Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief11.13.23
For virtually everyone in the U.S., November marks the beginning of winter, shorter days, decreasing temperatures, and Thanksgiving. For those involved with medical device development and manufacturing, it’s also the month for the Medica and CompaMed trade shows in Dusseldorf, Germany. While last year’s event seemed to bring the crowd’s back following the COVID-induced hiatus, this year may be a more true return to form.
With this in mind, I reached out to a number of companies who will be exhibiting at the show to find out directly from them what they are showing off or focusing on at the event, what challenges customers have brought them, and where they see their role within the industry in aiding medical device manufacturers. Tackling these questions as well as a couple others, Dave Ohmann, CEO of Wytech Industries and Mountain Manufacturing Technologies, shared a few insights to help you determine if the firm should be a potential services partner for you in 2024 or beyond.
Sean Fenske: What technology or service are you emphasizing at Medica/CompaMed this year?
Dave Ohmann: Mandrels (processing aids) for building catheters and other medical devices.
Fenske: What’s the most common challenge customers inquire about and how do you address it?
Ohmann: Longevity of mandrels is a challenge; it can be extended through selection of proper materials like hardened stainless steels. Since mandrels are a processing aid and rarely accounted for in the Bill of Materials, production stockouts of mandrels can occur for our customers. Wytech/Mountain offers inventory replenishment programs that greatly reduce the frequency of stockouts from occurring.
Fenske: If you could give one piece of advice to companies seeking a manufacturing partner before they make a decision, what would it be?
Ohmann: Determine if the supplier is technical enough to understand the complete supply chain and if they have a deep enough talent bench where you can get direct access to manufacturing experts.
Fenske: What are the forces driving medical device manufacturers to seek your technology/services over doing it in-house?
Ohmann: Mandrels (processing aids), simply stated, are not a core competency for medical device manufacturers. They lack the manufacturing equipment and tool design experience to optimize the mandrel.
Fenske: In what ways is your company able to aid in getting a product (project) to market faster?
Ohmann: Wytech and Mountain Manufacturing Technologies together have the largest breadth of raw material inventory in terms of diameters range and metals for manufacturing of custom mandrels globally. Together, our organizations manufacture over 85 million parts annually servicing startups, contract manufacturing organizations, and multinational OEMs.
Wytech and Mountain Manufacturing Technologies are located at Medica/Compamed in Hall 8B, Booth/Stand J33.
With this in mind, I reached out to a number of companies who will be exhibiting at the show to find out directly from them what they are showing off or focusing on at the event, what challenges customers have brought them, and where they see their role within the industry in aiding medical device manufacturers. Tackling these questions as well as a couple others, Dave Ohmann, CEO of Wytech Industries and Mountain Manufacturing Technologies, shared a few insights to help you determine if the firm should be a potential services partner for you in 2024 or beyond.
Sean Fenske: What technology or service are you emphasizing at Medica/CompaMed this year?
Dave Ohmann: Mandrels (processing aids) for building catheters and other medical devices.
Fenske: What’s the most common challenge customers inquire about and how do you address it?
Ohmann: Longevity of mandrels is a challenge; it can be extended through selection of proper materials like hardened stainless steels. Since mandrels are a processing aid and rarely accounted for in the Bill of Materials, production stockouts of mandrels can occur for our customers. Wytech/Mountain offers inventory replenishment programs that greatly reduce the frequency of stockouts from occurring.
Fenske: If you could give one piece of advice to companies seeking a manufacturing partner before they make a decision, what would it be?
Ohmann: Determine if the supplier is technical enough to understand the complete supply chain and if they have a deep enough talent bench where you can get direct access to manufacturing experts.
Fenske: What are the forces driving medical device manufacturers to seek your technology/services over doing it in-house?
Ohmann: Mandrels (processing aids), simply stated, are not a core competency for medical device manufacturers. They lack the manufacturing equipment and tool design experience to optimize the mandrel.
Fenske: In what ways is your company able to aid in getting a product (project) to market faster?
Ohmann: Wytech and Mountain Manufacturing Technologies together have the largest breadth of raw material inventory in terms of diameters range and metals for manufacturing of custom mandrels globally. Together, our organizations manufacture over 85 million parts annually servicing startups, contract manufacturing organizations, and multinational OEMs.
Wytech and Mountain Manufacturing Technologies are located at Medica/Compamed in Hall 8B, Booth/Stand J33.