Puritan Medical Products

Puritan Medical Products is an American manufacturer of swab, diagnostic, and specimen collection products.[1][2] Puritan is North America's largest manufacturer of COVID-19 testing swabs.[3]

Based in Guilford, Maine, Puritan was a subsidiary of Hardwood Products Co., LP (its two subsidiaries being Hardwood Products Co., LLC and Puritan Medical Products Co., LLC), but has since split from Hardwood Products.[4] Guilford has been described as America's "swab capital," with Puritan's manufacturing reportedly ushering in the "golden age of the swab."[5][6]

Puritan operates three facilities in Maine (one in Guilford and two in Pittsfield), producing swabs and diagnostic testing supplies.[7][8] In 2022, Puritan was named "Innovator of the Year" by the Maine International Trade Center.[9]

As of 2025, Puritan has about 500 employees.[10] It is a family-owned, “Maine-made” company. All of Puritan's production is done domestically using U.S.-sourced materials.[11]

History

Established in 1919, Puritan began as a producer of mint-flavored toothpicks in Saginaw, Michigan.[12] The business moved to Maine in 1920, where white birch (needed for the toothpicks) was plentiful.[13] Puritan eventually pivoted into the medical field with the introduction of tongue depressors and aseptic wood applicators, and in the mid-1970s began to focus specifically on medical and healthcare products.[13]

Leadership

Puritan is a family-owned business.[14] The company is led by co-owner Timothy Templet, a third-generation family leader who serves as executive vice president of sales.[15] Templet's grandfather, Lloyd Cartwright, founded Puritan in 1919 during the influenza pandemic.[16] His daughter, Virginia Templet, serves as Puritan's marketing director.[17]

A business advocate, Templet urges American workers to join small companies and other private-sector employers as a way of combating labor shortages.[18] He also believes in proactively bracing for the next global health crisis, claiming the COVID-19 pandemic was a "wake-up call about stockpiles and being prepared."[16] In June 2026, Templet published a Fortune op-ed column with Virginia for the U.S. Semiquincentennial, expressing optimism about domestic manufacturing as "the strongest backbone of America’s economy."[19]

Bob Shultz is the president and CFO at Puritan.[20] He is focused on recruiting workers from rural parts of Maine to join the company, among other initiatives.[21] Derek McKenney serves as Puritan's vice president of manufacturing operations.[22] In July 2026, Family Business magazine named McKenney to its "NextGens to Watch Class of 2026" for contributing to the company's growth and transformation.[23]

Puritan's fiduciary board of directors includes a mix of family and non-family members. Templet says the combination provides a “continuity of family perspective and the benefit of outside, independent expertise."[24]

COVID-19 pandemic

In April 2020, Puritan received over $75 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to produce more "flock tip testing swabs," which are preferred for COVID-19 testing.[25][26] In June 2020, President Trump visited the company, highlighting its "noble tradition of American manufacturing excellence for more than 100 years."[27][28] In July 2020, Puritan received another $51 million from the Defense Department to "expand industrial production capacity of flock tip testing swabs."[29] To meet demand, the company partnered with Cianbro Corp. to open another swab production facility in Pittsfield, Maine.[30] Granted federal funding to churn out 40 million swabs per month, the new Pittsfield facility is hiring and training hundreds of workers to produce up to 100 million swabs a month.[31] In total, the federal government provided Puritan with more than $250 million in funding to accelerate COVID-19 testing swab production.[32]

In November 2020, Puritan was awarded over $11 million to produce three million more testing swabs per month, with the money coming through the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.[33]

In December 2020, Inc. named Puritan the magazine's "Company of the Year," describing it as "the most important manufacturer in the world."[34][35] Governor Janet Mills praised Puritan for "stepping up during tumultuous times to meet the needs of our state."[36] According to Bloomberg, Puritan offers full benefits and pays fully trained employees $15 an hour, higher than the $12.15 hourly minimum wage in Maine.[32]

In April 2021, Puritan announced plans to open a new manufacturing and distribution center in Orlinda, Tennessee, expanding the company's national presence.[37] The Tennessee plant expected to create as many as 625 new jobs over the next five years.[38] In addition to accessing a larger workforce than in Maine, Puritan chose the Tennessee location for "the location, logistics, and incentives offered by Tennessee state and county development officials."[39][40] Puritan ceased operations at the plant in 2023, and sold the facility in 2025.[41]

In November 2025, Puritan announced the release of PurSafe Plus for the collection, inactivation, and preservation of human upper respiratory specimens suspected of containing SARS-CoV-2.[42]

Other work

Puritan produces sterile and non-sterile swabs, made from flocked fiber, rayon, cotton, polyester, and foam.[11] In addition to manufacturing COVID-19 testing swabs, Puritan is also active in the environmental, forensics, genetics, and microbiology media industries, among others.[43] This includes the production of environmental surface sampling kits.[44]

In 2023, Puritan partnered with GenoTyping Center of America, a Maine-based genetic testing company, to produce specialty swabs that collect DNA from rodents without the need to use a surgical procedure or harvest a fresh tissue sample from each rodent.[45] Improving animal welfare, the new genotyping process is a DNA collection method that supports necessary biological research.[45] Heather Johnson, commissioner of the state's Department of Economic and Community Development, claims the partnership "illustrates the growth of Maine’s life sciences industry."[45]

In October 2024, Puritan announced a hiring spree, eyeing 50 employees to add to its roster of 450 workers.[46] The company cited orders being up 45 percent from pre-pandemic levels, including demand for U.S.-made testing products for the flu, RSV, strep, and COVID.[46]

The company's stated 2026 priority is an aggressive expansion of liquid media transport systems, in addition to the medical, industrial disposable, and antiseptic markets.[47]

References

  1. ↑ "Puritan Medical Products Inc - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Swab manufacturer Puritan staffs up as Covid cases soar". CNBC. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  3. ↑ Jewett, Lauren Weber, Christina (17 March 2020). "As Coronavirus Testing Gears Up, Specialized Swabs Running Out". Kaiser Health News. Retrieved 8 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Eichacker, Charles (21 March 2020). "This Guilford company is one of the world's top 2 makers of COVID-19 testing swabs". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  5. ↑ Zimmer, Ben (13 January 2022). "'Swab': A Mop for Ship Decks and Viral Specimens". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  6. ↑ "It's the golden age of the swab, a 99-year-old invention that has never been more crucial". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Register". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. ↑ "Maine-based Puritan Medical Products, one of North America's largest manufacturers of COVID testing swabs, purchases factory in Tennessee". newscentermaine.com. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Newsworthy people and performances for June 27, 2022". Mainebiz.
  10. ↑ McDonnell, Scott (29 May 2025). "From toothpicks to test swabs, Maine's Puritan Medical Products keeps growing". WMTW. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  11. 1 2 Robinson, Steve (24 April 2025). "Amid Trump's Tariffs, Made-in-America Manufacturer Looks to Expand Hiring in Maine". The Maine Wire. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Puritan Medical Products". Inc.
  13. 1 2 Jusko, Jill (6 November 2024). "Century-Old Manufacturing Companies: A Celebration Of US Longevity". IndustryWeek. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  14. ↑ Eichacker, Charles (5 June 2020). "How a family-owned company in Guilford came to host a visit from the president". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  15. ↑ Koplin, Ian (23 March 2026). "Made in Maine, built for the world". Family Business Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  16. 1 2 Bhattacharji, Alex (3 December 2020). "How This 101-Year-Old Family Business Became the World's Most Important Company Overnight". Inc.com. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  17. ↑ "Virginia Templet". The Institute for Family-Owned Business. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  18. ↑ "Let's get back to work. America depends on it". Fortune. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  19. ↑ Templet, Timothy; Templet, Virginia. "This rural Maine factory made 100 million COVID swabs a month. Its CEO says manufacturing's best days are ahead". Fortune. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "Opinion: Puritan Medical is a poster child for Maine's economic recovery". Bangor Daily News. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  21. ↑ Cordes, Renee. "Widgets, workers and wages: Maine manufacturers get more strategic about recruiting". Mainebiz.
  22. ↑ "Puritan is Here to Help. Contact Us Today!". www.puritanmedproducts.com. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  23. ↑ Koplin, Ian (17 July 2026). "NextGens to Watch 2026: Derek McKenney". Family Business Magazine. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  24. ↑ Koplin, Ian (23 March 2026). "Made in Maine, built for the world". Family Business Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  25. ↑ Graphics, WSJ com News. "Trump's Turn-Out-the-Base Strategy Is Tested in Maine County". WSJ. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  26. ↑ Clifford, Tyler (22 April 2020). "Trump taps medical supplies-maker Puritan Medical to ramp up coronavirus swab testing production". CNBC. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  27. ↑ "WATCH: Trump delivers remarks following tour of Puritan Medical Products in Maine". PBS NewsHour. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  28. ↑ "Remarks By President Trump At Puritan Medical Products". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 8 December 2020 – via National Archives.
  29. ↑ "DOD Awards $51.15 Million Undefinitized Contract Action to Puritan Medical Products Company". U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  30. ↑ Sentinel, Amy CalderMorning (12 October 2020). "Puritan, Cianbro to build second COVID-19 swab factory in Pittsfield". Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  31. ↑ "Puritan hiring hundreds of workers to manufacture COVID-19 swabs". newscentermaine.com. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  32. 1 2 "America's Covid Swab Supply Depends on Two Cousins Who Hate Each Other". Bloomberg.com. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  33. ↑ "Maine company contracted to produce million of testing swabs". AP NEWS. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  34. ↑ Bhattacharji, Alex (3 December 2020). "How This 101-Year-Old Family Business Became the World's Most Important Company Overnight". Inc.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  35. ↑ "Guilford swab maker Puritan wins Inc. 'company of the year,' and a legal victory". Mainebiz. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  36. ↑ "Maine-based swab producer, Puritan Medical Products, nationally recognized as Inc. Magazine's '2020 Company of the Year'". newscentermaine.com. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  37. ↑ Young, Nicole. "Maine-based Puritan Medical Products to expand operations in Tennessee, manufacture COVID-19 swabs in Robertson County". The Tennessean. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  38. ↑ "Maine-based Puritan Medical Products, one of North America's largest manufacturers of COVID testing swabs, purchases factory in Tennessee". newscentermaine.com. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  39. ↑ Marino, David Jr. (5 May 2021). "Swab maker's Tennessee expansion lets it access a workforce larger than Maine's". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  40. ↑ Milliken, Maureen (14 April 2021). "Puritan grows southward: Workforce, incentives made Tennessee 'right fit' for expansion". Mainebiz.
  41. ↑ Peters, Andy (29 October 2025). "Medical swab maker sells vacant factory near Nashville, Tennessee". CoStar News.
  42. ↑ "Puritan Medical Products Showcasing Innovation at AMP 2025 in Boston". LabMedica International.
  43. ↑ "Puritan Medical Products". VWR. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  44. ↑ "Puritan Medical Products Company". www.rapidmicrobiology.com. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  45. 1 2 3 "Puritan Medical Products, GenoTyping Center partner on innovation for life sciences lab work". Mainebiz. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  46. 1 2 "A year after major restructuring, Puritan Medical Products is hiring again". Mainebiz. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  47. ↑ Koplin, Ian (23 March 2026). "Made in Maine, built for the world". Family Business Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
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