Anaheim, Calif. — Tekni-Plex Medical, the recently formed operating unit of Wayne, Pa.-based Tekni-Plex Inc., brought its three compounds and tubing businesses under one banner, the company announced at the Feb. 11-13 Medical Design & Manufacturing West show.
The medical unit now offers products and services previously supplied separately by Tekni-Plex's Colorite, Natvar and Dunn businesses. Those names are now being used as brands, with Colorite being a line of PVC and thermoplastic elastomer medical-grade compounds and custom compounds; and Natvar and Dunn offering medical-grade tubing products.
"This benefits our customers by streamlining the process. Now they deal with one person representing the whole medical area," said Jerry Wombold, a regional account manager, as opposed to three different representatives for Natvar, Colorite and Dunn.
In a recent letter to customers about the change, Paul Young, Tekni-Plex president and CEO, said the new medical unit also gives the company "enhanced focus and scale" to meet customer challenges.
Manufacturing will continue in the same nine locations, with the ability to run the same material specifications on the same equipment around the world for multinational customers.
"We are excited to show medical device companies how our globally integrated operations will enable us to provide better and faster compound and tubing solutions for their unique applications," said Steve Penn, senior vice president, sales and marketing, and interim head of Tekni-Plex Medical, in a recent news release.
According to the company website, Ian Kenny, Bob Donohue and Duane Dunn — the general managers of Colorite, Natvar and Dunn Industries — will continue to play significant roles in the new organization. Kenny, who joined the firm in 1996, in late February was named global head of products and technology.
In addition, in early March, Tekni-Plex named Meg Henke its new global head of product marketing. She joined Tekni-Plex in 1996 as the technical service manager supporting sales and marketing for Colorite products. Other Colorite positions have included director of sales for the Americas and director of commercial business development.
"She will shape product line strategies and direct implementation," Kenny said in a statement. "Her decades of experience helping to identify solutions for unique medical device challenges make her the ideal person for this position."
The website also addresses whether employees are concerned about a reorganization: "Tekni-Plex is developing new roles and positions. This is an investment, not a cost-cutting measure," the site states.
In addition to PVC and TPE compounds, Colorite also formulates custom compounds for medical applications.
The Natvar brand includes multilayer and multi-lumen tubing for intravenous therapy, dialysis and respiratory uses, and surgical equipment, while the Dunn brand offers specialty tubing for minimally invasive applications needing tight tolerances, such as endovascular devices for cardiology and neurology.
"Due to the requirements for small-diameter tubing with thin walls that can navigate the vascular pathways, many of these tubes are made from thermoplastic elastomers," said Dan Lazas, global head of sales for Tekni-Plex Medical.
"The most common are polyether block amide copolymers and thermoplastic polyurethanes," he said. "These materials are commonly extruded into single lumen, multi-lumen and multi-layer tubes for diagnostic and interventional catheters."