Micron Solutions Blog

With new strains introducing unique challenges in the fight against coronavirus, the demand for efficient and reliable COVID-19 test kits that can be used in the home has become increasingly amplified.  Recently, medical device producers have reached out urgently to leading medical contract manufacturing companies for their help in overcoming many of the obstacles that were present in making these kits widely available. This is why, with decades of experience in comparable diagnostic test kit manufacturing, Micron was well prepared to rise to the challenge when a global medical equipment producer approached the team seeking the guidance and capabilities that needed to get their COVID-19 home test kit to market.

Contract manufacturing breeds innovation, but without the right experience to guide process engineering, it can be difficult to break out of established patterns. In this article we will compare the automated processes applied to two similar-yet-different products. While these items perform nearly identical functions, each has its own distinct assembly and packaging requirements. While many contract manufacturers would simply produce the parts simultaneously and add manual operations to each line, the team at Micron uncovered unique opportunities to increase efficiency and ROI by approaching each item as a unique part.

Micron Products is expanding and changing its name to Micron Solutions to reflect an enhanced scope of services, including turnkey, complex assembly. 

Industrial technology has progressed at a breakneck pace recently, and the application of robotic technology and automation is a fundamental tool in modern manufacturing. According to the Boston Consulting Group, “combining advanced robotics with other technologies, process enhancements, and structural layout changes [in a manufacturing environment] can yield savings of up to 40%,” which presents considerable potential for manufacturing companies seeking to leverage the expertise of a skilled contract manufacturing partner.

The first half of 2020 has been, for many, a grueling gauntlet of disruptions to normal work and social behaviors. With the weather warming, people are demanding a quick and clear pathway to reopening schools, businesses, and social activities in a safe, reasonable manner. Public health officials have outlined several steps that must occur to safely resume normal activity, but one of the most prominent requirements consistently emphasized has been the need for widely-available, accurate, easy-to-use home testing for COVID-19. Calling upon years of experience manufacturing various components and consumables for medical testing kits, Micron is now working with some of the medical manufacturers leading the way for COVID-19 testing to become widely available in simple, single-use home test kits.

The world community faces unprecedented challenges in response to COVID-19, including increasing demand for essential medical devices throughout a period of global supply chain disruption.