The American Dream Story of AngioSystems, Inc.

In 1984, Dave and Marci Hopkins decided to start a medical manufacturing business. After watching jobs being outsourced to foreign countries and American families losing their livelihood, Dave and Marci committed themselves to creating a long-lasting company that would produce top-quality, American-made products while providing jobs for American families. Dave had over 30 years experience in medical sales and had previously helped start another medical company. Marci had a background in nursing. Using this experience and on much prayer and hope, they opened the doors to AngioSystems in May of 1984. At that time, Dave and Marci, with the help of their children, did all the manufacturing process, which in 1984 was much less automated than today.

Hard work and family was not new to Dave and Marci, and their efforts began to bear fruit quickly. Marci hailed from Steubenville, Ohio where her father labored for years in the steel mills outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and she was raised in a close-knit, Catholic family. Dave came from a close, working-class family in Dayton, Ohio where he also learned hard work from his parents. The two met and married in 1957 while Marci was in nursing school and Dave was an aspiring doctor who was attending the Ohio State University. After marriage, their plans rapidly changed course as the two began to raise their own family, which today has grown to include their 7 children, 23 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and several others on the way.

At one time or another, all of their children worked at AngioSystems. Today, four of their children and 2 of their grandchildren work at AngioSystems. The business was started as a Georgia corporation located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. In 1991, AngioSystems relocated to Ducktown, Tennessee, which is located close to the Ocoee River that runs through the Smokey Mountains and was the site of the whitewater rafting events during the 1996 Olympics. Ducktown is located about 2 hours north of Atlanta.

As the medical industry has changed and companies have come and gone, AngioSystems has survived by providing top-quality products and by being willing to serve needs that others have not. AngioSystems remains attentive to each end user’s needs and desires, whether it is an individual facility or an individual doctor. AngioSystems continues to provide highly specialized and customized products despite the extra demands it places on labor and the manufacturing process.

Despite buying groups that have excluded much competition and put many companies out of business and despite rising labor costs that have driven the manufacturing process of many companies overseas, AngioSystems has remained strong and has kept its commitment to providing jobs here in the United States. AngioSystems is very proud of its history and of the fact that its products are American made. AngioSystems is not only able to provide a top-quality, American-made product, but it simultaneously provides jobs and a livelihood for families right here in the United States.

In the end, AngioSystems knows that its history and the “American dream” story behind it would not have been possible without the continued support of you, its customers. Not only was AngioSystems extremely grateful that certain hospitals and doctors were willing to give it a chance when it is competing with multi-billion dollar corporations, but we are thankful for your continued business. We hope our product, our service, and our longevity have made it worth it for you. Thank you.