Anaheim, Calif. — Seisa Medical Inc. has access to $42.5 million of secured credit to complete acquisitions that can expand its expertise and geographical footprint in injection molding, extrusion, tubing and device assembly.
With its headquarters in El Paso, Texas, manufacturing sites in Mexico and Slovakia, and a logistics office in China, Seisa plans to establish itself next in U.S. medical hubs like New England, Minnesota, northern California, eastern Texas and even Utah.
"We're looking to expand our know-how with teams we can work together with," Seisa Medical CEO and founder Julio Chiu said at Medical Design & Manufacturing West, held Feb. 6-8 in Anaheim.
Seisa announced Feb. 2 that it is in acquisition mode with a sizable investment budget, so it could begin talks with potential partners at the trade show, which draws about 20,000 industry professionals.
"We want to put our name out there because it's not as well-known as it should be," Chiu said.
He started the contract manufacturing business in 1983 before focusing only on the medical market in 1997. Exam gloves were early products but now the company is vertically integrated and offers design, manufacturing and assembly of labor-intensive products like implantable medical devices.
Seisa currently has 2,300 employees working on three continents in 270,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 120,000 square feet of clean room capacity.
"Delivery systems are a large part of what we do," Chief Financial Officer Jacobo Chiu said, listing products likes stents, catheters and breast pumps as well as bottles and consumer health care products like orthopedic braces.
Seisa would like to add capabilities for smart devices, sensors and electronic-based products.
"We want to stress an expertise in the U.S. that we don't have currently and we want to leverage the opportunity to sell across the company," said Jacobo Chiu, son of the company founder who also handles business development.
In addition to the acquisition line with Sagard Credit Partners — some of which will go toward the transaction fee and a dividend to shareholders — Seisa has additional corporate resources to complete the right deal or deals.
"Ideally, this is a starting point for us," Jacobo Chiu said of the $42.5 million credit line.
Seisa intends to "complement rather than absorb" any business it acquires, its founder said.
"We want to learn from them and help them build their business. Our perspective is purely from a manufacturing standpoint," Chiu said.
Seisa has its main offices, a warehouse and distribution points in El Paso but needs a stronger foothold in North America as it becomes more of a one-stop shop to take advantage of opportunities presented by large OEMs seeking efficient outsourcing.
"Because there's more outsourcing, consolidation has been a trend through the last decade and it doesn't seem to be slowing down," Jacobo Chiu said. "Consolidation creates efficiency, for sure, in some respects, but there's also something to be said about specialized players creating a group to maintain expertise as you start acquiring."
Currently, Seisa's manufacturing operations are in Juarez, Mexico, and Myjava, Slovakia. The company also has a logistics office in Hong Kong.