Multi Million-Dollar Medical Manufacturing Facility Planned in Baltimore

United Safety Technology Inc. (UST) is planning to create a $350 million medical manufacturing facility to help bolster America’s preparedness for the next pandemic.

UST intends to renovate more than 735,000 square feet of warehouse space at Tradepoint Atlantic to install and operate advanced production lines to produce medical-grade nitrile exam gloves.
 
“This investment will help meet the needs of our nation’s healthcare heroes, support the Baltimore community, and strengthen the country,” said Dan Izhaky, CEO, United Safety Technology Inc. “Our facility joins other projects around the country to bolster the resiliency of our healthcare supply chain, ensuring that medical essentials are available, affordable, and accessible no matter what forces or emergencies may influence global markets in the future.”
 
Demand for disposable synthetic nitrile gloves, used in hospitals, doctors’ offices, labs, and virtually all healthcare settings to maintain hygiene and protect workers and patients, skyrocketed when the pandemic struck in 2020. However, the United States—the world’s largest market for nitrile gloves—produces less than 1 percent of the world’s output. UST’s new production facility will produce 375 million units per month by the end of Phase 1, with initial production set to begin in the first quarter of 2023.
 
“Bringing manufacturing back to America is not just good for business, but as the last two years have taught us, it is critical to our national security,” said Kerry Doyle, managing director of Tradepoint Atlantic. “Today, we are celebrating jobs and the expansion of manufacturing at Sparrows Point, but we’re also celebrating the onshoring of PPE manufacturing to the United States. This is a big deal, and we are incredibly proud to be partnering with UST as they create a state-of-the-art medical manufacturing facility producing gloves and PPE for hospitals and longterm care facilities. Our location in the Port of Baltimore and our access to major rail and highway infrastructure, makes Tradepoint Atlantic the perfect place to facilitate our nation’s growing onshoring manufacturing movement.”
 
By the fourth quarter of 2024, UST expects to have created more than 2,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing, operations, logistics, and other functions at the site. The Maryland area residents who fill those jobs will help the United States become less reliant on the foreign market, which currently accounts for more than 90 percent of the world’s nitrile glove production.
 
“The focus of our administration has been to make Maryland open for business, to grow new businesses and jobs from one end of the state to the other, and a major national survey recently named Maryland the most improved state for business in America,” said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. “Today we are continuing to cement that pro-jobs, pro-business environment and ensuring that Maryland will continue to be a prime location for economic growth, manufacturing, and innovation. Thank you once again to the entire teams at UST and Tradepoint Atlantic, and congratulations to everyone involved in making this exciting announcement possible.”
 
Investment in a new nitrile glove manufacturing facility at Tradepoint Atlantic is part of UST’s multiphase expansion of its production capacity to further its mission to serve the American frontline workers with American-made products. A $96.1 million U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contract accelerated the expansion of UST’s production capacity. Made last summer on behalf of and in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the grant is specifically for the domestic expansion of nitrile exam glove manufacturing.
 
“The ongoing transformation and revitalization of Eastern Baltimore County is once again highlighted by UST’s decision to open this state-of-the-art medical manufacturing facility in Sparrows Point,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “The opening of this facility will create more than 2,000 jobs, supply much-needed medical supplies for hardworking medical professionals and enhance Tradepoint Atlantic’s continued growth as an economic engine for our region.”
 
UST’s investment at Tradepoint Atlantic marks a new beginning for the former Bethlehem Steel Cold Mill building, originally a purpose-built facility for cold roll mill steel production and product storage by Bethlehem Steel in 1999. It was the last new major investment made by Bethlehem Steel to modernize steel manufacturing at Sparrows Point. The mill went idle in 2012 and was used as a temporary storage facility 2014-2019 by third-party logistics providers. The investment by UST reinvents the future of the building by creating a state-of-the-art medical manufacturing facility.
 
“Sparrows Point isn’t just where goods are sent to and from America—it’s also where goods are made in America,” said U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen. “With a federal investment of over $95 million, Tradepoint Atlantic and United Safety Technology are helping to revitalize a critical economic hub in our state while boosting domestic manufacturing of important medical 3 equipment. Partnering together we will continue working to invest in the Port and grow Maryland’s economy.”
 
United Safety Technology Inc. was founded in June 2020 in response to the pandemic by leaders with more than 60 years of experience in the manufacturing and distribution sectors. The founders share the vision of re-shoring critical medical manufacturing to the United States for distribution to hospitals, long-term care facilities, and governments at the federal, state, and local levels. UST currently produces N95 respirators and has expanded the organization’s technical production expertise to scale nitrile glove production domestically.