New manufacturing company will bring 625 jobs to Orlinda
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe announced this morning that Puritan Medical Products, North America’s largest manufacturer of COVID-19 testing swabs, will establish new manufacturing and distribution operations in Orlinda.
The project represents an investment of $220 million and the creation of 625 jobs over the next five years.
Headquartered in Maine, Puritan Medical Products is a family-owned business that has been operating for more than 100 years. Puritan is one of two companies in the world that manufactures the specialized swabs used in COVID-19 tests. Because of the contributions the company has made to the fight against COVID-19, Puritan was named “Company of the Year” by Inc. on the magazine’s Best in Business 2020 list.
Prior to the pandemic, Puritan produced roughly 15 to 20 million swabs per month. With funding awarded through the Department of Defense and the CARES Act, Puritan has since increased its swab production to 70 to 90 million swabs per month at its two facilities in Maine.
The Orlinda operations is designed to produce up to 200 million swabs per month.
Over the last five years, TNECD has supported more than 10 economic development projects in Robertson County, accounting for 1,300 job commitments and $471 million in capital investment.
