Mölnlycke Health Care is investing in an expansion of its Brunswick facility, a project expected to add jobs and increase U.S. production for wound care dressings.
BRUNSWICK, Maine — While many businesses remain cautious in the face of an unpredictable economy, a Swedish health care company is taking a different approach—investing more than $100 million in its U.S. wound care manufacturing facility in Maine.
Mölnlycke Health Care will expand its facility in Brunswick by funding the construction of an extension building. The company says it will make a $134 million investment to complete the project. The health care company has factory locations in the UK, Singapore, Sweden, and Finland.
The company manufactures wound care dressings used to promote healing and recovery from surgery, injuries, and for preventative dressings for bed sores.
The investment to expand the manufacturing facility in Brunswick will be the company’s biggest investment yet, according to U.S. facility General Manager Chris Biddle.
“It’s going to be exciting. I think so many people have worked on the background of this for the last 12 months,” Biddle said. “We’re estimating maybe 20 jobs in total [that] this will create long term.”
Biddle said the permanent jobs will likely be in engineering, quality control, and warehousing positions. They plan to break ground for the expansion project in October, employing local contractors and builders. He added that the project will likely take two years to complete.
In Maine—a state where hospitals are often the largest employers and the population is the oldest in the country—manufacturing flexible wound care dressings is a strong business model.
Biddle explained that the company is growing around eight percent annually, adding that this investment will help the company build on its current momentum.
At a time when many businesses are struggling to cover increasing overhead costs and trying to find balance during economic turbulence created by tariffs, Biddle said they’re experiencing exponential growth. He said the U.S. remains a good place to invest in.
Biddle shared that Mölnlycke Health Care secures growth and success by buying local products and selling locally as well.
“We are like any other business globally. We are being impacted by the tariffs,” Biddle added. “We do rely on U.S. companies to provide the raw materials [and] parts of our products.”
By sourcing several raw materials locally, the company avoids the financial strain of high tariffs. Although Mölnlycke’s flexible wound care dressings are sold in 42 countries, Biddle said the products made at the U.S. site—designed to prevent bed sores—are sold exclusively to hospitals and businesses within the U.S.
“We have a very good relationship with the hospital network. We take feedback, and we try to innovate where possible,” Biddle explained.
He said shopping local, selling local, and investing local have been Mölnlycke’s biggest and most successful business model advantage.