One of the three, Accelent Inc, plans to invest over RM300mil on factory

GEORGE TOWN: Three medical device multi-national corporations (MNCs) are planning to set up manufacturing facilities in Penang, lending further credibility to the state’s growth as a medical device hub.

Well-known companies such as B. Braun Melsungen AG, Symmetry Medical Inc and St Jude Medical Inc, are already located in the state.

One of the three incoming MNCs, Accellent Inc, is looking to invest over RM300mil in a manufacturing facility at the Bukit Minyak Science Park (BMSP).

The company, headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts, is finalising plans for a production plant on four acres in BMSP.

The project, divided into two stages over a two- to three-year period, will first engage some 300 workers for the first phase, and about 1,000 more for the second phase.
Symmetry Medical employees packing orthopaedic implants at the company’s 50,000 sq ft facility in Bayan Lepas

Accellent is in Penang to provide support for one of its main customers, St Jude Medical, which is scheduled to begin operations in Bayan Lepas Industrial Estate in 2011.

It will provide precision manufacturing and engineering services for medical devices used in cardiology, endoscopy, orthopaedics, drug delivery, and neurology to St Jude Medical and its other customers in the region.

Accellent’s other customers include Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew, Stryker and Zimmer.

The other two MNCs, with plans to set up manufacturing facilities in Penang, are from US and Germany, which also provide design and manufacturing services for medical devices.

The MNC from Indianan in the US specialises in manufacturing surgical instruments and orthopaedic implants for its customers. It is now in talks with the Government to obtain incentives.

Existing MNCs such as B. Braun and Symmetry Medical are also undertaking expansion exercises this year to increase output.

Recently, B Braun also held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new RM300mil plant, which would boost production output by 50% in 2013, and increase total production space by 131% from 23,200 sq m to 53,700 sq m. B. Braun’s vice-president of operations Juergen Schloesser said that B. Braun was starting the R&D work of new safety products and in 2013 plans an additional RM1.7bil in investments for various expansion projects. The Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) said the medical devices industry in the country should register double digit growth this year.

Penang Foundry & Engineering Industries Association (PENFEIA) president Datuk Ng Chai Eng said local small and medium companies providing manufacturing services for MNCs in the country should try to obtain the ISO 13485 certification, as Malaysia was evolving into a medical hub of the ASEAN region. “With the certification, they could attract MNCs to outsource the manufacturing of an entire medical device to them.

“Without ISO 13485, local companies could get involve only in partial sub-assembly work for a medical device,” he said.

Meanwhile, local small and medium firms and public-listed companies involved in the manufacturing of medical devices are expecting to improve their performance in 2010 over that of last year.

Vigilenz Medical Devices Sdn Bhd chief executive officer S.Choudhury said the company was targeting its sales of sutures and herniamesh to hit around RM8mil this year, compared to about RM6mil last year.

Pentamaster Corp Bhd executive chairman C.B. Chuah said he expected the group’s medical device business to contribute about 20% to its 2010 revenue, compared to about 10% last year.

In 2009, Pentamaster’s revenue stood at about RM80mil.

UWC Holdings Sdn Bhd business development manager Ng Sze Yen said the group expected its revenue to rise by about 20% this year from last year’s RM60mil.

source:the star online