AMB from Broakulla today signed a long-term agreement with the medical technology innovation company Vigmed to mass produce a forthcoming needlestick protected niche product.
In May this year, a new EU directive came into force which provides that all stick products (syringes, cannulas, catheters, etc.) in Europe must be protected to prevent both patient and personnel from being accidentally exposed to potentially contaminated needle sticks. This was something in which Helsingborg-based Vigmed saw great potential. With its proprietary, patented stick protection it hopes to capture significant market share in this gigantic market. Within the next few days the first product will launch in the form of VigClip, a needlestick protected venous catheter which will initially be marketed in Europe and China.
They have chosen AMB in Broakulla as business partner and producer of their third needlestick protected product, with the launch planned for 2015. AMB will be responsible for the entire production chain, from purchasing and injection moulding to fully automated cleanroom production and sterilisation. It’s why AMB is now investing more than SEK 30 million, mostly in automated equipment unique to the product.
“This investment is fully in line with our strategy to grow in the medical field,” says AMB’s CEO Tomas Magnusson. “We’re taking another important step towards highly automated, high-volume production of sterile applications, while also showing that we’re competitive in a global perspective.”
AMB was also involved in the design phase through its subsidiary, toolmaker Tingverken in Tingsryd, which played an active role in Vigmed’s product development. Vigmed’s CEO Finn Ketler regards AMB as the perfect partner.
“Through our partnership with AMB, we will further strengthen our ability to deliver a broad, unique range of products to the market,” he says. “AMB is a perfect complement to the production partnerships we’ve already established in Sweden and India, and is recognised as an experienced high-tech manufacturer of medical devices.”
For further information, please contact: Tomas Magnusson, CEO of AMB Industri AB, telephone: +46 471 485 18 or +46 70 543 97 90.
Caption: A handshake worth SEK 30 million Vigmed’s CEO Finn Ketler and AMB’s CEO Tomas Magnusson, flanked by Chairman Lennart Holm and AMB’s KAM Håkan Lavebratt, at Vigmed’s premises in Helsingborg at contract signing.
