Case Study: Foothills Industries achieves cost-effective, user-friendly automated surgical drape cutting with Vention

Foothill Industries - Customer Case Study

Foothills Industries, a Western North Carolina manufacturer that produces custom surgical and utility drapes while providing vocational opportunities for adults with disabilities, needed a user‑friendly, cost‑effective automated solution to cut drape fabric up to 3 m long. After struggling to find an engineering firm that could meet their budget and lead time, they turned to Vention via its website for support with the areas they lacked in-house.

Vention helped the Foothills team design and commission a custom cut‑and‑pull fabric‑cutting machine — featuring a pneumatic gripper, timing‑belt actuators, feeding rollers, clamps and a circular blade — completed in four months. The project cost USD 18,286.89 and required 22 hours of design, 47 hours of assembly and 24 hours of commissioning; the result was an affordable, serviceable automation solution that optimized production of high‑quality surgical drapes and met Foothills’ budget and timeline.

Foothill Industries

Stephen Galle

Maintenance Technician