The important thing about her company, Kim Trapp said, is the people.
Trapp is Vice President for Human Resources at Enovate Medial, a Murfreesboro-based manufacturer that develops products to make the lives of healthcare professionals easier.
“We’re very fortunate to have the best employees,” she said. “They’re passionate, they care about each other, about people…they’re very loyal and committed.”
Enovate employs about 240 people total, whether on the manufacturing floor or selling in the field.
Making healthcare easier
The company recently launched their new lead product, the Envoy. The Envoy is a mobile workstation developed for hospitals, to allow medical staff to take computers where they’re needed, and keep them powered the whole time.
Modern healthcare involves a significant amount of data collection, in registration and documentation, and the computers that are used for that work need to be accessible and online throughout entire shifts. Enovate looked at that problem and developed rolling computer carts, wall-mounted arms and in-wall stations to let hospitals choose the workflow solution that works for them.
The Envoy carts use new “swappable” battery systems, that allow users to switch out a charged battery for a drained one, and keep going. The cart holds enough back-up power to make the transition seamless, Enovate CEO Bob Brolund said.
“This is the bread and butter of what we do,” he said. “The push for electronic healthcare came about 10 years ago, and now it is just integrated into the workflows of hospitals.”
Specialized equipment
Enovate works with hospitals and computer manufacturing companies to develop the most efficient devices, he said. The company builds the cart, installs the correct cabling, builds the batteries and will install customer-specific needs, like storage cabinets or scanner brackets.
“It’s a computer on wheels. There’s a battery in here that will power a computer and a monitor, so the nurse can use it for all of the needs in the patient’s rooms,” Brolund said.
The battery cells Enovate uses are the same as the type used in Tesla cars, Brolund explained, although they’re only about .03 percent as powerful as the Tesla’s array.
Enovate products are almost entirely manufactured in the U.S.— and entire assembled in Mufreesboro.
Local business
“The old company was here, and when we merged two companies together in 2013 we moved all the manufacturing to Tennessee,” Brolund said. “There’s a good workforce here, a very stable work force.”
The only department the company has trouble staffing is skilled machinists.
“They’re in high demand, but we’ve been able to keep a good work force here,” he said.
One employee, Sisavath “Noi” Saysighidegh, has been with the company for close to 20 years.
“I’ve been here since the old company, it’s a big company now,” he said.
Saysighidegh has lived in Murfreesboro since 1979 and has seen the whole region grow as his family has.
“It’s too difficult to go find another job now,” he joked, “and this one has good benefits.”
Helping people help people
Chadd Gessner, Enovate’s Director of Operations, has only been with the company for four months, but said he’s impressed by the company’s employees.
“These are wonderful people, hardworking people,” he said. “I also like the products, knowing that we’re designing and building products to help people. We have a piece of that. It means a lot.”
