Dacula Company Makes 'Liberty Pod' ICUs To Fight Coronavirus

DACULA, GA — A Dacula container company is helping in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic by manufacturing modular temporary hospital facilities — or “Liberty Pods” — at its plants in Gwinnett County.

BMarko Structures' main business is shipping containers, and it’s repurposing used containers as the Liberty Pods. According to the company’s website, the name was inspired by the "Liberty ships" built by the Kaiser Shipyards during World War II.

Each modular intensive care unit is designed to have room for patients, necessary procedures, researchers and even visiting family. Twenty-one containers put together will yield 24 patient rooms, said Matt McConnell, BMarko vice president of sales.

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Fox5 Atlanta reports that BMarko CEO Antony Kountouris saw the need, then struck a deal with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to build the pods. In less than two weeks, Kountouris had hired 80 contractors who now work 17 hours a day, seven days a week.

Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted that one of the pods was delivered Wednesday to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, site of Georgia’s worst hot spot. Work there is almost complete, McConnell said, with another complex of pods shipping next week to Macon.

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