Seamless From Start To Scale Episode 1

You expect a film about manufacturing. You get something else. Three Forj Medical team members on craft, collaboration, and the patients whose lives sit on the other side of every part that leaves the building.

Featuring Rachel Long, Director of Customer Support; Bong Vang, Process Engineer; and Rich Hager, Manufacturing Engineering Manager.

“To know that something you’re a part of helps somebody’s health, somebody’s daily life. I just found out that I’m a type two diabetic. I really didn’t know a lot about the sensors and all that, and learning that, and how I’m dependent on it, and how I’m dependent on that company to produce this product so I can know that I’m healthy daily. It touches my heart. I love it.”

It’s funny. You think you’re filming a story about manufacturing, and then someone says something like that, and the whole thing reframes itself. This is not just about medical devices. It’s about the people behind them.

“We’re the face of the company to the customer. They’re emailing us. They’re asking questions. We are the feet on the ground to go get the answers for them and to provide them with the information they’re looking for in a timely manner. It’s the ultimate goal: to get back to them and make sure they’re happy at the end of the day.”

If you want to understand this place, Rachel is a pretty good place to start.

“We worked with a customer recently that had some shifts in their forecast. They had an uptick that caused us to scramble a little, because we wanted to make sure we could get the product to them in the time they needed it. It was a lot of cross-functional teamwork, working with our planning team, our shipping team, production, to really pull it together and get them their product. And we were very successful. That was at the end of last year, and we drove it home and got them their product in time.”

A scramble around here isn’t just a supply chain story. It’s a human one.

“We feel really good, because we know this is getting out in the end to the client, to somebody who needs this medical device. And that is the ultimate goal.” – Rachel

Rachel is one of the many faces and voices that Forj Medical customers know. But the people who keep this place running, the ones who make sure every part is right, that’s where the story goes next.

“It’s all because of saving life, giving people another shot at life. Working at Forj Medical, we’re allowing individuals who have had hard shifts in life to have a second chance.“ – Bong

He isn’t exaggerating. This is how Bong actually thinks about his job.

“I started as a machine operator and worked my way up through various job titles and departments to get where I am today. We have the ability to do everything in-house. That’s from doing a tool design, to having a tool, to being able to develop a process for that particular product in-house, and being able to run production in-house, doing our testing, our final assembly, packaging. Creating a device that, like they were saying, saves a life. I want to be a part of that, whether I’m just working behind the scenes or I’m the frontline worker who’s going to get it done.”

Bong has been part of the Forj Medical team for over a decade. He’s the one behind the scenes making sure the work keeps moving: the tools, the machines, and the processes that make sure customer orders ship when they need to.

“We treat our customer’s tool like it’s ours. Our craftsmanship allows us to have a quicker turnaround time, no downtime. With our 3D printer, we can design and build a prototype tool. We had a tool here over a year ago, and the 3D printer was what we used to print out the damaged area. It was probably less than a week. We were back in business, developing the process, continuing on without even noticing that we had any downtime.”

With milling equipment, hand-tooling expertise, and a steel 3D printer all in the same tool room, inserts and components can be rebuilt on the spot. Repairs happen in hours or days instead of weeks, which minimizes downtime and allows faster customization and adjustments without slowing production.

Bong reveals the hands-on craft and pace required to keep medical molding moving. But precision at this level also depends on the systems that surround the craft: the processes, the automation, the engineering discipline behind every part. That perspective belongs to Rich.

“I’ve had the engineering skills, the ability to find better and better ways to make things. And I like that idea, and I certainly like the way my skills are helping people, creating products thatare able to extend life. In manufacturing medical devices, you’re making such a bigger impact on people daily. You can see the people using these devices, and how it impacts them, and how it improves their lives every day.”

“Automation is simply a way to put something together. It’s a lot more accurate than a human actually assembling.“ – Rich

Molding is just one part of Forj Medical’s end-to-end offering. From early R&D collaboration to automation engineering, full-scale production, and assembly, the team works across the entire lifecycle of a micromedical device.

“There are three different teams of engineers. One is the manufacturing engineering team. There’s the R&D team, the ones creating new molds and new products. The other is the automation team. They can step in at any time, whether it’s during the initial designs to improve a process, or to take a look at our existing processes and come up with a more automated solution. The automation team kind of straddles both sides, R&D and manufacturing. We all work together on things.”

At Forj Medical, collaboration isn’t an accessory. It’s the operating system. Precision comes from people who see the whole picture, who solve what breaks, and who share a sense of responsibility for every part that leaves this building. And that’s why this work matters. Not just the tools, not just the processes, but the lives on the other end of them.

“Everything we do is for that patient out there, that person who needs any type of medical device that we help develop. And my team gives 110% every day. I can’t tell you how proud I am of my team, and how proud I am to be part of our team. We all work together. It comes from the support we all feel from our leaders and our team members. We all help each other, because there would not be Forj Medical if there wasn’t every team member we have.”

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