VOLUME 23 NUMBER 14 ■ GSABUSINESS.COM
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JULY 27 - AUGUST 9, 2020 ■ $2.25
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Companies partner to patch supply chain hole By Ross Norton
Managing through a literal tornado BorgWarner plant manager talks about lead the way during a crisis. Page 4
Ups and downs for port system
Tonnage rises for state ports as volume takes virus dip. Page 3
A
rnorton@scbiznews.com
s politicians and policy influencers make a case for bringing the manufacture of critical medical supplies to American soil, a pair of Greenville companies just started doing business together to make sure a critical step in the testing supply chain is not just made in the USA, but made in Greenville. Hoowaki President Ralph Hulseman said in June he hoped the company’s newest innovation — the NP Collection Swab with Hoowaki Microgrip technology — would make a difference in the national and international battle to gain control over COVID-19. The Hoowaki
product is produced through injection molding and therefore can be made faster, in more places and in greater quantities than the standard filament swab. The product was something of a pivot for the company, which produces microengineered surfaces with a variety of commercial applications, some of them medical. At about the same time Hoowaki was pulling swabs to the front burner, another Greenville company was making a pivot of its own. CPT Medical was doing a swift business producing surgical medical trays — a variety self-contained kits with all the tools a surgeon needs to perform specific procedures. But the kits for elective surgeries were on the wane as the country battened down to withstand a
pandemic. With surgical tray business falling, CPT Medical found a way to keep its workforce busy while contributing to the COVID19 challenge. They started selling viral transport medium, a solution that makes it possible for the sample swabbed from nostrils to make it to the lab with the integrity necessary to test for maladies at a molecular level, including COVID-19. The viral transport medium requires a container similar to a test tube. Securing them in a troubled supply chain of tools, materials and chemicals was a complex challenge that kept CPT Medical’s vice president of commercial operations on his toes. See SUPPLIES, Page 6
Markley Station opens doors with new owners
Urban Wren Winery, Todaro Pizza and Hoppin’ Greenville are tenants at Markley Station. (Photos/ Molly Hulsey)
Billions borrowed, thousands saved S.C. business operators borrow big to saves jobs. Pages 9-13
Molly Hulsey
W
Workers face child care challenge
mhulsey@scbiznews.com
ith Upstate retail leasing activity down by 66% during the last quarter, according to a recent Avison Young report, some would consider it risky business to purchase 30,000 square feet of revitalized retail space with plans for expansion during a pandemic. Don Lincoln, president of N&H Holdings — the parent company of Greenville’s Urban Wren Winery — and a former machinist and programmer, sees it as a family passion. And an opportunity to jump on the outdoor dining train. “We’ve been in the restaurant industry eight years now, because we own two restaurants in Naples, Fla. ... We’ve always loved the atmosphere. People say we’re nuts,” Lincoln said, adding that he had admired Greenville’s
Concerns about safety of schools, child care shortage put parents in tight spot. Page 5
INSIDE
Leading Off .......................... 2 SC Biz News Briefs ................ 3 C-Suite ................................ 4 In Focus: Transportation and Logistics ............................ 15 LIST: Third-Party Logistics Providers ........................... 19 Bonus List: Warehouse Services............................ 20 At Work ..............................22 Viewpoint ...........................23
See MARKLEY, Page 8
Truckers keep on
Drivers grapple with regulations as pandemic brings new challenges. Page 15