Medline Buys Kendall's Latex Glove Business

Medline Industries, Inc., a leading provider of medical and surgical products, has purchased Kendall Healthcare Co.'s (Mansfield, MA) latex exam glove business. Kendall Healthcare, a division of Tyco International, Inc., is a leading supplier to professional health care providers throughout the entire medical community. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Medline, the largest privately-held manufacturer and distributor of health care supplies in the country, sells over 70,000 products, including medical gloves, to the health care community. Under the terms of the agreement, Medline will assume the majority of Kendall's inventory of latex exam gloves. Medline will also begin servicing Kendall's accounts with its 520 person sales force.

"This purchase will help us increase our med/surg market share at accounts where we do not have significant penetration," said Ken Chua, Medline's group president of Medical/Surgical Products. "The glove market is a rapidly growing segment for Medline and this acquisition broadens our glove line and gives our customers more options from which to choose."

Medline will market and sell Kendall's gloves nationwide. Medline, whose roots in the health care industry date back to 1910, manufactures more than 70% of the 70,000 products it sells from five manufacturing facilities and 15 distribution centers.