Startup company Restoration Medical Polymers LLC has chosen central Indiana as its headquarters and manufacturing facility.
RMP plans to invest up to $7.1 million in Whitley County, to make human-implantable, medical-grade polymers. The new operation will include a testing laboratory. RMP targets occupation of the facility by late 2016 with manufacturing to start in early 2017.
RMP is headed up by president and CEO Lou Matrisciano. His partner in the venture is Brian Emerick, president and owner of Micropulse Inc., a medical device manufacturer for the orthopedic and cardiovascular markets based in Columbia City, Ind. RMP is a separate entity, Matrisciano stressed in a phone interview. Columbia City is the county seat of Whitley County, which is west of Fort Wayne, Ind.
RMP will work with customers to develop materials and processes that should be attractive to medical device manufacturers and suppliers. It expects to employ up to 20 full-time technicians and engineers and other personnel by 2019.
Matrisciano said he sees RMP's target markets as a good business opportunity.
“My long-term goal has been to do something on my own.”
RMP will provide him more freedom to develop orthopedic applications than when he was global technology manager with MediTech/Quadrant EPP, a global producer of high-performance thermoplastics, a position he left last June to establish RMP.
MediTech/Quadrant has no affiliation with RMP but the two companies might work together on some projects, Matrisciano explained. RMP is focusing on processes and polymers, initially starting with ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene converted through ram extrusion, compression molding and near-net shape molding. RMP also likely will branch into other highly engineered polymers such as cross-linked resins and polymers treated with antioxidants.
Matrisciano said medical device manufacturers want alternate suppliers, and his firm could fill that niche.
RMP is currently housed in Micropulse's Orthovation Center in Columbia City. RMP is constructing its own 36,000-square-foot facility in Whitley County.
Micropulse develops products and manufacturing technologies for instruments, implants and sterilization containers for the orthopedic industry. Micropulse began expanding in 2013 and was slated to spend $14.3 million to boost floor space to 160,000 square feet and install new equipment. The expansion should add about 100 jobs to Micropulse's former staff of 240 in Columbia City. Micropulse's capabilities include vertical machining, CNC turning and lathes, EDM and laser marking. Micropulse was established by Emerick in 1988.
Indiana's Economic Development Corp. is offering RMP up to $185,000 in performance-based tax credits for job creation.
“The medical device industry finds its perfect home in the Hoosier State, helping the life science industry achieve a $59 billion economic impact to Indiana,” noted Jim Schellinger, president of the Indiana's EDC, in a news release.