April 7, 2024 • 22 mins
Specializing in injection molding, engineering, prototyping, and in-house tooling, Artemis Plastics is Ocala's one-stop shop for contract manufacturing. It's also been recognized as a company to watch by GrowFL. Join us as CEO, Gary Mishkin highlights his company's innovations and how they ensure a quality product for their customers.
Featured Nonprofit: Marion County Public Schools
Gary Mishkin
CEO, Artemis Plastics
Gary Mishkin has a BA in Economics from Brandeis University, an MS in Medical Engineering from George Washington University, and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
Mr. Mishkin spent seven years performing Clinical Research focused on kidney dialysis in the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension at George Washington University. Mr. Mishkin conducted clinical trials on medical devices and pharmaceutical drugs and performed original research to improve the understanding and delivery of dialysis care.
Mr. Mishkin also worked for Alcavis International, Inc., an infection control company located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, He started his career in the industry as VP of Research and Development and, over time, moved on to become Chief Operations Officer as the company grew, merged, and was acquired by a large international pharmaceutical company.
Mr. Mishkin is currently CEO of Apollo Renal Therapeutics, LLC DBA Artemis Plastics, an injection molding contract manufacturing company located in Ocala, Florida. Under Mr. Mishkin’s management, Artemis Plastics has quadrupled in revenues and now has two manufacturing facilities offering more than 62,000 sq ft of manufacturing space. Artemis Plastics allows him to focus on his passion for medical device development and his love of manufacturing and business.
Mr. Mishkin has also published his research in peer-reviewed journals and has more than a dozen US and International Patents for products he has developed.
The Catalyst is hosted by the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership, sponsored by Douglas Law Firm and recorded live at Wiley Productions podcast studios, located in Ocala, Florida. New episodes, guests, and perspectives of leadership premiere twice a month. Follow us on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy podcasts.
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Natalie McComb (00:06):
The Catalyst, a CEP podcast on bold leadership
in the Ocala Metro, hosted bythe Ocala Metro Chamber and
economic partnership, sponsoredby Douglas law firm and recorded
live at Wiley Productionspodcast studios located in
Ocala, Florida. Welcome to TheCatalyst. I'm your host Natalie
(00:31):
McComb, Vice President for theOcala Metro Chamber and Economic
Partnership Foundation. And I'mjoined today by Gary Mishkin,
CEO of Artemis Plastics. Greatto have you on the show, Gary.
@Gary Mishkin (00:42):
Great to be here.
Thanks so much for inviting me.
Natalie McComb (00:44):
So Artemis plastics first entered the local
manufacturing market in 2014. Sonearly a decade ago, but many in
Ocala may not have heard of yourcompany. So what does Artemis
Plastics do?
@Gary Mishkin (00:55):
Artemis Plastics is a medical device and
industrial products contractmanufacturer. We specialize in
injection molding, however, wehave a lot of additional
value-added capabilities, suchas pad printing, UV LED
printing, ultrasonic welding,full product assembly, and we
can even manage the packaginglabeling and sterilization of
(01:15):
medical devices.
Natalie McComb (01:17):
Wow. So you have an extensive resume in research
and development and with amaster's degree in medical
engineering from GeorgeWashington University, and an
MBA from the University ofVirginia with numerous
publications and patents. Sowhat inspired you to choose this
field of work?
@Gary Mishkin (01:33):
I've always had an interest in the sciences and
medicine as well as anentrepreneurial spirit and an
interest in business. Incollege, I was an economics
major. But I also completed thepre-medical curriculum, which
gave me both a business and ascience background. With this
combination, I interviewed witha number of financial
institutions, mostly companiesthat dealt with medical device
(01:54):
and pharmaceutical drugs. And onone of my interviews, I actually
got along with everybody reallywell, except for the person I
was supposed to work for. Wekind of clashed a little bit.
Natalie McComb (02:05):
Oh, that's a problem.
@Gary Mishkin (02:07):
It was interesting. However, she
pointed out that I didn't wantto be on the finance side, I
want to be on the business side.
And I kind of sat back like, youknow what, you're absolutely
right. What do you suggest? Shesaid, look, you're living in
Chicago, at the time, contactAbbott, contact Baxter. So I
did. They basically said go backand get an advanced degree in
some type of science discipline.
(02:27):
So from that I went and got amaster's in Biomedical
Engineering from GeorgeWashington University. After I
got my degree, I continued towork in the renal division at GW
for another seven years doingclinical trials. We did lots of
different studies on medicaldevices, and pharmaceuticals. We
did bench research, and a lot ofwhat I call translational
(02:49):
studies, basically taking benchresearch and finding ways to
apply it medically. And that'sreally what drives me and
motivates me. And that's kind ofhow I made my transition.
Natalie McComb (03:00):
And, so for those layman's who may be
listening, what what do you meanby bench research? What is that?
@Gary Mishkin (03:05):
So bench research is in the lab. So basically, we
would do a lot of simulatedstudies of different types of
dialysis therapies, flowsthrough catheters, needles,
dialyzers, etc, we'd be doingclearance, sightings, things
like that.
Natalie McComb (03:20):
Okay, So even though you have this interest in
medicine, do you ever have thedesire to be a doctor? Or do you
prefer to be in the lab?
@Gary Mishkin (03:27):
You know, look, I mean, being a doctor was always
interesting to me. However, Ireally enjoy changing things up
every day. Yeah, so I like theidea of new projects every day,
as opposed to seeing patients ona daily basis,
Natalie McComb (03:43):
Which I'm sure in starting Artemis Plastics,
and obviously having thatbusiness background, it was
still, you know, thatopportunity to kind of get out
of the lab and look at, youknow, what kind of a culture you
wanted to build at thisorganization that you were
creating. How would you describethe culture at Artemis Plastics?
@Gary Mishkin (03:59):
Culture is very important to us. So we lead by
example. We want everybody to,you know, work hard and do a
good job. Do the right thing,even when no one is looking.
That's really what we're lookingfor.
Natalie McComb (04:17):
I'm sure you try to exemplify as a leader as
well. And, you know, with theresearch that you're doing
there, and, you know, we'll talka little bit about the plants
that you have here in Ocala. I'msure it's one of those things
that you can have some reallyexciting days where you make
some new discoveries, and thenyou can have some frustrating
days where you try something andit just doesn't work. So you
can't be afraid to fail.
@Gary Mishkin (04:38):
For sure. For sure. Actually, failure is a
great way to learn. And anyway,as far as going back to the
culture, you know, aninteresting story. I remember
very early on after we boughtthe plant. Something went out
the customer caught it and, youknow, sent us basically a
complaint saying, hey, this partis not to spec. So we pulled the
(04:59):
team together. We determinedokay, what is the root cause?
How do we prevent it fromhappening? And let's go ahead
and institute the processes andprocedures so that it doesn't
happen again.
Natalie McComb (05:11):
I understand Artemis Plastics has two plants
located here in Ocala with acombined 62,000 square feet of
space. And one of the featuresis an in-house tooling room. So
can you explain what what thatmeans? And what are the benefits
to your client to have that?
@Gary Mishkin (05:27):
Sure, absolutely.
So injection molding requirestooling also called the mold.
The injection molding machine,also called the press will clamp
shut in order to keep the moldsclosed, so that you can inject
the plastic at high pressures.
And that's how you make theparts. And Artemis we have
presses as small as 17 tons andas large as 1200 tons. When we
(05:51):
refer to this tonnage rating isbasically the pressure at which
the machine exerts the force tokeep the mold closed as we're
injecting the plastic 1200 timesis a massive amount of pressure.
And with such high pressures, ifsomething is just slightly out
of alignment, the mold of thecomponents of the mold could
potentially be damaged. Since wehave a full in-house machine
(06:13):
shop, also call our toolingdepartment, we have the
capability to take that damage,mold out of the press, fix the
damage and return them all backto production many times within
a couple hours. So this allowsus to keep the parts in
production, which of course ourcustomers are pleased with. And
then of course, I'm pleased withit because our machines are
(06:34):
running. And that's how we makeour money. So we can handle
approximately 98% of any toolmaintenance in house, the other
2% that we may not be able tofix in house, we have local
contractors that we work with.
Natalie McComb (06:48):
I'm sure that saves you not only time for your
customer, but it saves moneybecause if they're working with
a third party producer, youknow, they may not get that
response time and the line maybe down for longer and dealing
with the back and forth.
@Gary Mishkin (07:01):
Correct. Exactly right. We've had some customers
who have worked with otherinjection molders. And they
haven't had the tool shop andanytime it goes down, they got
to send the tool out to anothershop. So it's not down for a
couple hours like we can turn itbut it's down for three or four
days. Of course, if you delayproduct, you're going to delay
sales.
Natalie McComb (07:20):
Yeah. And I understand that the facility
also has three class eight cleanrooms. So what is a clean room?
And what does that use for?
@Gary Mishkin (07:30):
So a clean room are, I'd call them separated
room, they're kind of isolatedrooms that are usually a
positive pressure. Becauseincoming air is pumped into the
room through a High EfficiencyParticulate Air Filter, also
called a HEPA filter. Since theair coming into the room passes
through the HEPA filter, it hasa very low particulate count,
which is basically justparticles in the air in ISO
(07:53):
eight cleanroom. Also somepeople call it a class 100,000
has less than 100,000 particlesof size point three micrometers
per cubic meter in the air. Sobasically, we measure the air we
have a machine that pulls in thevolume measures the amount of
particles in the air, obviously,the lower the amount of
particles, the cleaner the air.
And it's very important whenyou're dealing with things like
(08:14):
medical devices, sensitiveelectronics, etc, that you don't
have these extra particulates inthe air. So there are other
requirements of a cleanroom,such as how often the air volume
is filtered. And then we also domicrobial counts. So we'll swab
the floors, the walls, thesurfaces, etc to make sure that
the microbial count is very,very low. So all these together
(08:35):
basically define a cleanroom.
Artemis has over 3200 squarefeet of HEPA filtered rooms that
meet this requirement.
Natalie McComb (08:46):
Wow. And what are some examples of of a
medical device that Artemisplastics helps manufacture where
this level of infection controlis really that important?
@Gary Mishkin (08:56):
So some of the products that we make in our
cleanroom are devices that areused in surgical procedures such
as a device we use for kneerepair for meniscus repair.
Another product we make is for alocal company here in Florida
that has a really unique syringefor the delivery of Botox.
(09:18):
Another device we have is anasal trumpet. It's a medical
device that's used for trauma,trauma or any type of facial
trauma in order to keep theairways open.
Natalie McComb (09:29):
Wow. So it really runs the gamut between
cosmetic procedures to kneereplacements.
@Gary Mishkin (09:33):
Exactly right.
Natalie McComb (09:35):
And I know that in 2019 Artemis Plastics was
recognized by Grow Florida as acompany to watch and they
recognized 50 businesses andyour business was one of them.
So what has been your strategyfor balancing that growth that
you've seen with the need tomaintain the quality of your
products?
@Gary Mishkin (09:54):
At Artemis Plastics, we stress that quality
is everyone's responsibility. Weinstill this principle to the
operators that are in front ofthe presses, the quality
inspectors that are reviewingthe parts. And basically
everyone that is directly orindirectly associated with the
production of parts. We empowerour teammates to speak up if
they see something that causesthe parts to be out of spec, so
(10:15):
that we can fix that problemquickly and efficiently.
Natalie McComb (10:17):
That's wonderful. And I know that part
of the growth that you have seenat Artemis Plastics, is I'm sure
bringing on new clients. How doyou go about doing that in such
a specialized area? Are theredifferent conferences that you
attend? What does that outreachlook like for your business?
@Gary Mishkin (10:34):
It's been interesting. So far, we've all
been growing by word of mouth,and existing customers. However,
we recently hired our firstbusiness development manager,
who joined our team inSeptember. So Amanda has been
with us now for about four orfive months. And we're already
starting to see success in herreaching out to the customers,
(10:56):
we have some new areas with thenew plants, of course, we want
to get new medical deviceassembly and production, and
she's found a couple ofcustomers for us already.
Natalie McComb (11:05):
That's wonderful. But I mean, how great
that you saw that level ofgrowth, just from word of mouth,
it must mean that you're keepingyour customers very happy, and
that they're happy with theproduct that they're able to
recommend it to other businessesthat they work with. So I think
that's a testament to theproducts that you produce.
@Gary Mishkin (11:20):
Well, thank you very much. Yeah, we'd like to
keep the quality tops. And asthey always say, it's much
easier to get additionalbusiness from an existing
customer than to go find the newone. So we got to keep our
existing customers happy 100% ofthe time.
Natalie McComb (11:32):
And any particular projects or products
that you're most excited aboutthat you're working on
currently?
@Gary Mishkin (11:39):
We have several projects that are still in the
pipeline, they still could be ayear to two years away. For
example, we're working on acatheter for benign prostatic
hyperplasia, which is reallyinteresting, I think will really
have a significant impact on thequality of people's lives.
Natalie McComb (11:56):
And what is that, Gary? I need the layman's
terms.
@Gary Mishkin (12:01):
So, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is
basically just large prostateissues that are non cancerous.
Okay, so we're working with agroup called Blue Halo in the
Orlando area. And they'vedeveloped this really unique
catheter, and they came to us,in order to mass produce it,
they're in the middle of theirclinical trials. And it's really
(12:24):
an exciting project. It was oneof those, when you look at it,
you're like, wow, that's reallygoing to make a difference.
Yeah, so that was very exciting.
Every week, we're introduced tosomething new. I mean, we have
several new non-medical devicesthat are also exciting, working
with the group to hopefully helpclean the environment of what
they call forever toxins. And wehave others that just help
(12:44):
individuals, you know, improvetheir proficiency at their given
sport.
Natalie McComb (12:52):
Interesting, and what's next for Artemis
Plastics? Do you have plans forexpansion? I know, with the
addition of your businessdevelopment manager, you're
hoping to to have some newpartnerships coming down the
pike. But what's coming up next?
@Gary Mishkin (13:05):
We have our second facility up and running,
we're really looking to expandour device assembly and final
packaging, we already have threeprojects that we're going to be
moving into the second facility,and we have a lot of additional
room for expansion of packaging,and cleanroom, assembly, etc.
Natalie McComb (13:23):
So, really, in bringing on that second
facility, you're really kind ofpreparing for that growth that
you're hoping to see with withsome of your work and business
development as well.
@Gary Mishkin (13:34):
Absolutely, we actually did a lot of
investment, a lot of it, youknow, with investment from Ocala
Natalie McComb (13:38):
Impressive in Florida!
and CEP in order to have theinfrastructure available for us
@Gary Mishkin (13:40):
Very impressive.
Exactly. And there are a lot ofto meet our customer's needs, we
have what we call a drydevices, medical devices, and
even electronic devices that arecleanroom so that it's a
humidity controlled room or weput in industrial dehumidifiers,
we can get the humidity in thathumidity sensitive. So we're one
of probably very few facilitiesroom down to 4%.
(14:12):
even in the country that have aroom like this setup. The goal
for us, of course, is to expandour lateral flow, like the COVID
tests, the antigen tests are alllateral flow. So our goal is to
continue to make lateral flowtests and we have a number of
projects in the works. I give alot of credit to my colleagues,
management team, coworkers atArtemis Plastics, I mean,
(14:33):
they've really, in these pastalmost 10 years already hard to
believe, have really stepped upand we've been able to grow the
business. We're four timeslarger than we were when we
first acquired the assets. Andour system is very robust, and
it's just exciting to reallybring it to the next level now,
especially with the new facilityand our capabilities of
(14:55):
expanding.
Natalie McComb (14:56):
So, at the CEP we talk about how strong the
healthcare sector is here inOcala. But we've been starting
to talk about life sciences moreand that growing industry. I
mean, what are you seeing inOcala? Because I feel like
you're no longer the only gamein town. So what are some of the
(15:17):
trends that you're seeing herethat's kind of a growing
industry for us?
@Gary Mishkin (15:21):
So, obviously, with the population in Ocala, a
lot of it is really healthcaredriven. So a lot of hospitals.
However, I've met with a numberof the CEOs of the hospitals,
and they're very interested inreally kind of moving into R&D,
you know, developing newprojects, new protocols, etc. So
I'm hoping they'll look atArtemis Plastics as a resource.
(15:42):
If they want to develop a newdevice, or if they have a
prototype, and they want us togo ahead and assemble it in our
clean rooms, and, you know, helpthem with the sterilization,
we're here for them. So I thinkwe're gonna start to see a lot
of that there are a lot of othereven smaller clinics that are
beginning to develop their ownprojects. And we're really
(16:03):
positioned well to assist them.
Natalie McComb (16:06):
How exciting how exciting, I'd love to see that
additional growth as especiallyas it relates to, you know,
maybe developing something newthat can you know, Ocala can be
the first to do it.
@Gary Mishkin (16:16):
Love to see it, love to see it.
Natalie McComb (16:18):
So we provide our guests with the opportunity
to highlight a nonprofit thatthey're involved with, they're
passionate about, who would youlike to highlight today, Gary,
and why?
@Gary Mishkin (16:26):
So, it's a little bit interesting. I'm always
looking to support the localschools at every level. So I'm
going to use that as my focusgroup, if you will. So, for
example, I've been invitedagain, to be a judge at the
STEAM showcase at Dr. NH Joneselementary school. I did it last
year was a lot of fun. And I'mgoing to do it again this year.
(16:47):
We've participated in the MRMA,Marion Regional Manufacturing
Association Youth Career Expowith the middle schools, we've
toured the RAD Academy ofBellevue High School, we're
learning about differentprojects that the students are
developing. Artemis also hires alot of interns. So we've hired
interns from College of CentralFlorida, that is, and also
(17:12):
several of the universities inthe state of Florida. So if
you're interested inmanufacturing, or some of the
sciences, definitely keepArtemis in mind. We do have
interns really throughout theyear, but mostly during the
summer. And the nice thing aboutfocusing on the schools is it's
not always a financial thatthey're looking for a lot of it
(17:33):
is time and time is even morevaluable than some of the
financial, you know, just givingthem a check. So that's what I
enjoy doing. I like working withthe students because you can
give them some mentoring,guidance, whatever it may be.
Natalie McComb (17:46):
And how important you know for them to
be able to see someone like youthat is a scientist, but also a
business owner and anentrepreneur and a CEO. And you
wear many hats. But again,that's where you know, science
and STEAM, the STEAM showcaseand all that, that's where it
can take you. And, you know,students may not get the
opportunity to meet you in reallife. Right? To meet someone
(18:08):
who's doing it for a career. Soif you can inspire someone else
to kind of follow in thefootsteps and maybe eventually
interning with you. I thinkthat's a that's a net gain, for
sure.
@Gary Mishkin (18:18):
Well, thank you.
We're excited for that. And I'mreally looking forward to seeing
what a lot of these students endup doing.
Natalie McComb (18:25):
And now a word from our sponsor.
@Sponsor (18:28):
Douglas Law Fi
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Natalie McComb (18:47):
So now it's time for our lightning round
questions. So we're gonna get toknow you a little bit, Gary. I
wish I had like the little soundeffects I could add, right? So
what trait do you value mostfrom members of your team?
@Gary Mishkin (19:07):
Integrity, really, its integrity. We want
them to do the right thing atthe right time. We need them to
be honest, if they make amistake, that's okay. But own
it.
Natalie McComb (19:17):
And as we've discussed before, learn from it.
@Gary Mishkin (19:19):
Right, learn from it. Exactly. we'll all learn
from it. Yeah. So integrity forsure.
Natalie McComb (19:24):
And what's your biggest pet peeve?
@Gary Mishkin (19:27):
You know, from a work standpoint, biggest pet
peeve is when people say that'snot my job. It's kind of a pet
peeve for me, we all worktogether we all wear many hats.
We all have to step into youknow areas that may not be
exactly what is defined in ourjob description. So that kind of
ends up being a red flagsometimes for me. Other than
(19:48):
that, I hate wet napkins orpaper towels in the sink. But I
don't think that's quite asrelevant to this conversation.
Natalie McComb (19:54):
No, but hey, it's still a pet peeve.
@Gary Mishkin (19:56):
It sure is.
Natalie McComb (19:57):
So I know for me at home it was that I would
leave the towel hanging inplaces like the wet dish towel
hanging in places that myhusband didn't like. And
finally, he jokes that it savedour marriage. But we got a towel
rack, just that act of mehanging up the towel and the
towel rack. One less thing toargue about. So it's the towel
(20:18):
rack can save a marriage,sometimes when it becomes that
pet peeve, right?
@Gary Mishkin (20:21):
I do my best to pick up my socks.
Natalie McComb (20:25):
So what advice would you give yourself at age
15?
@Gary Mishkin (20:31):
I would say to myself, yeah, at age 15. I'm
like, don't be afraid to ask forhelp. And I think that comes at
any age. And, you know, I thinkcertainly at 15, you know
everything. I don't know if youhave children I have at home?
Natalie McComb (20:46):
Yeah. Well younger than that. But they
still know everything.
@Gary Mishkin (20:49):
Yeah, I'm gonna paraphrase, I believe, as Mark
Twain who basically said, andI'm paraphrasing, when I was 18,
I was surprised how little myparents knew. And when I turned
21, I was surprised how muchthey had learned. So at age 15,
you just know a lot of timesyou're not, you don't think to
ask for help or guidance. Andit's not a weakness. It's a
(21:11):
strength in my opinion. So youknow, go back, ask for help,
because you save yourself a lotof headache.
Natalie McComb (21:18):
describe yourself in one word?
@Gary Mishkin (21:28):
For me, the way I would describe myself, I'll use
tenacious. I'm always lookingfor something to do always
moving to the next level, alwayssaying, Yeah, we can do that.
Let's do it. Let's figure outhow to do it. So definitely
tenacious.
Natalie McComb (21:43):
Well, thank you again. Today. We were here with
Gary Michigan, CEO of ArtemisPlastics. Thank you so much for
being on the show, Gary,
@Gary Mishkin (21:50):
Thank you very much. Appreciate your time and
glad to do it. Thanks so much.
Natalie McComb (21:58):
Thank you for joining us for another episode
of the catalyst hosted by theOcala Metro Chamber and economic
partnership. Sponsored byDouglas law firm and recorded
live at Wiley productionspodcast studios. New episodes,
guests and perspectives onleadership premiere twice a
month. Follow us on Apple,Amazon, Spotify or wherever you
(22:21):
enjoy your podcasts. Have asuggestion for a future guest
email us atthecatalyst@ocalacep.com
The Catalyst, a CEP podcast on bold leadership
in the Ocala Metro, hosted bythe Ocala Metro Chamber and
economic partnership, sponsoredby Douglas law firm and recorded
live at Wiley Productionspodcast studios located in
Ocala, Florida. Welcome to TheCatalyst. I'm your host Natalie
(00:31):
McComb, Vice President for theOcala Metro Chamber and Economic
Partnership Foundation. And I'mjoined today by Gary Mishkin,
CEO of Artemis Plastics. Greatto have you on the show, Gary.
@Gary Mishkin (00:42):
Great to be here.
Thanks so much for inviting me.
Natalie McComb (00:44):
So Artemis plastics first entered the local
manufacturing market in 2014. Sonearly a decade ago, but many in
Ocala may not have heard of yourcompany. So what does Artemis
Plastics do?
@Gary Mishkin (00:55):
Artemis Plastics is a medical device and
industrial products contractmanufacturer. We specialize in
injection molding, however, wehave a lot of additional
value-added capabilities, suchas pad printing, UV LED
printing, ultrasonic welding,full product assembly, and we
can even manage the packaginglabeling and sterilization of
(01:15):
medical devices.
Natalie McComb (01:17):
Wow. So you have an extensive resume in research
and development and with amaster's degree in medical
engineering from GeorgeWashington University, and an
MBA from the University ofVirginia with numerous
publications and patents. Sowhat inspired you to choose this
field of work?
@Gary Mishkin (01:33):
I've always had an interest in the sciences and
medicine as well as anentrepreneurial spirit and an
interest in business. Incollege, I was an economics
major. But I also completed thepre-medical curriculum, which
gave me both a business and ascience background. With this
combination, I interviewed witha number of financial
institutions, mostly companiesthat dealt with medical device
(01:54):
and pharmaceutical drugs. And onone of my interviews, I actually
got along with everybody reallywell, except for the person I
was supposed to work for. Wekind of clashed a little bit.
Natalie McComb (02:05):
Oh, that's a problem.
@Gary Mishkin (02:07):
It was interesting. However, she
pointed out that I didn't wantto be on the finance side, I
want to be on the business side.
And I kind of sat back like, youknow what, you're absolutely
right. What do you suggest? Shesaid, look, you're living in
Chicago, at the time, contactAbbott, contact Baxter. So I
did. They basically said go backand get an advanced degree in
some type of science discipline.
(02:27):
So from that I went and got amaster's in Biomedical
Engineering from GeorgeWashington University. After I
got my degree, I continued towork in the renal division at GW
for another seven years doingclinical trials. We did lots of
different studies on medicaldevices, and pharmaceuticals. We
did bench research, and a lot ofwhat I call translational
(02:49):
studies, basically taking benchresearch and finding ways to
apply it medically. And that'sreally what drives me and
motivates me. And that's kind ofhow I made my transition.
Natalie McComb (03:00):
And, so for those layman's who may be
listening, what what do you meanby bench research? What is that?
@Gary Mishkin (03:05):
So bench research is in the lab. So basically, we
would do a lot of simulatedstudies of different types of
dialysis therapies, flowsthrough catheters, needles,
dialyzers, etc, we'd be doingclearance, sightings, things
like that.
Natalie McComb (03:20):
Okay, So even though you have this interest in
medicine, do you ever have thedesire to be a doctor? Or do you
prefer to be in the lab?
@Gary Mishkin (03:27):
You know, look, I mean, being a doctor was always
interesting to me. However, Ireally enjoy changing things up
every day. Yeah, so I like theidea of new projects every day,
as opposed to seeing patients ona daily basis,
Natalie McComb (03:43):
Which I'm sure in starting Artemis Plastics,
and obviously having thatbusiness background, it was
still, you know, thatopportunity to kind of get out
of the lab and look at, youknow, what kind of a culture you
wanted to build at thisorganization that you were
creating. How would you describethe culture at Artemis Plastics?
@Gary Mishkin (03:59):
Culture is very important to us. So we lead by
example. We want everybody to,you know, work hard and do a
good job. Do the right thing,even when no one is looking.
That's really what we're lookingfor.
Natalie McComb (04:17):
I'm sure you try to exemplify as a leader as
well. And, you know, with theresearch that you're doing
there, and, you know, we'll talka little bit about the plants
that you have here in Ocala. I'msure it's one of those things
that you can have some reallyexciting days where you make
some new discoveries, and thenyou can have some frustrating
days where you try something andit just doesn't work. So you
can't be afraid to fail.
@Gary Mishkin (04:38):
For sure. For sure. Actually, failure is a
great way to learn. And anyway,as far as going back to the
culture, you know, aninteresting story. I remember
very early on after we boughtthe plant. Something went out
the customer caught it and, youknow, sent us basically a
complaint saying, hey, this partis not to spec. So we pulled the
(04:59):
team together. We determinedokay, what is the root cause?
How do we prevent it fromhappening? And let's go ahead
and institute the processes andprocedures so that it doesn't
happen again.
Natalie McComb (05:11):
I understand Artemis Plastics has two plants
located here in Ocala with acombined 62,000 square feet of
space. And one of the featuresis an in-house tooling room. So
can you explain what what thatmeans? And what are the benefits
to your client to have that?
@Gary Mishkin (05:27):
Sure, absolutely.
So injection molding requirestooling also called the mold.
The injection molding machine,also called the press will clamp
shut in order to keep the moldsclosed, so that you can inject
the plastic at high pressures.
And that's how you make theparts. And Artemis we have
presses as small as 17 tons andas large as 1200 tons. When we
(05:51):
refer to this tonnage rating isbasically the pressure at which
the machine exerts the force tokeep the mold closed as we're
injecting the plastic 1200 timesis a massive amount of pressure.
And with such high pressures, ifsomething is just slightly out
of alignment, the mold of thecomponents of the mold could
potentially be damaged. Since wehave a full in-house machine
(06:13):
shop, also call our toolingdepartment, we have the
capability to take that damage,mold out of the press, fix the
damage and return them all backto production many times within
a couple hours. So this allowsus to keep the parts in
production, which of course ourcustomers are pleased with. And
then of course, I'm pleased withit because our machines are
(06:34):
running. And that's how we makeour money. So we can handle
approximately 98% of any toolmaintenance in house, the other
2% that we may not be able tofix in house, we have local
contractors that we work with.
Natalie McComb (06:48):
I'm sure that saves you not only time for your
customer, but it saves moneybecause if they're working with
a third party producer, youknow, they may not get that
response time and the line maybe down for longer and dealing
with the back and forth.
@Gary Mishkin (07:01):
Correct. Exactly right. We've had some customers
who have worked with otherinjection molders. And they
haven't had the tool shop andanytime it goes down, they got
to send the tool out to anothershop. So it's not down for a
couple hours like we can turn itbut it's down for three or four
days. Of course, if you delayproduct, you're going to delay
sales.
Natalie McComb (07:20):
Yeah. And I understand that the facility
also has three class eight cleanrooms. So what is a clean room?
And what does that use for?
@Gary Mishkin (07:30):
So a clean room are, I'd call them separated
room, they're kind of isolatedrooms that are usually a
positive pressure. Becauseincoming air is pumped into the
room through a High EfficiencyParticulate Air Filter, also
called a HEPA filter. Since theair coming into the room passes
through the HEPA filter, it hasa very low particulate count,
which is basically justparticles in the air in ISO
(07:53):
eight cleanroom. Also somepeople call it a class 100,000
has less than 100,000 particlesof size point three micrometers
per cubic meter in the air. Sobasically, we measure the air we
have a machine that pulls in thevolume measures the amount of
particles in the air, obviously,the lower the amount of
particles, the cleaner the air.
And it's very important whenyou're dealing with things like
(08:14):
medical devices, sensitiveelectronics, etc, that you don't
have these extra particulates inthe air. So there are other
requirements of a cleanroom,such as how often the air volume
is filtered. And then we also domicrobial counts. So we'll swab
the floors, the walls, thesurfaces, etc to make sure that
the microbial count is very,very low. So all these together
(08:35):
basically define a cleanroom.
Artemis has over 3200 squarefeet of HEPA filtered rooms that
meet this requirement.
Natalie McComb (08:46):
Wow. And what are some examples of of a
medical device that Artemisplastics helps manufacture where
this level of infection controlis really that important?
@Gary Mishkin (08:56):
So some of the products that we make in our
cleanroom are devices that areused in surgical procedures such
as a device we use for kneerepair for meniscus repair.
Another product we make is for alocal company here in Florida
that has a really unique syringefor the delivery of Botox.
(09:18):
Another device we have is anasal trumpet. It's a medical
device that's used for trauma,trauma or any type of facial
trauma in order to keep theairways open.
Natalie McComb (09:29):
Wow. So it really runs the gamut between
cosmetic procedures to kneereplacements.
@Gary Mishkin (09:33):
Exactly right.
Natalie McComb (09:35):
And I know that in 2019 Artemis Plastics was
recognized by Grow Florida as acompany to watch and they
recognized 50 businesses andyour business was one of them.
So what has been your strategyfor balancing that growth that
you've seen with the need tomaintain the quality of your
products?
@Gary Mishkin (09:54):
At Artemis Plastics, we stress that quality
is everyone's responsibility. Weinstill this principle to the
operators that are in front ofthe presses, the quality
inspectors that are reviewingthe parts. And basically
everyone that is directly orindirectly associated with the
production of parts. We empowerour teammates to speak up if
they see something that causesthe parts to be out of spec, so
(10:15):
that we can fix that problemquickly and efficiently.
Natalie McComb (10:17):
That's wonderful. And I know that part
of the growth that you have seenat Artemis Plastics, is I'm sure
bringing on new clients. How doyou go about doing that in such
a specialized area? Are theredifferent conferences that you
attend? What does that outreachlook like for your business?
@Gary Mishkin (10:34):
It's been interesting. So far, we've all
been growing by word of mouth,and existing customers. However,
we recently hired our firstbusiness development manager,
who joined our team inSeptember. So Amanda has been
with us now for about four orfive months. And we're already
starting to see success in herreaching out to the customers,
(10:56):
we have some new areas with thenew plants, of course, we want
to get new medical deviceassembly and production, and
she's found a couple ofcustomers for us already.
Natalie McComb (11:05):
That's wonderful. But I mean, how great
that you saw that level ofgrowth, just from word of mouth,
it must mean that you're keepingyour customers very happy, and
that they're happy with theproduct that they're able to
recommend it to other businessesthat they work with. So I think
that's a testament to theproducts that you produce.
@Gary Mishkin (11:20):
Well, thank you very much. Yeah, we'd like to
keep the quality tops. And asthey always say, it's much
easier to get additionalbusiness from an existing
customer than to go find the newone. So we got to keep our
existing customers happy 100% ofthe time.
Natalie McComb (11:32):
And any particular projects or products
that you're most excited aboutthat you're working on
currently?
@Gary Mishkin (11:39):
We have several projects that are still in the
pipeline, they still could be ayear to two years away. For
example, we're working on acatheter for benign prostatic
hyperplasia, which is reallyinteresting, I think will really
have a significant impact on thequality of people's lives.
Natalie McComb (11:56):
And what is that, Gary? I need the layman's
terms.
@Gary Mishkin (12:01):
So, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is
basically just large prostateissues that are non cancerous.
Okay, so we're working with agroup called Blue Halo in the
Orlando area. And they'vedeveloped this really unique
catheter, and they came to us,in order to mass produce it,
they're in the middle of theirclinical trials. And it's really
(12:24):
an exciting project. It was oneof those, when you look at it,
you're like, wow, that's reallygoing to make a difference.
Yeah, so that was very exciting.
Every week, we're introduced tosomething new. I mean, we have
several new non-medical devicesthat are also exciting, working
with the group to hopefully helpclean the environment of what
they call forever toxins. And wehave others that just help
(12:44):
individuals, you know, improvetheir proficiency at their given
sport.
Natalie McComb (12:52):
Interesting, and what's next for Artemis
Plastics? Do you have plans forexpansion? I know, with the
addition of your businessdevelopment manager, you're
hoping to to have some newpartnerships coming down the
pike. But what's coming up next?
@Gary Mishkin (13:05):
We have our second facility up and running,
we're really looking to expandour device assembly and final
packaging, we already have threeprojects that we're going to be
moving into the second facility,and we have a lot of additional
room for expansion of packaging,and cleanroom, assembly, etc.
Natalie McComb (13:23):
So, really, in bringing on that second
facility, you're really kind ofpreparing for that growth that
you're hoping to see with withsome of your work and business
development as well.
@Gary Mishkin (13:34):
Absolutely, we actually did a lot of
investment, a lot of it, youknow, with investment from Ocala
Natalie McComb (13:38):
Impressive in Florida!
and CEP in order to have theinfrastructure available for us
@Gary Mishkin (13:40):
Very impressive.
Exactly. And there are a lot ofto meet our customer's needs, we
have what we call a drydevices, medical devices, and
even electronic devices that arecleanroom so that it's a
humidity controlled room or weput in industrial dehumidifiers,
we can get the humidity in thathumidity sensitive. So we're one
of probably very few facilitiesroom down to 4%.
(14:12):
even in the country that have aroom like this setup. The goal
for us, of course, is to expandour lateral flow, like the COVID
tests, the antigen tests are alllateral flow. So our goal is to
continue to make lateral flowtests and we have a number of
projects in the works. I give alot of credit to my colleagues,
management team, coworkers atArtemis Plastics, I mean,
(14:33):
they've really, in these pastalmost 10 years already hard to
believe, have really stepped upand we've been able to grow the
business. We're four timeslarger than we were when we
first acquired the assets. Andour system is very robust, and
it's just exciting to reallybring it to the next level now,
especially with the new facilityand our capabilities of
(14:55):
expanding.
Natalie McComb (14:56):
So, at the CEP we talk about how strong the
healthcare sector is here inOcala. But we've been starting
to talk about life sciences moreand that growing industry. I
mean, what are you seeing inOcala? Because I feel like
you're no longer the only gamein town. So what are some of the
(15:17):
trends that you're seeing herethat's kind of a growing
industry for us?
@Gary Mishkin (15:21):
So, obviously, with the population in Ocala, a
lot of it is really healthcaredriven. So a lot of hospitals.
However, I've met with a numberof the CEOs of the hospitals,
and they're very interested inreally kind of moving into R&D,
you know, developing newprojects, new protocols, etc. So
I'm hoping they'll look atArtemis Plastics as a resource.
(15:42):
If they want to develop a newdevice, or if they have a
prototype, and they want us togo ahead and assemble it in our
clean rooms, and, you know, helpthem with the sterilization,
we're here for them. So I thinkwe're gonna start to see a lot
of that there are a lot of othereven smaller clinics that are
beginning to develop their ownprojects. And we're really
(16:03):
positioned well to assist them.
Natalie McComb (16:06):
How exciting how exciting, I'd love to see that
additional growth as especiallyas it relates to, you know,
maybe developing something newthat can you know, Ocala can be
the first to do it.
@Gary Mishkin (16:16):
Love to see it, love to see it.
Natalie McComb (16:18):
So we provide our guests with the opportunity
to highlight a nonprofit thatthey're involved with, they're
passionate about, who would youlike to highlight today, Gary,
and why?
@Gary Mishkin (16:26):
So, it's a little bit interesting. I'm always
looking to support the localschools at every level. So I'm
going to use that as my focusgroup, if you will. So, for
example, I've been invitedagain, to be a judge at the
STEAM showcase at Dr. NH Joneselementary school. I did it last
year was a lot of fun. And I'mgoing to do it again this year.
(16:47):
We've participated in the MRMA,Marion Regional Manufacturing
Association Youth Career Expowith the middle schools, we've
toured the RAD Academy ofBellevue High School, we're
learning about differentprojects that the students are
developing. Artemis also hires alot of interns. So we've hired
interns from College of CentralFlorida, that is, and also
(17:12):
several of the universities inthe state of Florida. So if
you're interested inmanufacturing, or some of the
sciences, definitely keepArtemis in mind. We do have
interns really throughout theyear, but mostly during the
summer. And the nice thing aboutfocusing on the schools is it's
not always a financial thatthey're looking for a lot of it
(17:33):
is time and time is even morevaluable than some of the
financial, you know, just givingthem a check. So that's what I
enjoy doing. I like working withthe students because you can
give them some mentoring,guidance, whatever it may be.
Natalie McComb (17:46):
And how important you know for them to
be able to see someone like youthat is a scientist, but also a
business owner and anentrepreneur and a CEO. And you
wear many hats. But again,that's where you know, science
and STEAM, the STEAM showcaseand all that, that's where it
can take you. And, you know,students may not get the
opportunity to meet you in reallife. Right? To meet someone
(18:08):
who's doing it for a career. Soif you can inspire someone else
to kind of follow in thefootsteps and maybe eventually
interning with you. I thinkthat's a that's a net gain, for
sure.
@Gary Mishkin (18:18):
Well, thank you.
We're excited for that. And I'mreally looking forward to seeing
what a lot of these students endup doing.
Natalie McComb (18:25):
And now a word from our sponsor.
@Sponsor (18:28):
Douglas Law Fi
Douglas law firm. We're a fullservice law firm with many
practice areas to serve yourparticular needs. The Douglas
law firm is located in downtownOcala at 110 North Magnolia
Avenue, give us a call today fora free consultation, or visit us
at DHClawyers.com.
Natalie McComb (18:47):
So now it's time for our lightning round
questions. So we're gonna get toknow you a little bit, Gary. I
wish I had like the little soundeffects I could add, right? So
what trait do you value mostfrom members of your team?
@Gary Mishkin (19:07):
Integrity, really, its integrity. We want
them to do the right thing atthe right time. We need them to
be honest, if they make amistake, that's okay. But own
it.
Natalie McComb (19:17):
And as we've discussed before, learn from it.
@Gary Mishkin (19:19):
Right, learn from it. Exactly. we'll all learn
from it. Yeah. So integrity forsure.
Natalie McComb (19:24):
And what's your biggest pet peeve?
@Gary Mishkin (19:27):
You know, from a work standpoint, biggest pet
peeve is when people say that'snot my job. It's kind of a pet
peeve for me, we all worktogether we all wear many hats.
We all have to step into youknow areas that may not be
exactly what is defined in ourjob description. So that kind of
ends up being a red flagsometimes for me. Other than
(19:48):
that, I hate wet napkins orpaper towels in the sink. But I
don't think that's quite asrelevant to this conversation.
Natalie McComb (19:54):
No, but hey, it's still a pet peeve.
@Gary Mishkin (19:56):
It sure is.
Natalie McComb (19:57):
So I know for me at home it was that I would
leave the towel hanging inplaces like the wet dish towel
hanging in places that myhusband didn't like. And
finally, he jokes that it savedour marriage. But we got a towel
rack, just that act of mehanging up the towel and the
towel rack. One less thing toargue about. So it's the towel
(20:18):
rack can save a marriage,sometimes when it becomes that
pet peeve, right?
@Gary Mishkin (20:21):
I do my best to pick up my socks.
Natalie McComb (20:25):
So what advice would you give yourself at age
15?
@Gary Mishkin (20:31):
I would say to myself, yeah, at age 15. I'm
like, don't be afraid to ask forhelp. And I think that comes at
any age. And, you know, I thinkcertainly at 15, you know
everything. I don't know if youhave children I have at home?
Natalie McComb (20:46):
Yeah. Well younger than that. But they
still know everything.
@Gary Mishkin (20:49):
Yeah, I'm gonna paraphrase, I believe, as Mark
Twain who basically said, andI'm paraphrasing, when I was 18,
I was surprised how little myparents knew. And when I turned
21, I was surprised how muchthey had learned. So at age 15,
you just know a lot of timesyou're not, you don't think to
ask for help or guidance. Andit's not a weakness. It's a
(21:11):
strength in my opinion. So youknow, go back, ask for help,
because you save yourself a lotof headache.
Natalie McComb (21:18):
describe yourself in one word?
@Gary Mishkin (21:28):
For me, the way I would describe myself, I'll use
tenacious. I'm always lookingfor something to do always
moving to the next level, alwayssaying, Yeah, we can do that.
Let's do it. Let's figure outhow to do it. So definitely
tenacious.
Natalie McComb (21:43):
Well, thank you again. Today. We were here with
Gary Michigan, CEO of ArtemisPlastics. Thank you so much for
being on the show, Gary,
@Gary Mishkin (21:50):
Thank you very much. Appreciate your time and
glad to do it. Thanks so much.
Natalie McComb (21:58):
Thank you for joining us for another episode
of the catalyst hosted by theOcala Metro Chamber and economic
partnership. Sponsored byDouglas law firm and recorded
live at Wiley productionspodcast studios. New episodes,
guests and perspectives onleadership premiere twice a
month. Follow us on Apple,Amazon, Spotify or wherever you
(22:21):
enjoy your podcasts. Have asuggestion for a future guest
email us atthecatalyst@ocalacep.com
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