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Medline invests $65 Mn in Adult Incontinence

12 Mar '12

5 min read

While the national unemployment rate has been dropping in recent months, many communities are still feeling the pain and pressure of the ongoing recession. Nowhere is this more evident than in communities like Douglasville, Ga., a town outside of Atlanta. The local economy will get a boost from Medline Industries, Inc., who today announced the creation of 150 new jobs with the opening of a new 600,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art adult incontinence products manufacturing facility.

“We are excited to have such a well respected and nationally recognized company like Medline join our rapidly growing bioscience community,” said Bioscience and Health IT Development Vice President David Hartnett, of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “This is a real win for Douglasville, which is rapidly becoming a desired location for companies like Medline and keeps us clearly on track to take a leadership position as a hub for medical and surgical products manufacturing and distribution.”

Medline, the largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare supplies in the United States and the leading provider of disposable incontinence products to the long-term care and hospital markets, built the new facility to produce the company's newest and most innovative adult incontinence brand of products called FitRight™. Today, more than half of all homebound older persons and more than half of all nursing home residents suffer from incontinence. This problem will become even more profound as the graying of America continues. By 2030, one out of every five Americans will be 65 or older.

In addition to Medline's new manufacturing facility, the company maintains a 448,000 square-foot distribution center, also located in Lithia Springs, where the company ships healthcare supplies to hospitals, nursing homes, surgery centers and other healthcare facilities throughout the southeast.

Fastest Machines in the Industry

The equipment at the new facility is the fastest and most technologically advanced of its kind in the country, operating at twice the speed of other incontinence product machines. The massive machines measure about the length of a football field and stand two stories high.

The machines are fully automated, producing briefs and other incontinence products from raw materials on one end of the line and packaging and boxing them up on the other end. State-of-the-art packaging equipment makes the packaging 20 percent smaller and therefore more “green,” enabling more product to fit in the cases and on the trucks for more efficient and environmentally friendly shipping and delivery.

The new facility includes a 300,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center where millions of adult briefs are shipped every week from 90 docks to Medline's 33 distribution centers located around the country. From there, they are transported to thousands of Medline's customers, including nursing homes, hospitals and home health agencies. Medline built its new facility with room to grow as demand for its incontinence products increases.

“This new facility is one of our biggest investments ever, and we our very thankful to the state of Georgia, Douglas County and the city of Douglasville for welcoming us with a terrific labor force and an inviting business environment in which we can succeed and, in turn, help the local community grow and thrive,” said Dan Love, president of Medline's personal care products division. “We are proud to produce products in Douglasville that will have a major positive impact on millions of elderly people throughout the country.”

FitRight Promotes Comfort and Dignity

The new patent-pending FitRight brief, which was created with considerable research and input from caregivers and residents, was designed with the resident's comfort and dignity in mind.

FitRight is made with a super-absorbent polymer that absorbs more fluid and feels dryer longer than the typical brief. FitRight's unique antileak guards and “4D Core with Odor Protection” prevent leakage and wicks fluid away from the body to enhance the comfort and dignity of the resident. FitRight is also designed to be more discreet with a garment-like fit to help promote more confidence, mobility and independence.