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Puritan Medical Products bucks tariff talk with ‘Made in USA’ brand

A person in a mask stands at the end of a machine line. Photo / Courtesy Puritan Medical Products Puritan Medical Products expects its “Made in the USA” operations will provide stability and further growth despite global trade concerns.
By Laurie Schreiber

Guilford-based swab-maker Puritan Medical Products is seeing increased demand for its products.

And the company expects that its “Made in the USA” operations will provide stability and further growth despite global trade concerns.

“While we continue to monitor the current economic situation, Puritan remains bullish about the future and our ability to meet global demand for our many products,” said Bob Shultz, Puritan’s president and CFO. 

A person poses for a headshot.
Photo / Courtesy Puritan Medical Products
Robert L. Shultz

Up, down, up

Puritan underwent a major ramping up in 2020, when the federal government picked it to produce millions of swabs to be used in COVID tests. It became North America's largest manufacturer of COVID testing swabs, making up to 100 million per month at the pandemic’s peak. 

As the pandemic waned, so did demand for swabs. From a high of 1,270 employees, the company downsized to 400, split between its factories in Pittsfield and Guilford.

By 2024, demand was back up to 450 employees and again hiring; orders for swabs were up 45% from pre-pandemic levels.

Now the company has around 490 employees and is hiring for dozens of positions at its Guilford and Pittsfield locations.

Recruitment incentives include competitive pay and benefits, plus a new partnership with the Maine Community College System to create an internship program for graduates, as well certification and professional development programs.

“It’s a very competitive marketplace,” noted Shultz.

Orders up 25%

Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Guilford, the family-owned company operates two additional manufacturing plants in Pittsfield and corporate office in Falmouth. 

Its lines of sterile and non-sterile swabs meet the needs of health care, diagnostic, forensic and industrial applications. The swabs are made in a variety of formats, including flocked fiber, rayon, cotton, polyester and foam. 

People stand in a large room working on products.
Photo / Courtesy Puritan Medical Products
Puritan is hiring for dozens of positions at its Guilford and Pittsfield plants.

The company attributes the increasing demand for its products, which has reached its highest point since the pandemic, to a resurgence in COVID, increases in sexually transmitted diseases, increased focus on food safety and an uptick in the flu, measles and other viruses.

“I don’t see any potential downside when it comes to demand for our products,” Shultz told Mainebiz. “In fact, I see upside. We’re 100% made in the USA and made here in Maine. We do source some of our raw materials from outside the United States. But the tariff impacts will be negligible to the costs of running our business.”

Orders are up 25% through Q1, compared with the same period a year ago, both in terms of order inflow and shipments, he said. 

“We continue to see that in the second quarter,” he added.

Continued investment

Puritan produces over 1 billion swabs per year. The company is working on final approval and validation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a new product it hopes to launch in the second half of 2025.

The company is analyzing and considering further investment such as automation, he said. 

“It’s a continuous improvement mindset,” he said. “We’ll make investments when and if it aligns with out strategy and the financial return is there.”

Puritan ships globally. Two-thirds of its business is in the U.S. 

“Our product are strongly positioned in the tariff world, because we serve the U.S market so strongly,” he said. “But the truth is, we have a global portfolio and a global brand.”

Shultz said he recently returned from a trade convention in Austria.

“We left with over 80 potential leads,” he said. “Even in the tariff world, there’s interest in doing business with us.”

To view a video of plant operations, click here.

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