The town that runs on medical device innovation
This month marks the 20th anniversary of medical manufacturer Raumedic’s facility in the town of Zwönitz, Germany. But this medical engineering site has an even richer history...
As early as the 1980s, the nationally owned company Messgerätewerk ran the facility in Zwönitz, where it was busy developing the first pressure measurement probes.
After the German reunification, polymer specialist Rehau AG + Co took over the business in 1996 to complement its medical division.
Spun off from Rehau in 2004, the factory in Zwönitz continued to operate under the new name Raumedic AG.
With its headquarters in Helmbrechts (Bavaria), the company now employs over 680 workers worldwide, with a focus on extrusion, injection moulding and assembly of products for the medical and pharmaceutical industry.
“In 1996, we had three engineers and a three-person production team,” said Jens Rausendorf, manager of the production department.
Today, the Zwönitz location is home to 26 employees who develop and produce precision pressure measurement systems, primarily for neurosurgery applications.
Raumedic products can be found in many German clinics – and the catheters produced in Zwönitz are used all around the world.
The group says it takes two weeks to complete all of the steps that go into the production of a microchip catheter.
In clinics, the catheters are mainly used in cases of severe head injury or hydrocephalus.
If pressure in the brain becomes too elevated due to swelling, permanent damage can result.
Microchip catheters measure this pressure and make it easier for the doctor to provide treatment.