As a 10-year-old, Marcia Coulson helped her parents sort plastic parts for their manufacturing business, Value Plastics. In 1987, that experience inspired her to purchase Eldon James, a small shop with a few molding machines. Since then, she has built the Colorado-based business into an ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certified, world-class manufacturer of 6,000-plus proprietary and customized tubing and fluid-handling solutions designed for pharmaceutical, medical device, life sciences, bioprocess, biomedical, and other critical-use applications. Along the way, in 2001, she became the sole owner. In March 2024, Marcia spearheaded Eldon James’ sixth expansion with a new 106,000-square-foot facility that adds manufacturing and clean room availability. From the start, family has played an important role in the business. For years Marcia’s three children, now grown, held summer jobs and contributed to special projects. And her husband, William, joined the business nearly 20 years ago where he continues to serve as Eldon James’ vice president.
What initially attracted you to the medtech industry? How has your perspective on the industry evolved over the course of your career?
In growing and diversifying the business, I noticed that the systems used by pharmaceutical companies to produce vaccines, antibiotics, medical tests, intravenous fluids, and other medical liquids were highly sophisticated. But traditional tubing connections for these systems remained relatively simple. So, there was a clear opportunity to support this underserved aspect of the industry with innovative new tubing connection products.
Working with medical and pharmaceutical companies has only deepened my belief that they deserve a world-class product that won’t compromise health and safety standards for the patient, environment or our communities.
As a seasoned professional in the industry, how do you envision the future of medtech? What emerging technologies or trends do you believe will have the most significant impact?
I believe the medtech industry will evolve to become a leader in environmental responsibility. Today, medtech remains one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions, but new product designs and manufacturing processes are beginning to bring those emission rates down. Our own efforts have been focused around helping pharmaceutical companies move away from single-use tubing connections to a new generation of reusable products that cut both costs and the amount of waste going into landfills.
We’re also beginning to see a move away from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics, which industry research and common sense tell us are dangerous to both the environment and the people who come into contact with them. Many non-PVC alternatives perform as well as or better than PVC without the negative environmental impacts. Nylon, natural polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) resin, and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are just a few examples.
From your experience, what are some of the key challenges that medtech engineers are likely to face in the coming years? How can professionals in the industry prepare for and navigate these challenges effectively?
We are seeing a cultural shift as the medtech industry matures. In the past, there was more of a mindset that cost was no obstacle, whether introducing new products or expanding production to meet demand. That’s changing in the wake of greater global competition and economic pressures. There’s more business pressure to introduce efficiencies into the manufacturing equipment and processes used to produce medical devices and pharmaceuticals—without compromising quality and safety. And, at the same time, there is the move toward greater environmental stewardship.
The medtech professionals who thrive in this new business reality will be those who consider all of these factors; commit themselves to continuous education on new processes, design practices and materials; and take time to listen to the real-world experiences of customers, employees and patients.
Considering the increasing importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, how do you think medtech engineers can effectively collaborate with professionals from other fields, such as medicine and computer science, to drive innovation in the industry?
Interdisciplinary collaboration should start first within your own organization. There is so much that each of us can learn. I encourage employees to cross-train wherever possible and ask questions. Real innovation comes not just from collaborating with other technical professionals in medicine and science. It also comes from hearing what customers want and need, what they like and dislike, and how their lives would improve if something we take for granted could be done differently. Customers have been some of our greatest sources of inspiration for creating new product lines that completely reimagine how medical and pharmaceutical systems connect.
How do you think diversity and inclusion can contribute to the advancement of medtech engineering? How do you foster a culture of innovation within your team or organization?
When I started Eldon James more than three decades ago, there were very few women in the industry. I’m sure a lot of people thought we would never make it. But our customers believed in us, and we worked to never let them down.
The passion we bring to helping our customers succeed is the same passion we bring to supporting our employees’ success. We empower them with state-of-the-art equipment, software like our SolidWorks 3D computer-aided design (CAD) and DELMIAWorks manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP), and processes to design and build next-generation products. Throughout the organization, we’re committed to continuously learning and improving strategies to enable global competitiveness. Importantly, our employees are motivated by the opportunity to positively impact the world around them, and they contribute to our efforts in supporting community improvement, education, and environmental stewardship.
