By Pete Mercer
One of the hot-button topics of conversation in the healthcare supply chain right now is the argument for domestic manufacturing versus international manufacturing. Many organizations in the healthcare supply chain rely on offshore manufacturing, but it can present a series of challenges for the shipping process and the customers receiving the orders.
Many other organizations are working to move their manufacturing facilities back to the United States to ensure the quality of the end product. Blickman Industries recently announced its own plans to close its factory in Mexico and operate fully within the United States.
In a recent podcast episode, Repertoire Magazine publisher Scott Adams sat down with Anthony Lorenzo, CEO of Blickman Industries, to discuss the history of his organization, their place in the market, and Blickman moving its manufacturing to the United States.
About Blickman Industries
Blickman Industries is a medical equipment manufacturing company, established in 1889. Best known for their warming cabinets, Blickman’s long-standing reputation allows it to produce stainless steel and chrome solutions for the healthcare industry.
Lorenzo said, “We find ourselves most well-known in the acute care markets, but we are seeing a lot of growth in ambulatory surgery centers, rehab centers and labs. We are seeing a lot of opportunities as they look to do sterilization offsite to make those centers work well for the larger IDNs.”
As the ambulatory surgery center market continues to flourish, Blickman is leveraging its unique position to supply these facilities with the equipment and tools needed to provide the best possible care to those patients. The ability to offer different products in different specialties is part of what makes Blickman stand out from the competition.
“We do custom work that helps us get into project business, which is something our bigger competitors won’t do. When customers say they need a certain caster, a certain size, or even a certain type of product developed for them, we are always there trying to help them solve their problems.”
Even with a long and storied history, Blickman is continuing to innovate and produce new products for its customers. One of Blickman’s newest (and best-selling) innovations is a full-color touchscreen display on the front of the warming cabinet. Lorenzo described it as like “using a smartphone.”
Moving manufacturing to the United States
Lorenzo’s team at Blickman has just recently moved all their manufacturing to the United States, opening a factory in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Not only will this improve the quality of the products and greatly simplify the shipping process, but it will also give them a competitive advantage with buyers in the U.S.
The need for a domestic manufacturing source was both logistical and practical. Lorenzo’s team found that they essentially had two different facilities. Shipping orders across the Mexico border can be challenging from a logistical standpoint, but it’s also harder on the equipment that’s being shipped. These are large pieces of equipment that do not always do well in transit on the trucks, especially in the winter months.
He said, “The delays of getting things across the border from Mexico to the United States were not good for our customers. Having two facilities also created a lot of transfer costs that just slowed things down. We felt that having one facility in the middle of the country was just going to be a better, more efficient way to run the business and service our customers better.”
This move has presented its own set of challenges for the team at Blickman, but Lorenzo is certain that the opportunities far outweigh those challenges. They’ve hired 60 new team members to help successfully launch this new direction, hoping to be back to normal lead times by the summer.
Lorenzo said, “Our customers are in the midst of seeing some of those delays that have been caused by the move, but we’ll get caught up quickly. We haven’t seen many quality problems, but in making sure quality is where it needs to be, it takes a little longer to do things properly.”
Looking to a bright future
As Blickman continues to establish its foundations in Tennessee, Lorenzo is eagerly anticipating growth and efficiency for the future. Despite the recent challenges, Blickman is continuing to grow sales and hire new team members. Blickman recently appointed Linda Walther as the chief strategy officer, a former employee for Medline, who will use her 30-plus years in the industry to help ease the many pain points of hospitals.
Since he acquired the organization about six years ago, Lorenzo said that Blickman has introduced 10 to 15 new products. He said, “We expect once we get Tennessee fully functional and everything running efficiently, we’ll be adding even more new products.”
Whatever the future brings, Lorenzo is certain that Blickman will continue to thrive – just as it has for over 130 years. Surviving through a couple of world wars, the rollercoaster of inflation, and a worldwide pandemic is no easy feat, even for an established company like Blickman.
“I think what makes the company unique is just the history of the business, the quality we’ve maintained throughout the years, the broad portfolio we offer, and our ability to be nimble and creative with our customers. We’re not a very large company, so we are able to do things faster and better than everyone else, especially once we get settled in Tennessee.”