“Moving to finished devices is a major shift in strategy for firms focused on contract manufacturing.” Read Tony Freeman’s latest column in MPO Magazine.
News/Reports
Tony Freeman’s latest column for MPO Magazine: J&J-Jabil Deal Truly Is Transformative for the Medtech Supply Chain On Aug. 2, 2018 Johnson & Johnson announced a reorganization of its Medical Devices division. Many medtech supply chain company managers spend time, effort, and worry to obtain their next big customer. Increasingly, their competition for these opportunities are global contract manufacturers whose roots are in the electronics industry. Johnson & Johnson’s Medical Device unit signaled an epic shift toward these multi-billion dollar international suppliers in transferring a large percentage of its manufacturing capability to Jabil Inc. last summer. The Jabil transaction is often unremarked by longtime medical device specialists, yet it should draw focus as the economics point to shifts in the profit margins of the medtech industry. Additionally, there is the possibility that these manufacturing behemoths will, over time, shift the procurement for device components from traditional North American and European suppliers to Asian firms where global contract manufacturers have the local infrastructure to ensure both low prices and good quality. Read full article here.
Biomerics has merged with Northeast Laser & Electropolish to form Biomerics NLE. A.S. Freeman Advisors advised Northeast Laser on the transaction. For more information please visit https://biomerics.com/biomerics-merges-with-northeast-laser-and-elecropolish.
Tony Freeman: Evolving Players in the Medical Device Supply Chain Today’s medical device supply chain was shaped by two far-reaching trends: A realization among OEMs over the last 20 years about outsourcing’s ability to reduce manufacturing costs while producing safe, reliable products; and OEMs’ tendency to outsource to larger contract manufacturing firms when possible. Reasons included financial stability, fewer vendors to coordinate in product manufacturing, and confidence in larger firms’ abilities to invest in new facilities, equipment, and quality systems. Beginning in 2000, OEMs’ desire for outsource manufacturing partners of scale often took the form of roll-ups, with companies like Accellent/Lake Region Medical, Tecomet, Freudenberg Medical, and Medplast built through acquisitions of smaller, well-established medical device supply chain entities. Read full article on MPO Magazine
WellWorx Energy has acquired Newgate Instruments, formerly a business unit of Joining Industries LLC. A. S. Freeman Advisors advised Joining Industries on this transaction.
Tecum Capital Partners and Western Allegheny Capital Partners have invested in Oberg Industries, Inc. A. S. Freeman Advisors advised Oberg Industries on this transaction
ARCH Global Precision has acquired Universal Precision Instruments, Inc. A. S. Freeman Advisors advised Universal Precision Instruments on this transaction.
Tony Freeman was this year’s first presenter at the MPO Summit (October 11-12, 2018) in Broomfield, CO. Talking about the State of the Medtech Industry, the talk covered large-scale trends; several categories of risk, along with responses to deal with them; and rules for prospering in the current market. MPO Magazine covered the Summit in real time, with their summary of all speakers here. The presentation in full is now posted on this site. If you are interested in having this presentation for your company, or have any questions or comments, please contact Tony Freeman at tfreeman@asfreeman.com.
I’ll be presenting on “Global Trends in the Medical Device Industry and the Supply Chain” at the MPO Summit in Colorado later this week, Thursday October 11 at 9am. If you’re attending, please say hello.
In early 2018, the Medical Device Manufacturers Exchange (mdmX) undertook the first survey of financial, commercial, and operational metrics across medical device supply chain companies. Designed by six mdmX member company executives, the Survey covers financial and operational topics of interest. mdmX partnered with Rodman Publishing’s MPO Magazine to reach a broad cross-section of supply chain managers. Though response was modest, responding companies provided detailed and precise data. The summarized responses point to an industry that ended 2017 economically healthy, growing, and investing for the future. Read mdmX’s analysis of results Read MPO’s discussion of results