Originally Published EMDM November/December 2002
INDUSTRY NEWS
Rubber and Plastics Consultancy Invests in IrelandThe gravitational pull of western Ireland that has attracted numerous medical device OEMs and associated suppliers over the years has drawn a new company to its shores. Rapra Technology Ltd. (Shawbury, Shropshire), the UK's largest consultancy in rubber and plastic materials, processes, and products, announced the opening of an office in Galway at the MEDTEC Ireland Conference & Tabletop Exposition in September. George Coghlan, who has 14 years' experience in healthcare-related research and development, materials, and product development, has been named business manager of the facility.
"As you know, Ireland has a large medical sector, and one of Rapra's core businesses is to support the medical device industry," says David Ingles, marketing director. "I believe it's crucial to provide that support with an indigenous person." Coghlan formerly worked at Boston Scientific's Galway facility.
"My knowledge and experience will meld very well with Rapra's expertise," adds Coghlan. His mission, as he defines it, is to show Ireland's OEMs that it makes more sense to hire that expertise on a contract basis than to put a polymers-research person on staff. By using Rapra's services, customers have access to a fully qualified 100-plus-person project team for the length of time required, says Coghlan. "They can get the expert knowledge without having to deal with ongoing resource issues."
In further news, Rapra has announced the launch of an empirical study on the kinking of plastic tubes. The object of the study is to provide companies with an empirical design tool to confirm the appropriateness of existing materials, and to evaluate alternative products and geometries for a given application. Current design guidelines, according to the company, are restricted to a small number of materials and can be categorized as simple rules of thumb. The six-month project begins in November 2002 and will apply to a variety of products and applications.
For more information, contact Rapra's Ireland office at P.O. Box 279, Galway, Ireland; phone and fax: +353 91 557665; e-mail: gcoghlan@rapra.net. The company's headquarters is in Shawbury, Shropshire SY4 4NR, UK; phone: +44 1939 250383; fax: +44 1939 251118; e-mail: info@rapra.net; Internet: www.rapra.net.
Copyright ©2002 European Medical Device Manufacturer
