Honeywell Opens New Automated Production Line for Electrical Safety Gloves

Electrification continues to accelerate across the globe, driven by demand for electric vehicles, growth of data centers and digitization of manufacturing and industrial processes. In the U.S., recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) data shows that grid planners expect electricity demand to increase 4.7% by 2028. With this significant load growth comes increasing need for protective equipment to safeguard lineworkers and those who help maintain the electric grid.

Honeywell is committed to worker safety and has a long history of providing personal protective equipment across a range of industries. An example is the company’s manufacturing plant in Clover, SC that has made industrial gloves since 1963. In addition to nitrile gloves for the pharmaceutical industry, the Clover site produces Honeywell Salisbury electrical safety gloves, coated in rubber to protect workers from shocks and other electrical hazards they face on the job.

In April 2024, Honeywell Industrial Automation opened a new, automated production line at the Clover facility for these electrical safety gloves aimed at improving capacity and speeding up delivery of key products.

The previous method of producing electrical safety gloves involved a manual dipping process that coats each glove in rubber (depending on the class of the glove and required thickness, the number of dips increases). By automating the production line, this dipping action is now completed with a robotic arm.

Robotics make the process more precise and efficient, requiring 15-20% fewer dips and increasing yield by approximately 35%, allowing the line to produce more than 2,000 gloves per week. The new line also takes up 37% less space. As part of automating production, the Clover plant is adding U.S.-based jobs as well. 

“With the addition of Line 6 to our Clover site, Honeywell is harnessing automation to improve our ability to make and deliver important safety solutions to our customers,” said Michael Garceau, President of Honeywell Personal Protective Equipment. “We understand how critical electrification is to the energy transition and are proud to be a key player in electrical worker safety.”  

Learn More

To learn more about Honeywell Industrial Automation and the company’s range of safety and automation solutions, visit the Honeywell website.