Glove maker Ansell finds fine fit in China

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in China this year, Australia-based Ansell Ltd looks back with pride on a long string of achievements and is highly optimistic about its future in the country.

Starting business in a small backyard with cast-off machinery in suburban Melbourne more than a century ago, Ansell has evolved into a global leader and is well prepared for the sharp growth of its China brands and operations.

Capitalizing on its global technology, manufacturing and marketing expertise, Ansell has achieved a highly coveted position in the Chinese market within a short period of time.

This is due largely to its decision to build domestic knowledge and skills and enlist local talent.

"We've worked very hard at identifying the right types of businesses and people with which we could partner, and then we set about supporting them with the best resources we have to offer globally," said Regional Vice-President Peter Carroll.

"China is playing an increasingly critical role in our global business, not only in terms of growth and returns that we are generating, but equally in terms of its outstanding source of high-caliber people, technology and products that we take to our global network," Carroll noted.

"Our strategy of product innovation, customer partnership and operational efficiencies is yielding excellent results. Our investment in talent development makes our company an attractive employer of choice," said Wang Xuehai, chief executive of the company's joint venture in Wuhan.

The Wuhan-based operations achieved a significant milestone in 2008 when it was awarded the packing contract to supply Ansell's products for the Australian and New Zealand market.

"This is a major achievement for our business and signals our long-term best-practice capability for sourcing to the global Ansell network," Wang said.

In 2006, the company's occupational healthcare business established Ansell Shanghai Commercial & Trading Co Ltd to provide complete hand protection solutions for industrial and commercial markets.

The business has also reported substantial growth in a very short time with successful business partnerships in China.

Car giants General Motors, Volkswagen, BMW and Toyota have chosen Ansell Solvex as their preferred gloves used on their production lines.

Also, pharmaceutical leaders Johnson & Johnson and GSK use Ansell's Touch N Tuff disposable gloves, while Siemens, Intel and KFC have chosen Ansell gloves for the hand protection of their workers.

"Even though we are very new to the Chinese market, our disciplined and professional expertise has already shown the benefits that we brought to the Chinese industries in terms of occupational health and safety," said Ansell's Shanghai-based General Manager Mark Ching.

www.ansell.com

(China Daily 08/07/2008 page42)