Opportunity is Still Rife in Contract Manufacturing.

2020 has been a turbulent year for contract manufacturers in medical devices, with many businesses experiencing extreme highs and lows.

COVID-19 has been highly disruptive to the market, highlighted in April by the postponement of the new Medical Devices Regulations (MDR).

Despite this, there are still reasons for everyone in the global medical device contract manufacturing market to get excited. Not least because this space is still projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.53% and valued to be worth $111.53 billion by 2026.

While North America holds the largest market share, the growth that I’m talking about is not limited to this region. There’s excitement growing in the Asia Pacific region, with emerging economies like China and India experiencing rapid growth.

With opportunity rife all over the world, I wanted to share some of the most exciting growth happening within the market. Here’s five companies that everyone should be getting excited about.

As part of the SFS group, Tegra Medical had a change in CEO this year with Walter Kobler taking over after the retirement of previous CEO J Mark King after almost 10 years at the reigns of the business.

Tegra Medical have continued to rise throughout the course of this year. The provider of end-to-end contract manufacturing supports its clients for a range of medical devices including ones for soft tissue removal, implants, retractors and spreaders, needles, cannulae, and catheters, and suturing devices.

Truly partnering with its clients, Tegra provides everything from prototyping and design for manufacturing to full production, assembly and packaging.

The company is expanding rapidly and globally. In its native, US Tegra has growth projects in both Massachusetts and Mississippi.

In Massachusetts, in July 2020, the company purchased an additional building across the street from its Franklin headquarters. This has provided the company’s Quick Wire and Tubing business - which provides in-stock and custom-finished metal wire and hypotubing - with its own dedicated space. There are also plans for other manufacturing operations to be phased into the building too.

In Hernando, in Mississippi, the company has also purchased 4,000 square feet to house a new manufacturing cell with highly advanced, automated machinery. This will help the company combine operations and increase technology that will allow it to run faster and more efficiently.

Together, these US projects will increase the company’s worldwide square footage by more than 53%, which is Tegra’s biggest expansion yet.

With no signs of slowing down, Tegra is now heading for global expansion into Europe and Asia. This will give the company a presence in nine locations on three continents.

Like Tegra, Quasar Medical has experienced growth in the US through the expansions of its North American Commercial Headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

This strengthens the Chinese manufacturer’s oversees presence, ensuring continued support for its North American customers with a new sales, business development and commercial staff. 

However, this is not the only way the company has been growing. It has also been strengthening its manufacturing portfolio too.

Having established itself as a leading manufacturer of single-use minimally invasive devices, Quasar now also provides high quality, complex devices for cardiology and electrophysiology.

SteriPack has extended its offering too, however, this has mainly been as a response to COVID-19 with the production of sterile swabs for diagnostic testing kits.

In October, the medical device manufacturer was granted $852,000 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to ensure the procurement of necessary equipment to fast-track production of critically required sterile nasal swabs for COVID-19 testing.

SteriPack’s US facility is now producing more than 20 million sterile swabs per month as a direct result of its collaboration with the foundation and will be adding significantly to that capacity.

Studies have confirmed the SteriPack swab is functionally equivalent to other common swabs for effective COVID-19 tests, including dry polyester. More than 80 new jobs have been created at SteriPack’s US facility because of these efforts.

This pivoting of the business is an example of how innovative and adaptable SteriPack can be. I expect the company to go from strength to strength in 2021, continuing to provide contract manufacturing services for the world’s leading medical devices - from initial concept to finished product.

Equally innovative, Lincotek is a recognized expert in plasma spray coatings and additive manufacturing technologies in the medical field.

The company offers 3D printing, surface treatments, plasma spray, machining, physical vapor deposition (PVD) and titanium anodization for the orthopaedic, trauma, spine and dental market – partnering with clients across Europe, North America and Asia.

Globally, the additive manufacturing for medical devices market is expected to reach nearly $4.5 million by 2027 – growing from $1.35million in 2019. This statistic alone is why I envisage exciting growth opportunities for Lincotek, which is a leader in this space.

Paragon Medical is another company that could benefit from this market, thanks to its additive manufacturing capabilities housed in its Advanced Manufacturing Center in Warsaw.

However, that’s not the only reason why people are getting excited about Paragon. In November, the company joined MW Industries as part of the $825million acquisition of NN Life Science by American Securities LLC. This is a massive boost for Paragon, enabling it to deliver a wider range of products and provide an even deeper level of expertise to its medical customers.

As part of the deal, Paragon will retain its name and focus on orthopaedics but will be joined by five other MW Industries locations including Trigon International (Aurora), Vandalia, Hatfield, LaVezzi Precision, and Marox.

With these expanded locations, Paragon Medical’s customers will have access to a greater breadth products and capabilities from across MW Industries – strengthening its service and portfolio.

So, there’s lots going on in the global medical device contract manufacturing market. These growth projects and opportunities are a sign of optimism for everyone. Despite the disruption, this market is as strong as ever and the more capable businesses are to adapt, the better equipped they will to take on 2021.

If you'd like to discuss this article or talk about the recruitment service that CM Medical offer, then please email me at Rowan.Porter@medical-cm.com.

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