Maker of medical devices in Canaan is the area’s biggest employer

By Bob Bumcrot

A large earth-covered structure attached to the plant shields the area in which packaged syringes are sterilized by ebeam.

Whenever you get a vaccination or have blood drawn, there’s a good chance that the syringe used originated at the Becton Dickinson plant on Route 7 in Canaan. It is one of the biggest employers in Litchfield County, with a work force of over 500. But the “BD” plant, as it is called locally, is so discreetly shielded from view by planting along Route 7 that many driving by are unaware it exists.
Norfolk’s emergency service technicians are among those all too familiar with the company. “We use BD venal catheters, but not the new Integra model,” says Norfolk Ambulance Deputy Chief Christopher Little.
“I use a BD syringe for my own diabetes treatment,” says EMT Suzanne Funchion, a trained EMT. In fact, the first syringe made specifically for insulin injection was manufactured by BD in 1924.
Headquartered in New Jersey, BD is a leading global medical technology company that manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents to healthcare institutions, laboratories and the general public. With well over $6 billion in annual sales, the company has approximately 28,000 employees in 50 countries around the world. It was founded in 1897 with a handshake agreement between Maxwell Becton and Fairleigh Dickinsen. Dickinson was the principal benefactor of Fairleigh Dickinson University, which was founded in 1942.
The company entered the “Fortune 500” list in 1970, fought off an unfriendly takeover attempt by Sun Oil in 1978, and went on to open plants in England, Spain and Singapore. Since 2005 it has been recognized each year by Fortune magazine as one of “America’s Most Admired Companies.” Recent acquisitions include GeneOhm, a pioneer in molecular diagnostic testing for the rapid detection of bacterial organisms.
In 1961, BD introduced its wholly disposable Plastipak syringe and opened the facility in Canaan dedicated to its production. The plant operates around the clock, turning out as many as six million syringes a day. Syringes are made in many sizes and designs, including the Integra model mentioned by Little in which the needle snaps back into its tube when a button is touched.
“There used to be more handling of the product as it was being manufactured,” says Human Resources Manager Bill Tighe of Sheffield, who has worked at BD for 34 years. “Count how many times a syringe is touched by human hands” he says as be begins leading a tour of the plant. The count at the end of the tour: zero.
The manufacturing process begins with railroad cars arriving full of polypropylene beads from Texas. These are pumped into the molding area where large injection molders form the barrels and plungers for the syringes. Heat generated by this process requires that the plant be air conditioned year-round.
The newly formed parts are autoloaded into small cartons which travel on an overhead rail system throughout the plant. Next, the barrels are printed with a scale showing levels of material to be injected. Air is blown through each barrel to make sure it is clean, and rubber stoppers are fitted on the plunger, coated with silicone, and inserted in the barrel. Needles from a BD plant in Nebraska are then inserted.
The individually packaged syringes are loaded into cardboard boxes and the sealed boxes are stacked onto pallets. At this surprisingly late stage the syringes are sterilized using modern electron beam technology. The boxed syringes are then reassembled on the pallets, wrapped in plastic and shipped to BD distribution centers in New Jersey, Indiana and California.
The North Canaan plant also makes polystyrene labware, including a variety of test tubes. “Our full catalog lists almost 180 products,” says Todd Zeller, the plant’s manager who came from Milwaukee to Canaan last year. The labware section is smaller than the syringe operation and is not as fully automated.
One machine can been seen screwing caps onto 50cc graduated tubes at dizzying speed. “We made a huge number of these in connection with research on mad cow disease,” says Tighe. The labware section is soon to be moved to a new BD plant in North Carolina.
Although many Norfolkians have worked for BD in the past, the only currently employed Norfolk resident is Deb Wuori, who has been in the labware department for 18 years. “It’s a good company to work for,” says Wuori. Says Zeller: “We’re always looking for good people, both professional and hourly.”