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Bloomberg Businessweekwrappedaswepossiblycan,”Templetsays.Inoneweekendalone,hesays,thecompany
wouldbe“wrapping”—meaningpreparingforsterilization—andsendingoffmorethan 2 million
swabs.Atthesametime,it can’tsimplystopmakingtheothermedicaldevicesitsregularcus-
tomersdependon.Thecoronavirusswabshavetobeadditional,theycan’tbeinsteadof.
Puritanis extendingitsfive-days-a-weekscheduletosix,running“atleast” 20 hoursa day,
Templetsays.(Copanis alsoscalingup,saysspokespersonIreneAcerbi,to24/7productionand
exporting“everywhereintheworld,”includingshippingthemaximumpossibletotheU.S.)
ThebiggestchallengeforPuritan,though,is a constantshortageofworkers.Theproblem
comesupforcompaniesofallsizes,andit’sbeenexacerbatedbyTrump’severstricterimmi-
grationpolicies.ExecutivescomplainedaboutthelackofjobapplicantsinSeptember—the
townis tiny,olderemployeesareretiring,andnewpeoplearen’texactlymovingtoGuilford
indroves—andTempletrepeatsit tomeonthephone.Thecompanyhas 535 employeestotal.
It’scontinuallylookingformoremachineoperatorsandmechanicsandhopestofindsome
extrahandsamongthecollege-agepeoplereturninghomefromschoolsthatclosedearly
and workers recently laid off by nearby employers. The medical side will also borrow from
the Hardwood side when it can, Templet says.
“The whole labor shortage has created difficulties, to have enough machines and build
equipment,” he says. “I could use 60 people tomorrow.” The company makes an average of
19 million swabs of all kinds each month, a number that could go up “if we had more people.”
Social distancing in the factory is practiced to the extent possible, and employees are
taking all the other precautions they can: sanitizing constantly, covering up with protective
clothing—including face masks as available—getting rest when they aren’t working, and stay-
ing home if they feel sick. (The company does have paid sick leave.) Temperatures are taken
daily, and every employee has been given personal hand sanitizer.
“They are proud to be part of this. They are doing as much as they can, as fast they can,
and being as safe as they can to provide products,” Templet says. “Management, including
myself, are available to run machines if need be.” <BW>4 Thecompanyuses
polyester,rayon,andU.S.-grown
cottonforitsswabs.Onemachine
shredsandfluffsfibers,andanother
turnsthatintorope,whichis then
usedto“tip”theswabs.
5 Puritan,whichproduces
morethan1,200medicalproducts,
printslabelsforthemwithexpiration
datestomakethemfullytraceable.
6 Packing and labeling
medical swabs. Puritan says its
employees implement social
distancing where possible and
wear protective clothing like gloves
and masks.4 5