Coronavirus Updates: Wisconsin Medical Device Maker Ramps Up To Fight COVID-19
SOMERSET, Wis. (WCCO) -- In a simple red barn along Highway 64 in St. Croix county, an entrepreneurial dream started. It was February 1, 1988, when the idea for a small plastics molding company began.
Its genesis was to cut the delivery time for getting products to the marketplace.
"That's the goal and it's what we do very, very well," said Chetan Patel.
Chetan Patel's dream now employs 2,000 people in plants worldwide. SMC, Ltd. It is headquartered in Somerset, Wisconsin. It has plants in nearby Amery and a facility in Woodville, as well as California, Massachusetts and Ohio.
SMC manufactures healthcare components and products for many of the world's leading medical device companies.
"The requests from our customers have skyrocketed on certain products which are COVID-related. Especially in the diagnostics space, medical device space like ventilators, respirators and the masks we make," explains Patel.
When the novel coronavirus pandemic first came down, SMC ramped up its factories. Plants here and overseas are now operating around the clock and in many cases seven days a week. The company is also hiring more employees and not furloughing.
Much of that is due to the critically essential products and components being produced to help in the COVID-19 fight.
"We don't make the complete ventilator but we make a lot of the key components for the ventilators," says Patel. "They had to be spiked up overnight."
Much like the pressing need to greatly expand the nation's COVID-19 testing capabilities. SMC is playing a vital role there as well, by manufacturing the plastic cartridges which hold multiple specimen samples.
"What would have normally have taken 12 to 16 weeks to do, we got it down to two-and-a-half weeks," Patel adds.
Through all of this Patel says what is most gratifying is how the company's employees have risen to the challenge.
"It's times like this when the whole world is going through this crisis it feels satisfying to be able to help with that, rather than just staying at home," says Patel.
A business born in a barn is now helping save people around the world.