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, Kyle Hedges, product manager at Applied Plastics, 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?
Kyle Hedges: We will showcase our new PTFE Natural Coated Ablated Pull Wires and their availability through our online store during CompaMed 2023. PTFE Natural is a proprietary coating application that delivers the best performing, most durable, and lubricious PTFE-coated products for steerable catheter design. The Applied Plastics Online Store makes our PTFE Natural Coated Ablated Pull Wires easily accessible to your engineering team when you need lubricious pull wires for your pull ring assembly.
Fenske: What’s the most common challenge customers inquire about, and how do you address it?
Hedges: One of the most critical challenges customers across all markets share is longer lead times and product availability. The world continues to see disruption to the supply chain, and Applied Plastics has taken measures to help support our customers. We have increased our coated and uncoated material inventory, expanded our coating capabilities, and qualified additional partners to minimize the impact of longer lead times and product availability on their supply chain. We continue to have very competitive lead times.
Fenske: If you could give one piece of advice to companies seeking a manufacturing partner before they make a decision, what would it be?
Hedges: Look for a company that can help you add value. When we look for a new partner, we look for companies that help us solve problems by understanding our needs and the demands we face every day. Applied Plastics strives to be more than just a PTFE coater; we want to be a solutions provider that can help you add value to your process, design, or supply chain. Delivering high-quality, reliable PTFE products makes Applied Plastics an excellent manufacturing partner. We are confident you will find our products meet your development and manufacturing needs.
Fenske: What are the forces driving medical device manufacturers to seek your technology/services over doing it in-house?
Hedges: In the ever-evolving competitive supply chain, companies always seek the best ways to get more from their limited resources. During early product development stages, when R&D volumes are low, raw material suppliers often require large minimum order quantities, adding unnecessary cost and inventory overhead to the project. Working with Applied Plastics allows them to leverage our expertise, speed, and quality to manage a portion of their supply chain, allowing them to apply their resources to their expertise.
Fenske: In what ways is your company able to aid in getting a product (project) to market faster?
Hedges: Speed to market is a crucial attribute to the Applied Plastics customer support strategy. We carry extensive coated and uncoated inventory to allow our teams to respond quickly to engineering and supply chain needs. We can ship over 150 sizes in 24 hours through our Online Store. We also support our customers with responsive sales, customer service, and engineering resources to help them navigate their unique design needs and minimize unnecessary delays.
Applied Plastics is located at Medica/Compamed in Hall 8B, Booth/Stand F20-1.
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, Kyle Hedges, product manager at Applied Plastics, 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?
Kyle Hedges: We will showcase our new PTFE Natural Coated Ablated Pull Wires and their availability through our online store during CompaMed 2023. PTFE Natural is a proprietary coating application that delivers the best performing, most durable, and lubricious PTFE-coated products for steerable catheter design. The Applied Plastics Online Store makes our PTFE Natural Coated Ablated Pull Wires easily accessible to your engineering team when you need lubricious pull wires for your pull ring assembly.
Fenske: What’s the most common challenge customers inquire about, and how do you address it?
Hedges: One of the most critical challenges customers across all markets share is longer lead times and product availability. The world continues to see disruption to the supply chain, and Applied Plastics has taken measures to help support our customers. We have increased our coated and uncoated material inventory, expanded our coating capabilities, and qualified additional partners to minimize the impact of longer lead times and product availability on their supply chain. We continue to have very competitive lead times.
Fenske: If you could give one piece of advice to companies seeking a manufacturing partner before they make a decision, what would it be?
Hedges: Look for a company that can help you add value. When we look for a new partner, we look for companies that help us solve problems by understanding our needs and the demands we face every day. Applied Plastics strives to be more than just a PTFE coater; we want to be a solutions provider that can help you add value to your process, design, or supply chain. Delivering high-quality, reliable PTFE products makes Applied Plastics an excellent manufacturing partner. We are confident you will find our products meet your development and manufacturing needs.
Fenske: What are the forces driving medical device manufacturers to seek your technology/services over doing it in-house?
Hedges: In the ever-evolving competitive supply chain, companies always seek the best ways to get more from their limited resources. During early product development stages, when R&D volumes are low, raw material suppliers often require large minimum order quantities, adding unnecessary cost and inventory overhead to the project. Working with Applied Plastics allows them to leverage our expertise, speed, and quality to manage a portion of their supply chain, allowing them to apply their resources to their expertise.
Fenske: In what ways is your company able to aid in getting a product (project) to market faster?
Hedges: Speed to market is a crucial attribute to the Applied Plastics customer support strategy. We carry extensive coated and uncoated inventory to allow our teams to respond quickly to engineering and supply chain needs. We can ship over 150 sizes in 24 hours through our Online Store. We also support our customers with responsive sales, customer service, and engineering resources to help them navigate their unique design needs and minimize unnecessary delays.
Applied Plastics is located at Medica/Compamed in Hall 8B, Booth/Stand F20-1.
