CARPINTERIA, CALIF. (Oct. 19, 3:40 a.m. ET) — Injection molder and medical device contract manufacturer Helix Medical LLC is boosting its design, development and manufacturing capacity with the acquisition of MedVenture Technology Corp. of Jeffersonville, Ind.
The company purchased MedVenture from Ampersand Capital Partners, a Wellesley, Mass., private equity firm. Financial details were not announced.
“MedVenture will deepen our resources in product design, development and engineering, and enable Helix to offer more comprehensive product lifecycle management and be a stronger strategic partner to our customers,” said Helix President and CEO Jorg Schneewind, in a news release.
MedVenture, established in 1998, is headquartered in Jeffersonville which is near Louisville, Ky., and has more than 260 employees. It has a manufacturing plant in Jeffersonville, and also an office in Minnetonka, Minn. The company develops and manufactures minimally evasive surgical devices and catheter-based devices for medical device companies.
“Our global reach with now more than 10 facilities around the world will allow MedVenture to expand their services into new regions and tap into Helix’s core strengths in thermoplastic and silicone molding and extrusion plus specialty catheters and hypotubes,” said Schneewind.
In an telephone interview, Schneewind expanded on the new combination, noting that Medventure’s design and development expertise gives Helix a new dimension. Helix’s strength has been in making components and subassemblies.
“They will continue as a division of Helix Medical with the existing management and the existing locations,” he noted.
Helix Medical, a division of the Freudenberg Group, has manufacturing sites in California, Massachusetts, Indiana, Costa Rica, Germany, Ireland and China. It now has about 1,000 employees.
Schneewind said that this is the third acquisition for Helix since it started in 2004. It also has two joint ventures. He said that the additions are helping grow the company, but that it also has had organic growth that has been 10 percent or better every year. He is expecting revenue of $160 million next year.
“The MedVenture team is excited to be part of the long-term growth of Helix Medical and we plan to leverage the additional resources to continue our achievements in the design, development and manufacture of minimally invasive medical devices,” said Kevin Pramer, CEO of MedVenture.
