The export value of Zhanjiang Kangnian Rubber Product Co Ltd saw year-on-year growth of 60 percent in the first half of 2020, and its capacity to fulfill foreign trade orders has been committed until March of next year.

The company is an export-oriented private enterprise in Zhanjiang, specializing in the research, development and production of sports equipment and medical latex products. It boasts an annual output value of more than 100 million yuan ($14.61 million).

"The city- and district-level industry and information technology bureaus have been helping us resume work and production," said Ma Haiwen, general manager at the rubber product company, which was among the city's first batch of enterprises to resume production on Feb 17.

A worker at Zhanjiang Kangnian Rubber Product Co Ltd carefully examines rubber products. [Photo by Li Jicheng/Zhanjiang Daily]

The enterprise has added new production lines for medical goggles and medical protective masks to combat the city's shortage of medical supplies. It is the first company in Zhanjiang to produce medical goggles and protective face coverings.

It is also the first enterprise in Zhanjiang to export medical supplies for COVID-19 prevention and control to the European Union (EU). Its medical goggles and medical protective masks are the only ones among the city's similar products that have been certified by both China and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States (US) and obtained the CE mark of the EU.

In late March, the enterprise received orders for 300,000 medical protective masks from Germany, followed by purchase orders from Peru, the government of Colombia, the Spanish Embassy in China and the United Nations Children's Fund, totaling more than 200,000 medical protective masks.

Also, orders for sports equipment for the US market have surged. The company's production lines have been running at full capacity since the second quarter of this year.

It is expected that Zhanjiang Kangnian Rubber Product Co's export value will exceed $30 million by the end of this year, a year-on-year increase of 50 percent.