Becton Dickenson announced today that it plans to invest further in U.S. manufacturing to add capacity for certain critical medical devices.
Those medical devices include syringes, needles and IV catheters. The Franklin Lakes, New Jersey-based company aims to meet the ongoing needs of the nation’s healthcare system.
This uptick in manufacturing follows last year’s capacity increase after the FDA issued warnings related to syringes manufactured in China. The company said it comes as part of its 2024 investment of more than $10 million to expand manufacturing capacity. BD installed new needle and syringe production lines at plants in Connecticut and Nebraska. One is already fully operational and the company expects additional lines to start up in the coming months.
BD expects its new manufacturing lines to boost its capacity of domestically manufactured, safety-engineered injection devices by more than 40%, with conventional syringes increasing by more than 50%. This adds hundreds of millions of units annually to support U.S. healthcare delivery. That extends to hospital procedures, vaccinations, medication preparation and drug delivery to patients.
According to BD, the increased capacity adds more than 215 full-time employees at the Nebraska and Connecticut facilities. The company also plans to invest more than $30 million in 2025 to expand manufacturing capacity for IV lines at its Utah plant. This further supports growth in catheter solutions. The company already put more than $2 million toward IV line improvements in 2024.
“Domestic manufacturing is crucial for ensuring a resilient supply of essential health care devices,” said Eric Borin, president of Medication Delivery Solutions at BD. “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.”
“For 75 years, Columbus has been serving a critical role in BD’s global supply chain producing billions of vital medical supplies each year to ensure health care systems can operate efficiently and take care of their patients,” said Eric Borin, president of BD Medication Delivery Solutions. “BD has risen to the occasion time and again to meet demand for these essential products. We saw this in the 1950s with the polio vaccine trials, H1N1, COVID-19 and most recently with market disruptions caused by other foreign suppliers. BD’s U.S. manufacturing teams right here in Columbus, along with our site in Canaan, have answered the call yet again by boosting domestic syringe production by 50% for the first nine months of 2024 to help improve supply continuity to U.S. health care providers and their patients.”
“It’s critical we support domestic manufacturing like BD’s facility in Columbus in order to have a resilient domestic supply chain for critical medical products,” said Sen. Ricketts. “BD’s commitment to the state of Nebraska is providing jobs for generations of Nebraskans and playing an important role in protecting our national security and public health. I appreciate BD’s continued support of local businesses and their investments in its Columbus operations, which includes $200 million in capital investment over the last four years.”
“We are incredibly proud of the people of Columbus and Platte County on the great impact they have made the last 75 years helping BD become a global leader developing and making medical devices,” said Gov. Pillen. “From my seat, it is clear BD’s 75 years of success is traced to the people of Columbus and Nebraska.”
BD Medical is served electrically by Loup Public Power District, a wholesale customer of Nebraska Public Power District.