Local GI doctor launches PPE manufacturing plant in Riverside

Dr. Farid Namin is taking on another professional title: co-founder. The former Army psychiatrist has been a gastroenterologist at Jackson County Gastroenterology PC for about 15 years, but an obstacle early in the pandemic spurred him to launch PPE Mfg USA Corp, a medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturer based in Riverside at 2461 NW Tullison Road.

The build-out of the roughly 16,000-square-foot facility is slated to wrap up this week, and PPE equipment will be added in the coming weeks. It's the largest U.S.-made PPE manufacturing plant in at least four states.

During its first year, the manufacturing facility will have the capacity to produce nearly 19 million to 20 million N95 masks, nearly 50 million surgical masks and about 20 million head covers and shoe covers. Its product lineup also will include surgical and isolation gowns.

Although the company received a $394,000 grant through the CARES Act, a bulk of the funding came from the founders investing their personal resources.

Catalyst for launching  

Centerpoint Medical Center, where Namin performs surgeries, started canceling elective cases early on during the pandemic. The main culprit was lack of PPE. He learned that about 95% of the nation's PPE was imported from other countries, mainly China.

"It's almost a scary feeling and an odd feeling as a surgeon to think you are prohibited from performing surgeries for a simple, basic reason," he told the Kansas City Business Journal. "It was a shocker to me when I found out that we were so dependent (on imported PPE). I served in the U.S. military about 14 years and I retired. I try to do whatever I can for the country. I'm an immigrant and the country has been very good to me."

Namin, who grew up in Iran and Spain, moved to the U.S. for school when he was 18. In 1998, he relocated to Kansas City.

Namin started working on the PPE company in mid-March. The company's founders include those with manufacturing, logistics and financial experience as well as Chief Scientific Officer Akram Fazel, who has a doctorate in microbial genetics and biochemistry. They hired experts in the field to navigate what products to produce and how to do it.

"The hardest part for us was the fact that we had to talk to so many people and get so many different answers until we found out what is the best regimen to create this production line," Namin said. "Initially, we were steered to so many wrong directions. … because, again, it's not like there's so many companies here in the U.S. doing it."

Future outlook

PPE Mfg USA has 10 employees and is hiring 30 for the production side. It also has an option to add another 16,000 square feet in the future, which would bring additional employees. The company initially will target government contracts and hospitals in Kansas and Missouri. Once those needs are met, it plans to make its products available to customers in other states.

The company already is garnering interest.

"People are coming to our facility telling us one horror story after another horror story," Director of Operations Eric Heitmann said.

One company previously bought $100,000 in imported PPE, and when the products arrived after a lengthy wait, they were "complete garbage," Heitmann said.

One of the standouts of the Riverside facility is a 4,000-square-foot clean room, which is the largest in Missouri and Kansas, he said. The sterile production room features a high air filtration rate and multiple HEPA filters to continually clean the air and equipment. Another standout is an independent laboratory on site to test and certify the products' quality.

In the future, PPE Mfg USA plans to partner with community colleges and offer internships to help students grow professionally and learn about the types of businesses available on their career path, Heitmann said.

"It's all part of trying to serve the greater good," he said.

For Namin, the Riverside company isn't here to fulfill a temporary need driven by Covid-19. It's in it for the long haul to serve the needs of the medical community.

"Pandemics will come and pass, but our need for PPE products will remain," Namin said.

Original Article at Kansas City Business Journal.