(From the Nov. 14, 2011, issue of Rubber & Plastics News)
FRANKLIN, Wis.—Vesta Inc. has expanded its manufacturing operation and increased its product portfolio with the purchase of SiMatrix Inc.
Victor, Mont.-based SiMatrix is a contract product maker specializing in tight-tolerance medical grade silicone sheeting along with dip molded goods and services.
The acquisition will complement Vesta's expertise in high-quality product manufacturing and engineering support for medical device development in addition to boosting its capabilities, a Vesta spokeswoman said.
Vesta's services include medical product molding, extrusion and assembly while SiMatrix manufactures, assembles and packages goods. The deal adds dip casting and silicone sheeting to Vesta's product portfolio and other services SiMatrix provides enhance the company's present offerings, she said.
The two firms are a good match, she said, because both are focused solely on medical products and services.
Included in the acquisition is SiMatrix's factory and machinery in Victor, the spokeswoman said. No changes presently are planned for the acquired firm's work force or management team. “Basically, everything stays the same for now,” she said.
SiMatrix's “commitment to quality and service are in close alignment with ours,” according to Vesta CEO Phil Estes, adding that customers will benefit from the additional products and services.
The acquisition is Vesta's second major move in just a little more than two months and its fifth in the last 21/2 years.
In early September, the company added a Class 10,000 clean room at its Franklin plant that enables it to handle lower-particulate medical device manufacturing to meet customers' more stringent product standards.
“While the majority of our customers' requirements can be supported in our Class 100,000 controlled room environment for medical device manufacturing, our additional certified Class 10,000 clean room provides an environment with higher particulate air filtration to meet very strict requirements for those customers who require it for compliance with their product manufacturing specifications,” according to Jim Fitzgerald, executive vice president of sales and marketing.
He said Vesta's biggest priority is delivering quality compliance at every step of the manufacturing process.
The new clean room—which features a HEPA filtration system, temperature and humidity controls—is being used for silicone molding, silicone extrusion, secondary operations, sub-assembly and packaging processes that require a maximum of 10,000 particles per cubic foot of air.
In August 2010, the company completed a 50,000-sq.-ft. expansion at the Franklin plant, which doubled the facility's size to support growth of its silicone-based medical components production and assembly services.
At the same time, the firm consolidated its thermoplastic extrusion facilities in Placentia and Temecula, Calif., and moved them to a new state-of-the-art plant in Corona, Calif. Vesta makes thermoplastic and silicone tubing for the cardiovascular, neurological and other intravenous catheter markets at the site.
In March 2009, the company acquired ExtruMed L.L.C., a maker of precision thermoplastic tubing for diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices and procedures,
Vesta is part of the RoundTable Healthcare Partners group, which acquired a majority interest in the business in August 2007.