Since re-locating its China-based production lines back to the United States, respiratory equipment maker DeVilbiss Healthcare reports it has enjoyed an increase in demand for those products, and has increased its U.S. workforce by more than 20 percent as a result.
Additionally, DeVilbiss has increased its manufacturing hours from 12 hours a day to 16 hours a day with two separate eight-hour shifts in order to keep up with demand for its U.S.-manufactured products. Both moves should position the company for growth.
Specifically, DeVilbiss has hired 33 assemblers and a manufacturing supervisor, 3 manufacturing engineers and a technician, and 3 quality engineers and 2 technicians. In addition, DeVilbiss says several of its suppliers have added to their workforce to keep up with the demand from the company.
“In today’s competitive marketplace, customers are demanding reliable products that help them lower their costs. The high quality and lower total cost of ownership of our products has driven our sales growth,” said Ed Murphy, president and CEO of DeVilbiss. “We have hired new people every month since returning these products to the USA.”
The company decided to move various production lines to China in 2007. In 2012, the company decided to re-locate production lines for its iFill Oxygen Filling Station, several compressor nebulizer systems and the 5-Liter oxygen concentrator back to the United States in order to accelerate a quality improvement initiative. That project was completed in November 2013.