COLUMBUS, Ohio—Ernie Green Industries Inc., a molder and manufacturer best known in the automotive sector, is moving deeper into the medical market with the purchase and integration of four companies.
The Columbus-based firm is spearheading the vertical integration of design and development house Gilero Biomedical of Research Triangle Park, N.C., device consultancy and incubator InField Medical of Durham, N.C., and the medical-side components manufacturing within eNNOVEA of Austell, Ga., and injection molder ValTech Holdings of Rochester, N.Y.
The operations also include in-house mold making.
Together the four companies—for now known as EG Gilero—will be able to provide customers with a one-stop shop from design and development to packaging, distribution and logistics.
No financial information about the four-way deal was disclosed.
“Today is an exciting day for the company and I am very pleased the entire management team of the original companies will continue on with the new EG Gilero organization,” Larry Jutte, president and chief operating officer of EGI, said in a news release. “Having their continued expertise and leadership will be a key factor in our future success of exceeding customer expectations.
While some details are still in the works, the massive merger project has been in the works for more than a year, starting with market research and blind focus groups to help the companies zero in on what they customers want, said Tim Hopper, who is now EG Gilero's chief marketing officer who also served as Gilero's chief operating officer and InField Medical co-founder and managing partner, both based in Raleigh-Durham, N.C..
“We were consummating this relationship before we announced it to the street,” Hopper said. “There was a lot of good thought put into this integration.”
New business cards—including the new logo and tagline, “Medical Innovation, Together” which Hopper said demonstrates the company's mission of being an extension of its experience and a trusted partner to its customers—were handed out before the January announcement was even made.
More details about the new EGI medical arm, including a new name, will be released at the MD&M West MedTech trade show and conference in Anaheim, Calif. in February.