Puritan in Piscataquis County, tells NEWS CENTER Maine the increase of their swab production is drastically different now with the current outbreak. Puritan is considered one of the top manufacturing companies in the world making specialized testing nasal testing swabs for COVID-19.
"We manufacture all of the COVID-19 specimen collection devices, we are working many days a week almost 24 hours a day to produce as many as we possibly can to provide adequate supply and we are one of the suppliers that's on the list as a critical supplier of medical devices in the country so we do have some priorities with our vendors," said Timothy Templet, the Executive VP of Global Sales at Puritan.
They currently have 300 workers in the factory making these greatly needed swabs. Workers that are following all of the CDC guidelines to stay healthy and productive, they are all fully gowned and their temperatures are being checked every morning.
Puritan said they are currently not expanding their production line to other companies to fully supply their current customers' demands.
"We control all of the raw materials that come to our facility, we carve our own fiber here, we purchase foam from a converter that is used to make the swab, and all of our vendors are very adequate in getting us the numbers that we need for handles...we are quite self-sufficient," said Templet.
Workers in the company are working seven days a week but they are still short to meet the current demand. The company located in Piscataquis County is looking for employees that are currently home due to the virus.
Puritan currently has a temporary program for displaced workers that need a temporary job. Here is the link to apply.
At NEWS CENTER Maine, we're focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the illness. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: /coronavirus