Vickrey on Isikel Katy expansion: 'This expansion enhances our ability to manufacture and distribute much-needed supplies domestically'

Tomball-based medical supplies manufacturer and distributor Isikel has leased a new 196,000-square-foot facility in Katy, according to a company-issued press release.

Isikel managing partner and co-founder Valerie Vickrey said in the release that the company's expansion was prompted by supply chain woes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge disruptor in the health care supply chain, and hospitals and other providers struggled to secure the necessary supplies needed to keep patients and health care workers safe,” Vickrey said. “Meeting the medical needs of Texans and providing much-needed supply-chain resiliency is our top priority, and this expansion enhances our ability to manufacture and distribute much-needed supplies domestically.”

Isikel said that it'll manufacture nitrile gloves and saline solutions at the west Harris County facility.

Additionally, the release said, the company obtained financing from Cadence Bank advance nitrile glove production.

“Isikel is an emerging leader in the health care-supply space, and the company’s ability to innovate while providing excellent client service sets them apart,” Cadence Bank assistant vice president Colton Poindexter said in the release. “We believe in Isikel and are proud to play a role in helping this woman-owned, Historically Underutilized Business (HUB)-certified business continue to grow and deliver.”

This fall is when the company is expected to begin nitrile glove production, the release said.

According to Isikel, the facility at 28350 West Ten Blvd. will have the capacity to produce nearly 440 million nitrile gloves annually once it's fully operational.

Afterward, the company will begin producing saline solutions.

“The demand for these medical supplies has nearly doubled in the last two years,” Vickrey said in the release. “We anticipate the demand will only continue to grow, and we will be ready to meet organizations’ needs to care for patients safely.”

Isikel's website shows that it has partnerships with companies such as Delta Airlines, Memorial Hermann and Sutter Health.

"We support health care systems to source product when it feels impossible," the company said on the website.

Isikel was established in 2016, according to the release.