Contrary to popular belief, the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) is still strong, according to two Proforma owners.

Matt Del Valle, owner and president of Independence, OH-based Stan Miller & Associates Powered by Proforma (asi/300094), and Cynthia Bruce, owner of Proforma CSI in Siesta Key, FL, say their clients continue to order face masks, nitrile gloves, hand sanitizer and other preventative items. That’s why they’ve launched Proforma MED, a full-scale medical supply division within the Top 40 distributorship.

“What we’re seeing is a lot of government agencies and medical facilities don’t want to be caught unprepared again, so they’re procuring equipment for future use,” Del Valle says.

Cynthia Bruce (left) and Matt Del Valle

A member of the 2019 Counselor Hot List, Del Valle has been running Stan Miller & Associates for three years. Last March, when schools across the United States suspended all activity due to the COVID-19 outbreak, one of his top markets was decimated. In order to stay afloat, he followed the trend of the promotional products industry and began educating himself on PPE. He had extra incentive to learn about the market, as his wife is a critical care nurse.

“If my wife is on the front line and her hospital system is unknowingly procuring fraudulent product for her and her colleagues, there’s nothing more egregious than that,” Del Valle says. “There are a lot of fly-by-night companies that capitalized off of the need for PPE and went about it the wrong way. We worked with the best suppliers to get the best products and aligned ourselves with credible medical establishments.”

As a result of his efforts, his company’s sales were up 72% in 2020. Del Valle also made plenty of new connections, including a vendor who introduced him to fellow Proforma owner Cynthia Bruce.

A 13-year industry veteran, Bruce transitioned to selling PPE last year after all of her longtime clients canceled their promotional campaigns. With pandemic-related restrictions not being as severe in Florida, she assisted local schools that had reopened with their PPE needs. Sharing an interest in the education market, as well as similar business struggles and the Proforma allegiance, she and Del Valle decided to work together to form a woman-owned, minority-owned business.

Since February, Proforma MED has been serving clients in the education, government and healthcare sectors. Partnering with global leaders in the medical equipment and technology space, they’re currently working with a vendor that has a cost-effective solution for hand sanitizer, which Del Valle expects to explode in popularity over the next year. The team has also hired a new account manager right out of college.

“We expect exponential growth,” Bruce says. “We see an ongoing need for medical supplies. Preventative care is extremely important right now and will be going forward.”