Puritan Medical Products
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Puritan Medical Products is an American manufacturer of swab, diagnostic, and specimen collection products.[1][2] Puritan is North America's largest manufacturer of COVID-19 testing swabs.[3]
Based in Guilford, Maine, Puritan was a subsidiary of Hardwood Products Co., LP (its two subsidiaries being Hardwood Products Co., LLC and Puritan Medical Products Co., LLC), but has since split from Hardwood Products.[4] Guilford has been described as America's "swab capital," with Puritan's manufacturing reportedly ushering in the "golden age of the swab."[5][6]
Puritan operates three facilities in Maine (one in Guilford and two in Pittsfield), producing swabs and diagnostic testing supplies.[7][8] In 2022, Puritan was named "Innovator of the Year" by the Maine International Trade Center.[9]
As of 2025, Puritan has about 500 employees.[10] It is a family-owned, “Maine-made” company. All of Puritan's production is done domestically using U.S.-sourced materials.[11]
Established in 1919, Puritan began as a producer of mint-flavored toothpicks in Saginaw, Michigan.[12] The business moved to Maine in 1920, where white birch (needed for the toothpicks) was plentiful.[13] Puritan eventually pivoted into the medical field with the introduction of tongue depressors and aseptic wood applicators, and in the mid-1970s began to focus specifically on medical and healthcare products.[13]
Leadership
Puritan is a family-owned business.[14] The company is led by co-owner Timothy Templet, a third-generation family leader who serves as executive vice president of sales.[15] Templet's grandfather, Lloyd Cartwright, founded Puritan in 1919 during the influenza pandemic.[16] His daughter, Virginia Templet, serves as Puritan's marketing director.[17]
A business advocate, Templet urges American workers to join small companies and other private-sector employers as a way of combating labor shortages.[18] He also believes in proactively bracing for the next global health crisis, claiming the COVID-19 pandemic was a "wake-up call about stockpiles and being prepared."[16] Puritan urges people to practice vigilance in the face of new COVID spikes by continuing to test for emerging variants.[19]
Bob Shultz is the president and CFO at Puritan.[20] He is focused on recruiting workers from rural parts of Maine to join the company, among other initiatives.[21] Derek McKenney serves as Puritan's vice president of manufacturing operations.[22]
Puritan's fiduciary board of directors includes a mix of family and non-family members. Templet says the combination provides a “continuity of family perspective and the benefit of outside, independent expertise."[23]