Latex glove maker American Performance Polymers is being dissolved

Once touted as a success story, latex glove maker American Performance Polymers (APP) is being dissolved. The company’s 15-acre property and 200,000-square-foot manufacturing plant are headed to foreclosure auction o Feb. 21. Located 11 miles from the Canadian border, APP had visions of becoming the biggest latex glove manufacturer in the United States. The company had received $35 million in federal funds to boost production after the nation struggled to meet the demand for latex gloves during the pandemic, a problem caused by a lack of domestic production. From March 2020 through August 2021, APP grew its workforce by 1,600% from 11 employees to 166 and launched an expansion project to double the size of its facility. However, despite the investment, the federal government and other buyers continued purchasing lower-cost gloves from Asian factories. Due to the lack of contracts, APP laid off most of its workforce in Aug. 2022. According to court documents, the company subsequently borrowed $5 million from NuBridge Commercial Lending LLC in Sept. 2022 and defaulted on the loan in Aug. 2023.