Phillips-Medisize beefs up capabilities in Europe and U.S.Phillips-Medisize beefs up capabilities in Europe and U.S.

A plant in the Czech republic was expanded by 10,000 sq ft to provide more cleanroom production space and expand its  capabilities, which include plastic and liquid silicone rubber (LSR) injection molding, catheter extrusion, and assembly capabilities in class 7 and 8 cleanrooms.

The facility is FDA registered and ISO13485 certified and uses the global Phillips-Medisize quality system.

"Our Czech facility is an important part of our strategy of providing state-of-the-art medical facilities, equipped with the latest technologies, to our customers in regions around the world," said Matt Jennings, President and CEO of Phillips-Medisize Corp.

There are now 138 employees at the site, up 60% as a result of new business. 

In a press conference earlier this year, Jennings had said that Phillips-Medisize wanted to attract medical device assembly business conducted in Mexico to a low-cost Medisize advanced assembly manufacturing site in the Czech Republic as part of what he calls growing interest in "Europe-for-Europe" manufacturing strategy.

A focal point of recent manufacturing investments in the United States has been the company's plant in Menomonie, WI where it operates 40 injection molding machines with clamping forces ranging from 20 to 300 tons, according to the company's Web site.

Phillips-Medisize installed cold chain storage for pharmaceuticals that require storage and handling in the temperature range of 2-8ºC. Welch said that the cold chain storage system will hold temperatures constant to within ± 0.5ºC and includes redundant compressors.

The 25,000-sq-ft addition is now open, housing a class 8 cleanroom assembly space. The Menomonie site now has more than 200,000 sq ft of class 7 and 8 cleanroom space.

Phillips-Medisize Corp. is headquartered in Hudson, WI, and employs more than 2100 people in 19 locations throughout the United States, Europe and China. The company also has design centers in Wisconsin, California, and the Netherlands.

It has annual sales of just under $500 million with 75% of the total revenue coming from drug delivery, medical device and diagnostic products such as disposable insulin pens, glucose meters, specialty inhalation drug delivery devices, single-use surgical devices, and consumable diagnostic components.