Cantel Medical Purchases Siemens’ Hemodialysis Water Business

Via its Mar Cor Purification subsidiary, Little Falls, N.J.-based Cantel Medical Corporation has bought the hemodialysis water business from Siemens’ Water Technologies business unit. Mar Cor provides water purification products to dialysis clinics, hospitals and medical research centers, while Cantel focuses broadly on products for infection prevention and control. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mar Cor provides water purification technology to approximately 600 dialysis centers in the United States and Canada, the company claims, and this acquisition will significantly expand its North American footprint.

“The acquisition of the Siemens hemodialysis water customer base enables Mar Cor to realize increased efficiencies from our existing field service operations while also expanding our footprint into new geographies,” said Curtis Weitnauer, president and CEO of Mar Cor Purification. “With this geographic expansion, Mar Cor will further improve its ability to service its large national customers. We look forward to continuing to provide our unique dialysis products and services to our new and existing customers.

“This acquisition strengthens our position as a leading provider of water purification products and services to the dialysis industry,” Cantel Medical’s President and CEO, Andrew Krakauer, added. “Our advanced heat-based disinfection water technology coupled with our nationwide service footprint makes Mar Cor the best choice for infection prevention and control to our dialysis customers.”

Siemens’ hemodialysis center provides service or portable deionization; customized service contracts; emergency deionization; maintenance contracts for expendable replacement; water sampling and analysis; and new system installation and upgrades. Deionization removes dissolved inorganic ions in the water supply. Dialysis machines work by removing excess water and waste from the bloodstream, replacing the function of a kidney that may not be functioning correctly—so contaminated water can cause serious problems including anemia, nausea, vomiting and anorexia in patients.

The acquisition will add Siemens’ Med-Ro reverse osmosis medical systems series and hemodialysis bicarbonate mixing and dispensing system to Mar Cor’s water purification products portfolio.
Cantel has expanded rapidly over the past decade, in part through a number of acquisitions. Its biggest deal to date was the $100 million purchase of Conroe, Texas-based endoscopy company Byrne Medical, in 2011.