene is a good example,” notes Kraska. “Since early 2002 the average global price for butadiene, the largest component of synthetic nitrile gloves, has risen over 300 percent. By contrast, the market average price for nitrile latexes has risen only 10 percent in the same period.”

Dow Reichhold Specialty Latex and its parent company Reichhold Inc., have been part of the glove industry since the 1960’s. The company developed the nitrile latex technology that has become the synthetic latex of choice for glove manufacturing. Dow Reichhold Specialty Latex LLC is a 50/50 joint venture of The Dow Chemical Company and Reichhold Inc. The joint venture is the world’s largest producer of specialty latex. The company is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, U.S.A.

back