Lubrizol to expand Vesta's TPE capabilities

ANAHEIM, Calif.—Lubrizol Corp.'s LifeScience Division will invest more than $15 million to expand its Vesta Inc. subsidiary.

The firm said part of the investment will include expansions to Vesta's facilities. The unit operates two plants dedicated to thermoplastic elastomers and one for silicone in the U.S., while the LifeScience Division operates three others in the region.

Part of the investment expands Vesta's thermoplastic capabilities to include tip forming, tube flaring, pad printing, hole punching/drilling, precision cutting, reflow, braided tubing lamination and more, Lubrizol said.

Uwe Winzen—global business manager, medical devices—discussed the firm's recent investment in Vesta at the recent Medical Design & Manufacturing show in Anaheim. He said the investment was made because of feedback from the market.

“With Vesta we can make the final device, so we're a one-stop solution for these kinds of customers that are interested in the entire value chain,” Winzen said. “There are synergies. There's a strong drive in the market that you see in supply chain consolidation. We have a one-stop shop because we're backward integrated.”

Acquired by Lubrizol in August 2014, Vesta is a contract manufacturer for the global medical device industry. Its addition expanded Lubrizol LifeSciences product portfolio, and it now offers disposable and implantable silicone medical components and assemblies across a wide product portfolio, as well as precision thermoplastic extruded tubing.

Winzen said Lubrizol acquired Vesta because of its strong presence on the silicone side, its ability to provide a variety of capabilities and it brings Lubrizol into a new area of medical devices. Part of Vesta's operations include TPE extruding, bringing tubing capability to Lubrizol.

Lubrizol is one of the market leaders in thermoplastic urethane manufacturing.

“We want to go further down the value chain and be that one-stop shop,” Winzen said. “Even all of these capabilities are not going to be all encompassing, but this investment gets us in the right direction. These are the initial targets that we have identified that are creating a lot of value and our customers are asking for. But it doesn't mean we're done; we will continue to make investments. Lubrizol is dedicated in this market space, and we will continue to invest in it.”

Lubrizol LifeSciences recently acquired Particle Sciences Inc., a contract drug development and manufacturing organization, which has positioned Lubrizol LifeSciences as one of the most comprehensive drug delivery device solution providers, the company said, offering end-to-end solutions in the health care market.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Particle Sciences operates a manufacturing facility in Bethlehem, Pa., just outside of New Jersey, with about 50 employees.

“Our strategy is to be the leader in polymer-based drug delivery systems,” Winzen said.

“There are not that many good companies in the drug formulation space, taking an API from the pharmaceutical company and getting it into a matrix. Particle Sciences is one of the clear leaders in this field, and their addition helps us jumpstart in this process.”

Winzen stressed the firm has made significant investment in the medical space to establish itself as one of the key players in the industry. Lubrizol's goal is to simplify the supply chain as much as possible for customers.

“We've partnered with world-class companies. Vesta is very well known for their high precision and quality,” the executive said. “We wanted to support our OEMs with high quality brands that they already knew. and now they're all under the Lubrizol brand with the Lubrizol backing.

“We can work with companies at any stage in their development, from very early on to fairly late to where they are already done with the design, and they just need a manufacturing partner,” Winzen said.

“I really think getting that word out, with the new branding and the new logo, talking about the story of polymer, manufacturing and formulation is what we're trying to get out this year.”