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Stryker to cut suppliers

Thu, Nov 27th 2008 00:00

Stryker Corp. in Kalamazoo is looking to contract its supply chain by 60-70 percent.

Stepped-up enforcement of quality systems by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is forcing medical-device manufacturers to more closely scrutinize suppliers and make contractions in supply chains. The net effect, experts suggest, could make it harder for manufacturers looking to diversify into the industry.

But to those meeting FDA quality certifications, it could mean more business.

"The bar that suppliers need to get over to do business with us has just been raised by the FDA," Kevin Lewis, associate director of supply chain for Stryker's medical division, said during a panel discussion at the MichBio Expo Nov. 19.

Stryker [NYSE: SYK] has said it plans to spend at least $50 million over the next three years to standardize quality across its supply base.

"What we realize is we've got a lot of good-quality product," Stephen MacMillan, Stryker's president and CEO, said during a third-quarter conference call.

"But we haven't had the compliance systems all the way through the company as rigorous as we would like. And therefore we're looking not just at the facilities � I got warning letters � but going obviously much broader across the entire company."

The traditionally decentralized company is stepping up inspections and audits of its suppliers, Anderson said, to make quality standards more consistent across its 22 worldwide manufacturing locations.

"What we want to do is find the right number of suppliers that can meet those standards," he said. "If we can get a supplier that can do work for three or four divisions, then that's even better."

Manufacturers that want to supply to medical-device OEMs must meet certain ISO and other quality standards as stipulated by the FDA, even if they don't usually have to deal directly with government inspectors.

Source: Business Review Western Michigan
Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2008
By Sven Gustafson

New medical device firm gets shot in the arm

Mon, Nov 24th 2008 00:00

A new medical device company just set up temporary headquarters within the offices of the West Michigan Science & Technology Initiative in Grand Valley State University's Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, and with a recent injection of seed funding, it's ready to step up its development and commercialization efforts.

The fledgling TransCorp is developing novel surgical instruments and implants for neurosurgical and orthopedic applications. Its co-founders include David Lowry, M.D., a neurosurgeon at the Brain and Spine Center in Holland; Scott Tuinstra, a physician assistant at the Brain and Spine Center; Roger Veldman, associate professor of engineering at Hope College; and Des O'Farrell, a former mechanical engineer with AutoCam who is now TransCorp's president. O'Farrell founded two diagnostic start-up companies in the past and left his most recent position to run TransCorp's day-to-day operations, while the other co-founders continue to work in their respective positions.

Lowry, Tuinstra, Veldman and O'Ferrell are the idea guys, said TransCorp's chairman, Mike DeVries, president of EDF Ventures of Ann Arbor. Currently, everything is in the early development and prototype phase so nothing is ready to test yet, DeVries noted.

EDF Ventures, along with Hopen Therapeutics LLC of Kalamazoo and Grand Angels of Grand Rapids, provided TransCorp with seed capital.

DeVries and Lowry met a while back through a mutual friend, and Lowry told DeVries about some of the surgical device concepts he had in mind.

"I told him that whenever he wanted to get a company going to let me know, and he did," DeVries recalled.

Lowry has a proven track record in coming up with ideas worth pursuing, and he understands what it takes to get a medical device concept from the drawing board to the marketplace, DeVries said. Lowry previously co-founded Northstar Neuroscience, a neuro-stimulation company headquartered in Seattle.

TransCorp is working on several surgical device applications simultaneously, Lowry said, all of which are the product of the four co-founders' combined imaginations and expertise. He said some of the applications are further advanced than others and that TransCorp's first surgical device will likely hit the market in 12 to 18 months.

Lowry and DeVries would only say that what is novel about the surgical device, and the ones to follow, is that it's minimally invasive, so it improves patient safety. Lowry said TransCorp is choosing to say very little about the product while it awaits patent approval.

DeVries put together a business plan for TransCorp, figured out how the company would use its proceeds and how it would be financed going forward. He had connections with Mark Olesnavage, president of Hopen Therapeutics, and Mike Jandernoa, co-founder of
Grand Angels and general partner in Bridge Street Capital Fund. DeVries interested the two of them in investing in the new company, as well.

Olesnavage, who serves on TransCorp's board of directors, is also CEO of Metobolic Solutions Development Co. of Kalamazoo and former executive vice president of Perrigo Co. of Allegan. Jandernoa is former chairman of Perrigo. Lowry personally invested in the company, too, but DeVries would not disclose how much all the parties involved invested in the venture.

EDF has made investments in start-up companies all over the country.

"It's very similar to what we're doing with TransCorp: We find either a doctor or an engineer with a good idea, we put some seed capital in, and then we go and raise additional capital from additional sources," he explained.

The Western Michigan and Northwestern Indiana areas are probably the biggest suppliers of medical device products in the world, so it makes a lot of sense for TransCorp to locate here, DeVries said.

"I really think that, given the manufacturing base here and the depth of expertise in both engineering and manufacturing, that West Michigan is a very good place to begin these kinds of ventures," Lowry added. "I think that will become increasingly the case as the medical infrastructure here continues to mature."

Source: Grand Rapids Business Journal
November 24, 2008
By Anne Bond Emrich

Member Spotlight - Lawrence Productions

Fri, Nov 14th 2008 00:00

Lawrence Productions is a full-service film, HD video, audio, CD-ROM and DVD production company located in downtown Grand Rapids. For over 20 years, we have produced successful electronic sales and marketing projects for the Healthcare, R&D and related field organizations. Nothing captures your message better than a high quality, digital DVD presentation.

We are storytellers at heart. We partner with our clients to help share their passion with the world. Our staff of 13 dedicated award-winning professionals are ready to work for you. For more information contact Curtis Cunningham at 616-454-4380, ext. 28 or visit us at www.lpi.com.

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Member Spotlight - Impact Executive Search

Fri, Nov 14th 2008 00:00

Impact Executive Search is an independent boutique executive search firm in located the Mid West, specializing in conducting searches in the manufacturing, technology (software & hardware) and service industries. Although located in the Mid West, searches are conducted for clients throughout North America.

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Member Spotlight - Wolverine Building Group

Fri, Nov 14th 2008 00:00

WOLVERINE BUILDING GROUP stands in the forefront of the construction industry providing quality building solutions through integrity, value and craftsmanship. Consisting of four divisions, we offer a diverse background with unmatched experience and versatility. The unique blend of our four divisions allow us to pool a wide variety of expertise and penetrate almost any segment of the construction industry from general contracting to construction management to design/build services; from renovations and remodels to additions and new construction. We offer our customers the most reliable and efficient building solutions, customized to meet each of their specific needs.

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Member Spotlight - Cynthia Kay and Company

Fri, Nov 14th 2008 00:00

In the communications business, Cynthia Kay and Company is a rarity. The company produces high-quality communications that are used on the national and international scene and uses its experience to "think with and for" clients. The Company serves an active client base of over 130 businesses and organizations. Cynthia also works with companies from the Fortune 100 to small business to coach, train and develop communication skills.

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Could auto industry layoffs spur more entrepreneurialism in Mich.?

Fri, Nov 14th 2008 00:00

Like many of you, my colleagues and I here at Business Review world headquarters have spent a lot of time lately contemplating the collapse of the automotive industry and its ramifications for Michigan.

Principally, we wonder: What will happen to all those thousands of highly talented engineers, designers, IT professionals and administrative types who are taking buyouts or finding themselves on the wrong end of layoff notices? What hope could they possibly have of finding new jobs here, when everyone from furniture makers to appliance manufacturers to (gulp) newspapers are laying off workers by the truckload?

Could we see something similar to what is happening in Ann Arbor as Pfizer vacates a sprawling research campus that once employed more than 2,100 workers?

While about two-thirds of the ex-Pfizer workers are believed to have either transfered elsewhere with the company or taken new jobs outside Michigan, as many as 500 former employees are believed to have landed at other companies in the region's growing life sciences sector. And entrepreneurial former workers have started at least 23 life science companies in the area, according to Ann Arbor SPARK.

Of course, the comparison between Pfizer and the Detroit auto industry is wrought with flaws.

For starters, while life sciences jobs in Michigan appear to be growing, automotive jobs aren't. And the scale of automotive job losses in Michigan already dwarfs that of Pfizer.

That's not to say there aren't still opportunities left in the industry &ndash such as in hybrid-electric vehicle technologies &ndash but it's reasonable to assume that many nervous or out-of-work auto types are right now looking for ways to escape the highly volatile industry.

So in the wake of all this economic destruction, will entrepreneurialism and creativity flourish? Some business leaders think so.

"It's really no other thing than (workers) all recognize they have to diversify and they're all looking for new opportunities that might be non-automotive," said Aaron Crumm, co-founder of Adaptive Materials Inc., an Ann Arbor-based developer of portable fuel cells. "It's a great time for us to do what we do because there's a need and there's a desire on the other side of the table as well, it's a great time to partner."

Scott Kube, who directs the new Farmington Hills office of telecommunications service provider CBeyond [Nasdaq:CBEY], agrees. Part of the Atlanta-based company's rationale for locating in Michigan stemmed from seeing the proliferation of small businesses started by BellSouth workers who were laid off after the company was acquired by AT&T in 2006.

"What we may see continually here is a number of the people accepting buyouts, obviously some will take other jobs, some will retire, but there is going to be a certain portion that is going to start small and medium businesses," Kube said. "And those are great candidates for us because they're used to big-business tools, which we sell."

For the sake of this state, let's hope they're right.

Source: Oakland Business Review

Michigan Manufacturers Association looks to life sciences

Thu, Nov 13th 2008 00:00

As life sciences emerges as a large economic sector, Chuck Hadden wants to learn more.
The CEO of the 3,500-member Michigan Manufacturers Association sees an opportunity to provide whatever support his organization can offer to the life sciences industry through collaboration.

"That's the new word of the new era. Where can we help each other and give each other credit," said Hadden, who took over as chief executive of the 100-year-old MMA Sept. 15.

"There are things we can do," he said. "I know that's an important industry that's growing, and maybe there are some things we can do to help."

Hadden points to Kalamazoo-based Stryker Corp. and Perrigo Co. in Allegan as major manufacturers in the life sciences sector. Many life sciences companies now involved in research, whether of medical devices or pharmaceuticals, are future manufacturers, he said.

Hadden sees opportunity, for instance, in working with the life sciences industry association MichBio or other groups on lobbying efforts in Lansing, networking or extending member services.

The idea is to find common ground and leverage everybody's expertise together for the benefit of all.

"If we help them succeed with manufacturing, then manufacturing succeeds in Michigan," said Hadden, who plans to attend MichBio's two-day 2008 expo and conference, Nov. 18-19 in Novi.

The Michigan Manufacturers Association is sponsoring two sessions at the expo.

The Ann Arbor-based MichBio puts the life sciences industry in Michigan at 580 companies, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, instrumentation, diagnostics and biotech research and support services. Those companies collectively employ nearly 32,000 people and generate $4.8 billion in annual sales.

MichBio President and CEO Steve Rapundalo welcomes any potential collaboration or partnership with the MMA, saying the "more the merrier."

"The more we can synergize, the better off we all are in the state, regardless of whatever sector we're in," Rapundalo said.

The MMA could prove helpful in reaching out to lower-tier automotive suppliers, for instance, and introducing them to the medical device business that needs many of the same capabilities.

"The Manufacturers Association knows how to talk to their members in their own language," Rapundalo said.

Hadden likens the MMA's interest in life sciences to other efforts made to collaborate with various trade groups. Just last week he spent two days meeting with the auto industry's Original Equipment Suppliers Association based in suburban Detroit to explore ways the groups can collaborate.

"I'm trying to find ways we can do things with a lot of people," Hadden said. "I just see more and more that's the way of the world."

Source: Business Review

Michigan's new economy grows, creates jobs, says Automation Alley report

Thu, Nov 13th 2008 00:00

We've all heard the news from the auto industry, and most of it ain't good. However, some positive news is dribbling out about southeast Michigan's efforts to develop its new economy.

Automation Alley's Fourth Annual Technology Industry Report states that even while the auto industry retreats, Metro Detroit's new economy is moving forward at a rapid clip.

"In spite of the fact the entire automotive industry has declined, Southeast Michigan still has one of the highest concentration of technology jobs in America," said Ken Rogers, executive director of Automation Alley. "Our workforce makes us incredibly unique, and it will lead the region and state out of these difficult times. Talent, I believe, is the next economic development arena over infrastructure - and we've got the talent required to take the region into a new economy."

The numbers are encouraging. Employment in the life sciences sector grew by 13.2 percent between 2005 and 2006, while wages in that industry increased 4 percent to an average of $97,000. The overall technology sector grew 2 percent in the same timeframe.

Small businesses in southeast Michigan also received $38 million in research and development projects in 2006. Those 97 awards are up from the previous year. Student enrollment numbers in southeast Michigan were also up 335 students in graduate studies in science and engineering.

Source: Automation Alley
Writer: Jon Zemke