Originally Published EMDM September 2002
INDUSTRY NEWS
Merger Creates Largest US Outsourcer of Medical DisposablesTwo privately held USA-based companies that offer outsourcing services to medical device OEMs, Avail Medical Products Inc., headquartered in Dallas, TX, and Horizon Medical Outsourcing, located in Santa Ana, CA, have merged. According to the announcement issued on 6 May, the two firms' combined resources make the entity the largest outsourcer of finished disposable medical devices in the United States.
Avail CEO and president J. Randall Keene first broached the idea of a merger in 1994 with William A. Goolsbee, CEO and cofounder of Horizon. "We've been trying to find the right time to partner together ever since," says Keene. "We even made a couple of attempts several years ago. Finally, toward the fall of last year, the time was right," he says. Keene cites the complementary nature of the firms' capabilities and steady growth in the use of outsourcing by the device industry as key reasons for tying the knot.
"By joining forces, Avail and Horizon offer an unbeatable combination of design, development, and manufacturing capabilities," says Keene. "Horizon has done a tremendous job in product design and process development." Its focus on mechanical assemblies—medical disposables with mechanical parts—complements Avail's large-scale, low-cost manufacturing capabilities, Keene adds. "Avail has been [dedicated] to high-volume manufacturing and providing OEMs with a one-stop manufacturing solution. By combining process and design engineering expertise with a rigorous approach to design for manufacturability, the [merged] companies will be able to set a new standard for the design, manufacture, and assembly of medical disposables."
Keene has been appointed CEO of the merged companies; Goolsbee will stay on as a senior executive, becoming executive vice president of Avail. The combined companies currently employ more than 2000 people at 12 ISO 9001–certified facilities in the United States and Mexico. The firms will preserve their identities and customer service functions during the integration process.
For more information, contact marketing manager Kara Lukasik at Avail Medical Products Inc., 8572 Spectrum Ln., San Diego, CA 92121, USA; phone: +1 858 4571988; fax: +1 858 5587264; e-mail: klukasik@availmed.com; Internet: www.availmed.com.
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