U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced that Z-Medica® of Wallingford is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer.” Connecticut resident and Apollo Space Program Engineer Frank Hursey co-founded Z-Medica in Wallingford with Bart Gullong in 2002 after discovering a new hemostatic agent to stem blood flow. Today, Z-Medica manufactures QuikClot®, a hemorrhage control product that stops bleeding faster than standard gauzes. Healthcare providers, military personnel, first-responders, schools and consumers around the world use QuikClot to control bleeding and save lives.

With the help of 48 employees in Wallingford and another 35 employees located around the U.S. and internationally, Z-Medica manufactures and distributes QuikClot products to customers – including all branches of the U.S. military, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Connecticut State Troopers – in over 70 countries around the world.

Z-Medica currently has 94 patents and another 32 patents pending. Based on tests conducted by the Naval Medical Research Center and the U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research, the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care designated QuikClot Combat Gauze® – one of Z-Medica’s hemorrhage control products designed for the military – as the recommended hemostatic dressing for use by the U.S. Department of Defense and all U.S. Military Forces.

Over the last several years, Z-Medica has formed partnerships with local school systems, including Wallingford Public Schools, to provide advanced first aid products. Z-Medica is proud to donate regularly to charity organizations such as Toys for Tots, the Wounded Warrior Project, and Doctors Without Borders. In May 2016, the Wallingford manufacturer received the President’s “E” Award at a ceremony at the White House for their substantial role in expanding U.S. exports and growing the U.S. economy.

“Z-Medica is a homegrown Connecticut business that is actually saving lives,” said Murphy. “It’s no surprise to me that the U.S. military places their trust in Z-Medica’s innovative gauzes and that the White House recognized them for their solid track record of expanding U.S. exports.”

“Z-Medica is among only 124 companies this year to receive the President’s ‘E’ Award for our work to reduce barriers to foreign markets and to open the door to more trade around the world,” said Z-Medica’s President and CEO Stephen J. Fanning. “The export award covers all the products Z-Medica produces, particularly our QuikClot gauze products. We believe we make an enormous impact on saving lives not only here in the United States, but elsewhere in the world.”

The manufacturing industry plays a crucial role throughout Connecticut communities, creating new jobs and accelerating our state’s economic recovery. Today, Connecticut’s 4,602 manufacturers account for 10.2 percent of the state’s jobs and 87 percent of the state’s total exports. In order to protect and grow manufacturing jobs in Connecticut, Sen. Murphy has introduced two pieces of legislation that aim to strengthen existing standards and prioritize the purchase of American-made goods, the 21st Century Buy American Act and the American Jobs Matter Act.