Global medical technology company BD is making additional investments in its U.S. manufacturing network to add capacity for critical medical devices, including syringes, needles, and IV catheters. (Photo: BD/PRNewswire)
BD is adding capacity to manufacture syringes, needles, and IV catheters.
FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J.—Global medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) recently announced additional investments in its U.S. manufacturing network to add capacity for critical medical devices, including syringes, needles, and IV catheters, the company said in a release.
By adding capacity to manufacture these devices, BD is striving to meet the ongoing needs of the nation’s health care system. The company operates more than 30 manufacturing and distribution facilities in the United States, forming an important part of the backbone of the U.S. medical product supply chain. These facilities, spread across 17 states and Puerto Rico, are reported to employ more than 10,000 people.
As part of its 2024 investment of more than $10 million to expand manufacturing capacity, the company has installed new needle and syringe production lines at the BD plants in Connecticut and Nebraska. One line is already fully operational, and additional lines are expected to start up in the coming months, the release stated.
The new lines will reportedly boost BD’s capacity for domestically manufactured safety-engineered injection devices by more than 40 percent and conventional syringes by more than 50 percent. This added capacity is expected to add hundreds of millions of units annually to support critical U.S. health care delivery in the form of hospital procedures, vaccinations, medication preparation, and drug delivery to patients. To support the increased production, BD has reportedly hired more than 215 full-time employees at its facilities in Nebraska and Connecticut.
In an effort to support continued growth in catheter products, the company said it is planning to invest more than $30 million in 2025 to expand manufacturing capacity for IV lines at its plant in Utah. This follows the company’s 2024 investment of more than $2 million for IV-line improvements that enabled BD to increase IV catheter output by more than 40 million units annually, according to the release.
“Domestic manufacturing is crucial for ensuring a resilient supply of essential health care devices,” said Eric Borin, president of Medication Delivery Solutions at BD, in a statement. “By expanding our production capacity, we are not only meeting the critical needs of patients and providers, but we also are reinforcing our commitment to the nation’s health care infrastructure.”
The investments are said to underscore the company’s “ongoing commitment and deep legacy in supporting U.S. health care supply chain resilience through the domestic manufacturing of critical medical devices.”
“Increasing supply capacity builds on the company’s more than 120 years of manufacturing excellence across the United States,” the release stated.
In Nebraska, Connecticut, and Utah alone, BD is reported to have 200 years of collective experience in manufacturing critical medical devices.
The company opened its first manufacturing facility outside of New Jersey in 1949 in Columbus, Nebraska, BD’s website stated. Today, it is said to span 1 million square feet and employ more than 2,000 people across three locations. In 1961, BD opened a facility in Canaan, Connecticut, that now spans 385,000 square feet and employs more than 540 people. “These sites are the only remaining large-scale syringe manufacturing sites in the U.S.,” according to the release.
The BD site in Sandy, Utah, opened in 1956 and is described by the company as the largest producer of IV catheter lines in the world. It has 650,000 square feet of operations and employs approximately 1,200 associates, BD said in the release.