Vention Medical Acquires ATEK Medical Group

Vention Medical is acquiring the ATEK Medical Group, a move both companies claim will add enhanced manufacturing capabilities and increased scale in Costa Rica.

The combined company will include ATEK Medical and ATEK Plastics and feature a suite of capabilities and services that includes product design and development; component technological capbabilities such as balloons, shrink tubing, extrusions and injection molding; assembly and packaging; Lean business processes; and the ability to invest and grow with customers. In addition, the merged firm will encompass 175,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Costa Rica as well as a new 85,000-square-foot facility in Grand Rapids, Mich. Before the merger with Vention was announced, Atek executives said the company would create a “packaging center of excellence” at the Grand Rapids location and dedicate much of the floor space to its specialized barrier packaging operations. The site also will house a lean manufacturing “3P” line—named for “production, preparation and process” – which provides room for a complete mock up of a manufacturing line to fine tune plant layouts before production begins.

“Our partnership with the ATEK Medical Group management team will allow Vention to provide an enhanced customer experience,” Vention CEO Dan Croteau said in a news release. “With the tremendous pressures our medical device customers are facing, it is an exciting time to offer our comprehensive set of solutions to the market.”

ATEK’s major shareholder, Christy Orris, and Kay Phillips, ATEK Companies president, will become shareholders of Vention Medical. Phillips also will join Vention’s medical board of directors, according to Croteau.

Based in Minneapolis, Minn., ATEK Medical Group operates facilities in Grand Rapids; Kerrville, Texas; and Heredia, Costa Rica. Since its inception more than three decades ago, the company’s Michigan site has launched more than 400 medical devices. The company estimates it manufactures more than 6 million finished goods units and 150 million medical plastics components annually.

“As a growing company, Vention is a very appealing partner for us in terms of their experience and their complimentary capabilities in design, components, and assembly,” said ATEK Medical President Chris Oleksy, who will remain with the combined company. “We are excited to work together to continue to build upon our company’s successes and create the industry leading solutions partner for our customers.”