Rhino Health Inc. of Fort Worth has been awarded a $56 million contract for the production of nitrile gloves.
On May 18, 2021, the Department of Defense (DOD), on behalf of and in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), awarded a $56 million contract to Rhino Health to increase domestic production of nitrile rubber gloves.
This industrial base expansion effort will allow Rhino to increase production capacity of nitrile gloves in Fort Worth, increasing their production capacity to 120 million nitrile gloves per month by November 2022.
DOD’s Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell (DA2) led this effort in coordination with the Department of the Air Force’s Acquisition COVID-19 Task Force (DAF ACT). HHS’ Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) funded this effort through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act to support industrial base expansion for critical medical resources, according to a DOD news release.
In April, Rhino Health, the only domestic manufacturer of nitrile rubber gloves, announced plans to expand operations and open its largest manufacturing facility in Fort Worth. The company has a smaller manufacturing facility in Church Rock, New Mexico.
The facility is a 400,000 square foot property in Majestic Fort Worth South Business Park, and will house approximately 10,000 square feet of office space for corporate functions as well as serve as a corporate office location.
The company’s expansion brings approximately 800 new jobs to Fort Worth and will more than triple the production output of the New Mexico facility, Rhino Health officials said at the time.
“This is a significant first step for Rhino Health to invest and grow in the Fort Worth region,” said Mark Lee, CEO of Rhino Health. “We’re grateful to the Fort Worth Chamber for helping to make our expansion into Texas seamless. We’re confident that this location offers an environment for our employees to thrive and our business to grow.”
According to a report fr om Precedence Research in Ottawa, the global nitrile gloves market was valued at $3.34 billion in 2019 and expected to reach $9.41 billion by 2027, with at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.8% during the forecast period 2020 to 2027.
Nitrile gloves are used across the food and healthcare industries as a personal protection tool in order to avoid contamination and cross-infection between patients and caregivers.