Arden Company Helps Prepare to Combat Pandemic

By Josh Boatwright

JBOATWRIGHT@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM

ARDEN -- The continued threat of swine flu has many health providers stocking up on face masks and other supplies, and that means more work for Precept Medical Products.

The locally based company has seen demand for its masks jump since news of the pandemic spread.

Although the World Health Organization recently announced that the danger from the virus appears moderate so far, hospitals across the country are ordering extra supplies from Precept.

"People are concerned about it," Precept President Michael Boyd said. "They're putting together contingency plans for pandemic situations, and we've geared up our capacity to try to help out as much as we can and try to capture as much of that business as possible."

Precept is the latest business to emerge from an Asheville manufacturing company dating to the 1940s.

Formerly Mars Manufacturing in West Asheville, the business has changed hands multiple times over the years while altering its products to meet the evolving needs of the market. Precept was created in 2001 to focus on making a selection of more than 30 medical face masks and disposable protective gowns.

The company produces almost 50 million masks each year from manufacturing plants in Arizona and Mexico. Sales for that business have grown by double digits each year, even though Precept is a relatively small player competing against massive medical suppliers, Precept Chief Executive John Sopcisak said.

While it does not produce the same volume or variety of medical supplies as some of its competitors, Sopcisak said his company has found success through specialization.

The company supplies protective apparel to more than 500 customers, including hospitals, health systems, medical schools, health care distributors, doctors offices and clinics.

Precept also works with group purchasing organizations like Charlotte-based Premier Healthcare Alliance, which recently named the Arden company among the top 19 of its 800 suppliers.

The company has done business locally with Mission and Park Ridge hospitals and the local Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Precept saw a big jump in sales in the spring when orders for its masks rose dramatically at the height of public concern about swine flu.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has advised health- care providers who treat patients infected with the H1N1 virus to wear tight-fitting N-95 respirator masks, which filter out airborne particles.

"This recommendation goes beyond what we would normally recommend for regular seasonal flu," said Christine Pearson, a press officer for the CDC's National Center for Preparedness, Detection and Control of Infectious Diseases.

Precept makes such respirator masks, though they account for a small percentage of its business.

The Arden company relies more heavily on its line of regular surgical masks, which the CDC has advised be worn by infected patients to slow the spread of the virus.

"We're going to be the guy who's going to sell the regular face mask that still has the filtration requirements to stop the spread of this," Boyd said.

About the Business

What: Precept Medical Products.

Who: President Michael Boyd, Chief Executive John Sopcisak and nearly 30 employees at corporate headquarters in Arden. The company has a total of about 150 employees, including workers at plants in Arizona and Mexico.

Where: 370 Airport Road, Arden, 800-438-5827,

www.preceptmed.com.

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