Bonner County-based manufacturer Percussionaire Corp. is preparing to move its operations to new quarters this summer, a decision company CEO Mark Baillie says will allow for increased production capabilities, as the company gets ready for the release of new product lines.

Percussionaire currently is located at 1655 Glengary Bay Road, southeast of Sandpoint along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. The company plans to occupy 40,000 square feet of office, manufacturing, and distribution space in one of three main buildings located on the 12-acre former Coldwater Creek campus at 130 McGhee Road, about three miles northeast of Sandpoint.  

 “This is a long-term move for us,” says Baillie. “We’re very excited for the opportunity to grow into this new space. We plan to release several new product lines soon, and this will definitely help us in that effort.”

Founded by the late Dr. Forrest Bird in 1983, Percussionaire is a manufacturer of cardiopulmonary ventilators and related equipment. Bird, who passed away in 2015, is best known for having created some of the first reliable mass-produced mechanical ventilators for acute and chronic cardiopulmonary care.

“Our current manufacturing facility is about 20,000 square feet smaller than this new space, and many of our departments are split up within four different buildings,” says Baillie. “This new location will unify all of our departments under one roof and help us to create leaner manufacturing processes.”

Baillie says Percussionaire will lease the new space from L3M LLC, a group of local investors who purchased the former Coldwater Creek campus for a reported $2.5 million in 2015.

The campus consists of three buildings, two of which are leased, one by local dietary supplement manufacturer Thorne Research and the other by local dressing maker Litehouse Inc. 

Percussionaire will occupy space in a building there that formerly housed administrative functions as well as employee spa and exercise spaces, including basketball and racquetball courts.

Baillie says most of the new space, some 22,000 square feet, will be dedicated to the company’s manufacturing and machining departments. The remaining space will be divided among the company’s administration, sales, and marketing; servicing; quality control; and warehousing departments, as well as a small museum dedicated to Dr. Bird. 

“We’ve started the necessary improvements needed to meet our manufacturing standards as well as electrical, data, and phone systems, and we hope to have everything ready to move in by July 1st,” he says. 

Baillie says the company considered building a new facility, but decided it needed the space as soon as possible. 

“This new facility will increase production by at least 25 percent just to start,” he says. “And we’re expecting our other departments also will need to grow in order to accommodate that increase.” 

Baillie says the company currently has 60 employees, and anticipates adding about 18 more over the next two years. He says the company already has started the hiring process, having added 15 new employees recently across various departments.

This is Baillie’s fourth year with the company. Originally from South Africa, he earned a degree in marketing management from Damelin College there before immigrating to the U.S. in the late 1990s. He started his career working with various pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline plc, Schering-Plough Corp., and Lincare Holdings Inc., before coming to Percussionaire.

“I started as a customer service manager my first year, moved up to general manager the next year, and became CEO by the third year,” he says.

Baillie claims Percussionaire was mismanaged by two former top executives there, both of whom later were involved in lawsuits with the company. 

However, he says Dr. Bird’s daughter, Cathy Bird Natoni, board chairwoman, has been able in more recent years to step in and begin moving the company in a better direction.  

“She has a great support team that’s assisted her in bringing the company to a more stable place,” he says.  

Baillie says currently the company is doing well, with overall revenues approaching the $10 million mark this year.

“Last year we grew by about 20 percent, and I would expect similar growth this year,” he says. “Previously we were hand-building most of our products, but the new facility has enough space to allow us to operate simultaneous assembly lines, resulting in more efficient mass production.”

Baillie says that prior to 2014, most of the company’s accessory products such as tubing and mouthpieces were reusable. However, it has since switched to creating disposable versions of its accessory products, which has increased production volume by 70 percent. 

“The ventilator itself has always been reusable, but the accessories that make up the breathing circuit are all disposable now,” he says.

According to Baillie, rather than using conventional methods of ventilation, Percussionaire’s ventilator machines use what’s called a flow ventilation system. 

This system of ventilation rapidly pulses good air into the furthest airways of the lungs, while also gently loosening and carrying mucus and debris out, thus allowing lung tissue to rest and heal, he asserts.

“It’s a very unique technology, that you can’t find anywhere else,” he claims, adding, “The future potential uses are just tremendous.”  

He says Percussionaire currently manufactures and sells about 40,000 total combined units per year, and expects to see an increase in demand for home care products this year. 

“In anticipation of that demand, we have several new product lines being developed,” he says. “The first is a new line of accessory products set to be released about six months from now, and we’re also working on new lines of ventilators due for release in both 2018 and 2019.”

Baillie says the company’s new ventilators will feature a digital display rather than the analog displays used on the company’s current pneumatic machines.

“These will truly be state-of-the-art machines,” he says. “We’re very proud to be a part of taking this technology, and Dr. Bird’s legacy, to the next level.”

Baillie says Percussionaire also is involved with several research projects through both local and international universities, to further study how human lungs work during ventilation.  

“There are very few concentrated studies that research how the lungs work,” he asserts. “Being a part of this research helps us to gain a better understanding, and hopefully continue to improve safety and efficacy of future product design.”

Looking ahead, Baillie says the company plans to expand internationally, creating its first European office early next year. 

“We’ve been working to secure a location in France which will serve as our first European location,” he says. “This new office will focus on sales, service, education, and distribution. We expect it to open sometime within the first quarter of 2018.”