MedTech Giant Stryker Opens New Metal 3D Printing Facility

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A leader in additively manufactured medical innovations, Stryker (NYSE: SYK) inaugurated a 156,000-square-foot facility in Ireland, where it plans to incorporate 600 high-tech jobs. The 80-year-old med-tech giant said the new site and employees would help increase its leadership in additive manufacturing, which plays a significant role in the healthcare sector as a means to produce sophisticated and customized medical parts.

Stryker’s Medical 3D Printing Hub

Located in the Anngrove neighborhood of County Cork, the new high-tech facility shares grounds with the AMagine Institute, Stryker’s global technology development hub and one of the world’s most extensive additive manufacturing facilities for orthopedic implants. Also considered one of the most advanced AM facilities in healthcare, AMagine sees bright ideas transformed into exciting new implants for use in spinal surgery. In recent years it has developed breakthrough technologies, from early research and development to full commercial launch and scaling.

Focused around its cornerstones, the Tritanium PL posterior lumbar cages and C Cages for use in cervical interbody fusion procedures, experts at AMagine optimize every property of the devices. Initially launched for hip and knee implants, Stryker’s Tritanium technology has been proven throughout ten years of clinical experience with more than 300,000 orthopedic devices implanted.

Tritanium PL Posterior Lumbar Cage by Stryker via additive manufacturing

Tritanium PL Posterior Lumbar Cage by Stryker via additive manufacturing. Image courtesy of Stryker.

A Medical 3D Printing Behemoth

First established in Ireland in 1998, Stryker’s Irish presence includes more than 4,000 people across eight facilities in Belfast, Limerick, and Cork, comprising the company’s global Research & Development Innovation Centre and its European manufacturing headquarters. Furthermore, the new site will add more potential to a growing number of AM applications. The company manufactures products to treat bone-related conditions across knees, hips, shoulder, ankle, craniomaxillofacial, and spine, as well as patient-specific solutions for people with significant disease progression, often with no alternative.

For the last two decades, Stryker has evolved its 3D printing processes to enable design freedom and rapid concept development. Much of its focus has been on evolving porous implants for orthopedics, designed for bone in-growth and biological fixation. The company’s investment in AM began in 2001, and since then, Stryker has collaborated with leading universities in Ireland and the UK to industrialize 3D printing for the healthcare industry. First investing in Concept Laser and Arcam machines, Stryker decided to infuse $400 million in 2016 to develop its AMagine 3D printing facility in Cook, which led to the development of its proprietary technology.

Stryker has made significant investments in Anngrove and says it will continue to invest for growth. To celebrate the official opening of the new high-tech facility, the company received a visit from the prime minister and head of the Irish government, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the Industrial Development Agency (IDA Ireland), and other local guests.

Stryker president Viju Menon joined by Taoiseach Micheal Martin and IDA CEO Martin Shanahan for the inauguration of Stryker's new Irish facilit

Stryker president Viju Menon was joined by Taoiseach Micheal Martin and IDA CEO Martin Shanahan to inaugurate Stryker’s new Irish facility. Image courtesy of IDA Ireland.

Medical 3D Printing Expands Globally

Commenting on the new facility, Martin said: “I am delighted to be at the opening of Stryker’s newly expanded Anngrove facility, a very welcome development for Cork and the South West region. Today’s opening and announcement of the capacity for new jobs is a testament to the capability, dedication, and vision of the Stryker team and of the growth and success of Stryker here. The government will work to ensure Ireland continues to be an attractive location for the med-tech sector, and business in general, supported by our highly-skilled and talented workforce.”

Similarly, IDA Ireland’s CEO, Martin Shanahan, pointed out that Stryker’s expanded facility furthers the company’s four-decade commitment to Ireland and recognizes the robust ecosystem of universities, engineering talent, and partners, such as the IDA.

The new facility “also builds on Stryker’s outstanding track record for innovation and shows the key role Anngrove plays in the company’s global additive technology research and development. We welcome this exciting development in Anngrove, the potential it brings for future high tech job growth, and look forward to continued success for Stryker in Ireland,” highlighted Shanahan.

Through the new site, Stryker’s expansion in Ireland is unquestionable. The company follows the steps of other renowned medical companies with an established foothold in the country. For example, the Johnson & Johnson family of companies has been operating in Ireland for 80 years, while multinational pharma and diagnostics healthcare powerhouse Roche has a commercial operation in Citywest, Dublin, and a manufacturing site in Clarecastle. Today Stryker is one of more than 20 of the world’s top biotech and pharma companies to have an established presence in Ireland.

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