Ansell

This article is about the Australian company. For other uses, see Ansell (disambiguation).

Ansell Limited

Company type	Public
Traded as	ASX: ANN
Industry	Manufacturing
Founded	1893 (1893) (as Dunlop Perdriau Ltd.)
Founder	Eric Norman Ansell
Headquarters	Melbourne , Australia
Key people	Neil Salmon (CEO)
Products	Latex gloves, Personal protective equipment
Revenue	US$2.027 billion (2021)
Net income	US$246.7 million (2021)

Ansell Limited (Ansell) provides health and safety protection solutions that enhance workers’ safety and lives across multiple industries. The company develops, manufactures, and markets a wide array of hand and body protection products and other safety solutions for both healthcare and industrial sectors. Ansell's products are designed for healthcare professionals, industrial workers, and end consumers.

History

The Early Years

Ansell’s history began in 1893 when Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australasia Ltd was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The man who later founded Ansell, Eric Norman Ansell, worked at the company as a mechanic. In 1905, he left to set up his own business manufacturing condoms.

In 1906, his former employer was renamed Dunlop Rubber Company of Australasia Ltd. In 1929, it merged with the Perdriau Rubber Company, a manufacturer of general rubber products based in Sydney, forming Dunlop Perdriau Ltd. The new company focused primarily on the production of automobile tyres and later expanded into other rubber products. In 1967, the company changed its name to Dunlop Australia.

Between 1905 and 1929, Eric Ansell dedicated himself to broadening his rubber manufacturing experience, producing new types of products such as balloons and household gloves.^, Finally in 1929, his company was registered as E.N. Ansell & Sons Pty Ltd. In 1934, the company’s name was changed to The Ansell Rubber Company Pty Ltd. More than thirty years later, in 1965, Ansell introduced its first disposable surgical gloves under the GAMMEX™ brand. Innovative for their time, the gloves were sterilized using gamma radiation and then packaged so they were ready-to-wear. By the year 1969, the company was acquired by Dunlop Australia.

Late 20^th Century to Early Millennium

In 1980, Dunlop Australia merged with diversified industrial company BTR Nylex to form Dunlop Olympic. This merger aimed to expand the company’s product range and market presence beyond rubber products to various industrial and consumer goods. In 1986, Dunlop Olympic changed its name to Pacific Dunlop Limited.

During the late 1980s and 1990s, Pacific Dunlop continued to expand and diversify its operations. In 1996, Pacific Dunlop announced a strategic initiative to focus on core businesses, and a divestment program to sell off non-core assets.

Recent years

In 2001, Pacific Dunlop divested its healthcare safety division, which included Ansell. This divestment allowed Ansell to establish itself as a standalone company with global expertise in manufacturing and marketing gloves and protective equipment.

Since becoming an independent enterprise, Ansell has continued to grow organically and through acquisition, leading to the addition of new types of hand and body protection to expand its portfolio.

Acquisitions between 2011 - 2023 included:  

• 1999: Acquisition of Marigold Industrial (UK), known for industrial gloves.
• 2002: Acquisition of Hawkeye Glove Manufacturing, enhancing Ansell’s position in the protective gloves market.
• 2006: Acquisition of VibraGuard, a manufacturer of gloves for vibration protection.
• 2009: Acquisition of Comasec, a European-based company specializing in protective gloves.
• 2011: Acquisition of Trelleborg Protective Products, known for chemical protective clothing.
• 2012: Acquisition of Sandel Medical Industries, expanding Ansell’s range of medical safety products.
• 2013: Acquisition of BarrierSafe Solutions International, a leading North American provider of disposable gloves.
• 2014: Acquisition of Hands International, a Sri Lankan glove manufacturer.
• 2014: Acquisition of Hercules Equipments Ltd., enhancing their portfolio in industrial safety gloves.
• 2014: Acquisition of Microgard, a UK-based manufacturer of chemical protective clothing.
• 2017: Acquisition of Nitritex, a UK-based supplier of cleanroom gloves.
• 2021: Acquisition of Primus Gloves, furthering their presence in the Indian market.

In 2017, Ansell sold its sexual wellness business to Chinese companies Humanwell Healthcare and CITIC Capital in a move to divest non-core business and increase focus on safety solutions and personal protection equipment (PPE) products and services.

In 2024, Ansell completed the largest acquisition in its history when it acquired Kimberly-Clark’s Personal Protection Equipment business for $650 million USD. 

Brands

Ansell offers a wide range of products under various brands.

• ActivArmr®:

Thermal, welding and impact gloves and sleeves.

• AlphaTec®

Multi-hazard chemical hand and body protection solutions.

• BioClean™

Cleanroom protection equipment including disposable gloves, goggles, and coveralls.

• EDGE^®

Industrial work gloves ranging from cut protection to chemical protection.

• ENCORE^®

Medical gloves for the healthcare industry.

• GAMMEX^®

Surgical gloves for hospitals.

• HyFlex^®

Various types of industrial safety gloves.

• Kimtech™

PPE for Scientific environments.

• KleenGuard™

PPE for Industrial Safety environments.

• MEDI-GRIP^®

Powder-free medical gloves.

• MICROFLEX^®

Disposable and examination hand protection.

• Micro-Touch^®

Medical exam gloves for various healthcare applications.

• RINGERS^®

Impact protection gloves.

• Sandel^®

Medical supplies and equipment for high-risk areas.

• TouchNTuff^®

Disposable gloves for various industrial application.

• Viking™

Diving suits for industrial and military use.

Sectors

Today, Ansell manufactures PPE for workers and professionals in a wide range of industrial, cleanroom and healthcare environments, including: 

• Acute Care
• Aerospace
• Agriculture
• Automotive
• Automotive Aftermarket
• Chemical
• Dental
• Diving
• Electronics
• Energy
• First Responders
• Food Processing
• Government
• Healthcare
• Laboratory
• Life Sciences
• Long Term Care
• Machinery & Equipment
• Mining
• Semiconductors
• Surgical
• Veterinary
• Warehousing & Logistics

Executive Leadership

Neil Salmon - Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

Zubair Javeed – Chief Financial Officer

Rikard Froberg – Chief Product & Marketing Officer

John Marsden – Chief Operations & Supply Chain Officer

Deanna Johnston – Chief Information Officer

Amanda Manzoni – Chief Human Resources Officer

Sean P. Sweeney – Chief Commercial Officer, Americas

Augusto M. Accorsi – Chief Commercial Officer, EMEA/APAC

Rob Hughes – Senior Vice President, Kimtech & KleenGuard Business Unit

Michael Gilleece – Senior Vice President, General Counsel

Locations

Ansell Healthcare LLC

111 Wood Avenue South, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, US

Ansell EMEA Headquarters

Riverside Business Park – Block J,

Boulevard International 55, Brussels, 1070, BE

Ansell (HONG KONG) LIMITED

33 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay,  

2610B-12A, 26/F., Exchange Tower,

Hong Kong S.A.R., 8523, CN

Ansell Global Trading Center (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

Block 3512, Prima Avenue, Prima 6, Jalan Teknokrat 6,  

63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor, MY

Ansell Limited

678 Victoria Street, Richmond, VIC 3121, AU