Q&A: The reasons behind Alleima's acquisition of Endosmart

Following its acquisition of Endosmart, our sister magazine Med-Tech Innovation found out more from Alleima about the reasons behind the move. 

Alleima, formerly known as Sandvik Materials Technology, is a manufacturer of advanced stainless steels and special alloys and plans to strengthen its position on the medical wire market, both in the US and Europe.

First, tell us about the strategic move about this acquisition? 

This acquisition is aligned with our strategy to grow our medical business and continuing forward-integrate into medical components. With complementary material technologies and Endosmart’s expertise and capabilities in processing and component production of nitinol wire, the acquisition is enabling further forward-integration in the value chain of the medical industry. 

The product and service offering, certifications, and existing customer base of Endosmart also expands the current addressable market for Alleima, which would take many years to build from start to end. It also adds a footprint in Europe. The combined expertise and footprint will drive further product development and geographical expansion through cross sales between the product portfolios and regions, as well as possibilities of joint utilisation of production and application capabilities.

How does adding Endosmart to Alleima add and/or complement the existing product portfolio? 

• Endosmart provides medical device companies with products and services primarily in the fields of urology, oncology, cardiology as well as instruments for orthopaedic and vascular applications. 
• Endosmart’s expertise and capabilities in processing nitinol, the acquisition is enabling further forward-integration in the value chain of the medical industry. 
• The product and service offering, certifications, and existing customer base of Endosmart expands the current addressable market for Alleima. 
• The combined expertise and footprint will drive further product development and geographical expansion through cross sales between the product portfolios and regions, as well as possibilities of joint utilisation of production and application capabilities.
• Typical applications for Alleima’s ultra-fine wire-based components are pacemakers, deep brain stimulation devices for people with Parkinson’s disease or epilepsy, hearing implants and remote monitor devices such as continuous glucose monitors for people with diabetes. The wire-based components are used for stimulation, sensing, and transmitting signals in or outside the human body. These components must be biocompatible, and depending on the application, must offer features such as lubricity, conductivity, or fatigue resistance. The fine wire and wire-based components are trademarked Exera.

Does this acquisition mean we are likely to see new/more enhanced innovations to come?

By combining the Exera based stimulation and sensing technology with nitinol-based technology, new and innovative solutions in many different medical device markets are possible including cardiovascular, neuromodulation, remote patent monitoring and urology. New and exciting material solution will be available to our combined customer base and market in general.

Are there any exciting developments in the pipeline that you can tell us about? 

Nothing that we can highlight at this time. With this acquisition and the one last year acquiring Accuratech Group Alleima have added a good footprint in Europe, manufacturing capabilities and added materials to the already vast portfolio of alloys.