Just a few years ago, the acronym “PPE” wasn’t a household phrase. But today, following the pandemic and subsequent shortage of protective equipment, a local man and his company are on track to break records worldwide in the PPE manufacturing industry.
In mid-November 2022, the first production line of American Nitrile’s glove manufacturing was underway. Every 30-45 days, they expect to have another line up and running until all 12 production lines are functional at the Grove City facility located at 3500 Southwest Blvd.
Eventually, the factory will have the capacity to manufacture 3.5 billion nitrile gloves per year, making it the largest nitrile glove manufacturer in the United States.
The company is the brainchild of Jacob Block, a graduate of The Ohio State University, who wanted to bring PPE manufacturing back to the U.S. after creating a PPE brokerage company, Black Medical Supply, to acquire materials from overseas. He saw the need for American manufacturing in the space, as the majority of PPE comes from Malaysia and other Asia-Pacific countries.
“It’s critical for our country to have domestic capabilities for critical supply chain products, nitrile gloves being one of them,” Block told the Columbus Dispatch in March 2022. “We’re the largest user by far in the world for nitrile gloves, yet we don’t produce even a percent of what we consume here.”
He’s teamed up with local manufacturing and financial experts committed to “reshoring” PPE manufacturing. American Nitrile received an initial investment of $140 million, 35 percent from private equity investors and 65 percent financed. The company received $105 million from Orion Infrastructure Capital in March to help complete the 527,000-square-foot factory.
As of Nov. 15, the first line was running and undergoing tests, according to human resources manager Tracy Pabst.
“As soon as line one is up and running, we have people waiting for these gloves,” Pabst says.
“So our goal is to have line one and line two open in, I say, late December, early January, and then every 30 to 45 days. (There will be) a new line all the way through 2023.”
Last November, the company had 60 employees but expects to employ 400 people by the time all 12 lines are running. Ultimately, the factory will operate 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Pabst says the company stresses work-life balance and a family culture to its employees, offering benefits such as same-day pay and flexible part-time and full-time shifts. The majority of the jobs they’ll be hiring going forward will be finishing operators.
“We’re really thinking about blue collar workers, hardworking people and how we can accommodate them,” Pabst says, “and we’ll definitely stand by that. We have our team right now, first team on that first production line, and they will all tell you how supportive this team has been. They’ve met the owners, they’ve met the VPs, they understand how important their role is going to be here. They want to be a part of it.”
The company rolled out three products in 2022 with different grades meant for different industries such as the medical, dental and industrial fields. The SteelFlex is an FDA-certified medical exam glove approved for use in handling chemotherapy drugs and fentanyl. The glove Granite is an extra tough industrial glove, and the Slate is a medium-duty, general-purpose glove for a variety of non-medical uses, which is soon to be FDA certified for medical and dental use.
“It is an entry level job but it’s a great way to get in from ground level. I mean, think, who has ever worked in a glove factory?” Pabst says. “Everybody that comes in here has very little experience, so finishing operators learn everything. They learn everything about making gloves, putting these gloves in boxes to be shipped out. They’re really learning about quality control.”
Pabst says the Grove City Development Department and the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce have been helpful and welcoming to the company.
“They’ve been so supportive of not only our hiring needs, but anything that’s ever happened here and the issues with production,” she says. “They have embraced us 100 percent and been supportive of everything we’ve done.”
American Nitrile received a $3.5 million grant from JobsOhio, which was the first awarded to a pre-revenue start-up. The company also received an Opportunity Zone incentive to set up in Grove City, among other positive factors that come from starting up within the Columbus area.
The company is already planning to build another facility three times the size of the Grove City facility within four to five years.
“We all embrace ‘made in the USA’ and working for an owner who is local and cares about people and making a product we can be proud of, right here in Grove City,” Pabst says.
Claire Miller is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at cmiller@cityscenemediagroup.com.
