NORTHFIELD – Medical product maker Medline Industries added more than 230 additional healthcare providers and health systems accounts in the USA worth nearly US$2 billion in annual, incremental medical supplies and solution sales in 2021, to see its sales for the year pass $20 billion.

The family-owned company, which doesn’t disclose profit figures, said it had now achieved annual double-digit percentage growth for a half century.

“Throughout 2021, the Medline team remained laser-focused on supporting our customers through another challenging year and strengthening the resiliency of the healthcare supply chain,” Doug Golwas, executive vice-president of acute care sales for Medline told Forbes. “Heading into 2022, that commitment remains as we continue to partner with our customers and together identify new strategies to enhance operational and clinical efficiencies.”

With the scale of one of the country’s largest companies and the agility of a family-led business, in 2021 Medline continued to invest in customised clinical and supply chain solutions to enhance patient outcomes and operations. During the year it invested $1.5 billion in five new US-based distribution centres, with two more to be completed in 2022.

Since launching in October 2021, the Medline post-acute care infection prevention programme – a consultative service combining products and education to enhance best practices around environmental cleaning, hand hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE) use – has signed more than 40 customer programme agreements.