A one-stop shop for manufacturing challenging medical devices

The Partner Companies (TPC), a global network of specialty manufacturers that serve the aerospace, defense, energy, medical, technology, EV, automotive, and telecom industries, has become a one-stop shop for manufacturing challenging medical devices, according to Chief Financial Officer Christian Streu.

In the company’s early days, founders Dan Brumlik and Scott Bekemeyer saw an opportunity to unite a strategic group of manufacturers with industry expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, collaborative perspective, and a great reputation for customer service.

Founded in 2010, TPC has grown to include 10 separate companies: E-Fab, Elcon Precision, Fotofab, L&T Precision, Lattice Materials, Microphoto, Optiforms, PEI, Pinnacle Precision Metal, and UPG.

The manufacturing network specializes in niche processes, including photochemical etching, ceramic metallization, crystal growth, and electropolishing, but TPC’s operating companies are also experts in core manufacturing capabilities such as injection molding, machining, metal fabrication, and finishing.

TPC operates 14 plants around the world; while most of its operations are in the U.S., it also operates plants in Mexico, Wales, and China.

The company produces a variety of medical products, from implantable and oncology-related devices to components for MRI machines. TPC also manufactures tungsten blades for surgeries and highly engineered and tested reflectors for infant warmers for neonatal care for hospitals.

“We make this part that goes into a device that helps with incontinence – it’s pretty slick,” says Fotofab President Charles Cohen. “It’s implanted, attached to the bladder, and on the outside of your body, you can charge it wirelessly, and the doctor can also program it based on how you’re progressing.”

A suite of capabilities

Streu says the 10 companies that make up TPC lend themselves to tackling the most challenging engineering and fabrication jobs.

“What we bring to our customer base is this suite of capabilities to provide that holistic solution, whether it’s flat, metal implantable meshes, or a complex assembly that’s going to serve as radiation therapy technology,” he says. “Sites such as Fotofab will collaborate with our site in San Jose, which does the assembly side of things.”

TPC will expand into a blood diagnostic business line at the end of this year, producing the products at its Wales facility for UPG.

“We’re excited to continue to grow the medical piece of the business, which is about 25% of our total business,” Streu says.

The global network of manufacturers has helped TPC navigate disrupted supply chains resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and allows it to help its customers simplify their operations.

The collaboration also provides an opportunity for the companies to trade knowledge.

“I think the key is the opportunities to learn from each other and share knowledge, share contacts from the customer base,” Cohen says. “We can also talk about what our other companies can do, as well. For example, if we supply a part that goes into a larger enclosure or requires plastic Fotofab, we have sister companies that we bring into the mix. We can develop a complete design for the customer, developing a larger blanket benefit for them.”

Prototyping

TPC’s business model also allows for quick turnaround times.

“Another critical aspect is working with the OEMs and the prototype side of the business,” Cohen says. “I think most of our companies do a really good job at prototypes – we can be very quick. On the design side, we help manufacturers and give them suggestions and advice on what to manufacture or how to make it less expensive while also maintaining the requirements.”

For example, Streu says TPC manufactures bone mesh for orthopedic surgeries for one of its customers, which started in the prototype phase. The TPC team helped the customer design for manufacturability and has since grown to produce tens of thousands of the products each year.

“We can scale from small batch prototyping runs all the way through production really well,” Streu says.

Communication can sometimes be challenging, Streu says, but regularly scheduled meetings have helped streamline this area of the business.

“Communication is everything when you’re running 14 plants around the world,” he says. “It’s good corporate hygiene – we get together as a management team, collectively, at least once a month. We also have some subgroups, so we can share best practices and share market or product information, where appropriate.”

An all-electronic process

For its part, Fotofab uses an all-electronic manufacturing process for speed and efficiency.

Chemcut, one of Fotofab’s preferred vendors, provides a direct imager, which Cohen describes as similar to an inkjet printer.

“We’re using machines up front that are printing light on the metal,” he says. “Most of the machines are chemistry-based in a conveyor – a lot of those are CAMCAR. We were one of the first chemical-etching companies to use direct imaging. Speed is very important to Fotofab, and it’s reduced our manufacturing process by about 20%, just having that technology on board. It’s great for prototypes, and tooling isn’t required.”

Chemical etching is ideal for manufacturing very complex, fine features, Cohen says.

“The complexity doesn’t make a difference for our manufacturing process, which is neat,” he says. “That’s important when they’re designing something, it’s very complex, and they want a quick chemical etching. Fotofab is fabulous at that. We’re using chemistry and chemistry doesn’t discriminate. Whether it’s making one hole or 3 million holes, it’s the same process.”

The process is particularly beneficial for implantable devices, Cohen says.

“Typically, with stamping, you’re moving metal – you’re pushing down and you’re stressing and cutting it at the edges, and it’s actually changing the atomic level of the metal itself,” he says. “It’s creating stresses in the grain, so it may act differently under different circumstances in the manufacturing process. If you need something perfectly flat, stamping isn’t for you, because it’s creating a burr to the bottom of the metal – usually about 10% of the thickness of the metal – and you need some additional processes to remove that burr.”

Roughly five of TPC’s companies use chemical etching technology, Streu says, while the rest use CNC machining, injection molding, sheet metal processing, and complex assembly.

TPC works with individual customers on quality control processes, adhering to GMP and ISO standards, and the companies have evolved with ever-changing requirements.

“Machinery and inspection equipment has improved throughout the years,” Cohen says. “It’s become more technical, quicker, and can read further to the right of the decimal. The requirements are becoming more difficult, and tolerances are becoming tighter, and you must have a very complex, thorough inspection process to meet those requirements.”

A growth sector

Streu views medical as a growth sector for TPC and says there’ll be continued investment in the space.

“Speaking to our acquisition strategy, medical device manufacturers are on our shortlist,” he says. “As far as our philosophy and how to evaluate those, it’s usually capability driven. Is this something our customers are asking for? If so, let’s go find somebody who’s best in class.”

Cohen says Fotofab will continue increasing its capabilities to serve the medical industry.

“We have a lot of additive processes that can be very quick, so it’s not just chemical etching,” he says. “We want to provide a complete product.”

Overall, Streu says TPC will keep taking on new challenges and providing solutions to customers’ most pressing problems.

“From a TPC global perspective, we like to take on the most challenging jobs,” he says. “We want to deploy as many of our capabilities into the problems that our customers are trying to solve as possible, all the way from prototyping to design for manufacturing ability to full scale production, being that one-stop shop for these really challenging, really cool devices.”

The Partner Companies
https://www.thepartnercos.com