Mumbai, India-based laminated tube maker Essel Propack Ltd. has forayed further into the North American medical-device market, paying $1.2 million in cash for Catheter and Disposables Technology Inc. of Plymouth, Minn.
Essel acquired CDT March 31 through a deal between Essel subsidiary Tacpro Inc. of Campbell, Calif., and CDT's owner, CardioTech International Inc. of Wilmington, Mass.
``The acquisition of CDT is in line with our stated strategic plan for the medical-device business,'' said R. Chandrasekhar, president of Essel Propack, in a March 31 news release. ``CDT will certainly expand our current footprint into a new geography and broaden our existing product lines.''
According to the Essel, Minnesota is the second-largest medical-device manufacturing region in the United States.
CDT specializes in extruded catheters, Chandrasekhar said April 4. The 20-year-old company has about 40 employees in a 16,000-square-foot plant, he said. Essel will not reduce CDT's workforce, Chandrasekhar said.
Essel estimates the global medical-device market to be worth $17 billion, with catheters making up $6 billion worldwide; the U.S. share of catheters is worth $2.5 billion, he said.
Essel, with 25 plants in 14 countries, in 2006 acquired Tacpro and its Singaporean sister company in Avalon Medical Services Pte. Ltd. for about $11 million.
Tacpro does custom extrusion in a range of thermoplastics, including polyolefins, nylons, polyurethanes, thermoplastic elastomers and polycarbonate. Tacpro also produces medical balloons and catheters from nylons, PET and other materials.
``The sale of CDT provides Tacpro Inc. an excellent opportunity to expand its operations into the Minnesota medical-device region,'' said CardioTech President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Adams.
He said the sale will allow the firm to focus on ``licensing and selling specialized materials to medical-device manufacturers.''
CardioTech reported 2007 sales of $21.2 million. It employs 153.
