Paragon Medical has broken ground on a 34,000-square-foot 3D printing plant at its headquarters campus in Pierceton, Ind.
The additive manufacturing facility is to be fully operational by the end of 2022, first concentrating on making porous titanium implants and soon after expanding into medical devices made of polymers and additional metals. This will allow Paragon to "vertically integrate the entire additive manufacturing process from powder to finished good," the company said in a Sept. 23 news release.
"Additive manufacturing is integral to the future of medical manufacturing," Simon Newman, CEO of MW Industries Inc., Paragon Medical's parent company, said in the release. "We'll be able to produce lighter, more complex medical parts faster."
Paragon said it expects to initially spend $16 million to construct and equip the plant, and then invest another $19 million over the next five years.
The company makes components and complete assemblies for medical devices. Some of its products include surgical instruments, single-use disposable devices, bioresorbable implants, drug-delivery devices and dental implants.
Paragon also announced it will partner with 3D Systems Inc. of Rock Hill, S.C., for the latter's expertise in the 3D process and technology. 3D will secure and validate equipment for the new plant; work with part design, material sourcing and supply; and provide regulatory support.
Paragon already has a 14,000-square-foot production and prototyping center dedicated to additive manufacturing in Warsaw, Ind., only 8 miles from Pierceton.
In addition to Pierceton and Warsaw, Ind., Paragon has facilities in Indianapolis; Bridgeport, Wallingford and Southington, Conn.; Bloomingdale, Ill.; Hatfield, Pa.; Holyoke and Mansfield, Mass.; Dayton, Ohio; and Smithfield, Utah.
The company also has manufacturing sites in Siechnice, Poland, and Changzhou, China, and an office in Lausanne, Switzerland.