Saint-Gobain growing medical business in Europe with acquisition

SOLON, Ohio—Saint-Gobain Life Sciences purchased Pompey, France-based MS Techniques and Transluminal effective Sept. 7.

The MS Techniques facility will be the foundation of Saint-Gobain's new European Medical Center for Excellence, Vanessa Gagnon, commercial director of catheter systems at Saint-Gobain, told Plastics News.

"This will be our first site fully dedicated to the medical industry in Europe," Gagnon said.

Gagnon, who led the acquisition process, is working to develop the global commercial strategy for the integration of MS Techniques, a high-precision thermoplastic extruder, into Saint-Gobain Life Sciences' Medical Components business unit, she said.

(MS Techniques) "has capabilities that Saint-Gobain has been looking to acquire organically for a while now," Gagnon said. "We're seeing two major trends in the medical device industry: One is the supply chain consolidation, and two is the shift to a value-based reimbursement system."

MS Techniques also brings to Saint-Gobain design expertise for minimally invasive procedures through catheter technology, she said.

"We wanted to have a broader product portfolio and offer more to our customers," Gagnon said. MS Techniques "think(s) outside the box and find(s) ways to design new delivery systems that enables better outcome ultimately at a lower cost. ... We're looking forward to expanding their sales reach from their Europe base to provide such product to the U.S. and Asian markets."

"We decided to join forces with Saint-Gobain because we felt we found a true partnership and shared the same vision: to become a world-class reference in the medical device industry for delivering minimally invasive innovation," Etienne Malher, president of MS Techniques, said in a Sept. 14 news release.

"Joining a global medical organization with the size and tremendous legacy of Saint-Gobain makes it possible to carry forward what we have worked so hard to build over the last 28 years," Malher said. "With more resources and the Saint-Gobain brand supporting our efforts, we pave the way for future innovation and the co-development of new medical solutions with our customers."

MS Techniques' owners will stay on through the transition process, Gagnon said.

Saint-Gobain and MS techniques both have customized, co-development models and similar corporate cultures, the release said.

"We believe the best way to work with our customers and the OEMs is to have that proximity in Europe," Gagnon said. "We want to make sure that this continues to feel like a big family … What our and their customers are used to, they're going to continue to see the same."

Saint-Gobain will also invest in an expansion of MS Techniques transluminal unit, which Gagnon said is "the design, expertise arm that provides support from the concept all the way to the industrialization of the catheter."

"We'll go step by step based on the customer need and look to have an investment plan based on that strategy," she said.

Saint-Gobain did not disclose the terms of the acquisition.