It was once considered a lucrative strategy to hold bulk medical device manufacturing operations overseas, but reshoring medical device manufacturing has become increasingly popular over the years for many reasons. Read on to learn more about the advantages of domestic manufacturing for medical devices.
How Many Medical Device Manufacturers Are in the US?
There are more than 6,500 medical device manufacturing companies in the US, most of them small to medium-sized businesses. Many local medical device companies are located throughout the country. However, they are mainly concentrated in regions known for other high-technology industries like microelectronics and biotechnology. States with the highest number of medical device manufacturing companies include California, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Georgia.
US medical device manufacturing companies are highly regarded globally for their innovations and advanced technology. In the 1990s, research and development and investments in the medical device industry nearly doubled and remains more than twice the average today for all US manufacturers. The industry continues to be fueled by innovation and improvements in medical diagnosis success, leveraging a promising future filled with growth for US manufacturers.
Local Medical Device Companies: The Benefits of Reshoring
Reshoring medical device manufacturing operations to the US is a rising trend for many reasons.
Higher Quality Medical Devices
Countries outside of the US boast money-saving solutions for medical device manufacturers like cheaper labor, more competitive resources and parts, and more affordable technologies. However, inexpensive production costs in other countries come at a high risk—a low-quality medical device.
US medical device manufacturers with their main facilities closer to home allow for direct control over operations, improved quality management, and higher quality products.
Streamlines Distribution
Medical devices manufactured overseas require shipment back to the manufacturer’s home country where they typically end up in a warehouse. Next, the products are required to undergo a series of distribution processes before hospital and medical center facilitators can purchase them. Local medical device companies have a more controlled, streamlined process and improved product management. There’s also a significant decrease in damage and theft for medical devices manufactured in the US because they travel a much shorter distance to reach their destination.
Prevents Time Zone Constraints
With international medical device operations, time constraints play a significant role in its downfall. Working in different time zones than your manufacturer makes it difficult to communicate with key decision makers regularly. Trusting a local medical device company to handle your manufacturing eliminates the need to deal with time zone differences.
Improved Government Incentives
The medical industry offers monetary incentives for using US business operations. With a variety of tax breaks and support incentives in place, government incentives are one of the many reasons to reshore your medical device manufacturing processes.
Enhances Patent Protection and Intellectual Property Management
Some foreign countries have inefficient intellectual property laws and patent protection programs, making it easy for third parties to steal product ideas and clone devices. The US has strong patent and intellectual property laws, and shoddy medical devices never last long.
Reduces Energy Costs
Throughout medical device manufacturing operations, it’s essential to keep energy costs down. Energy technology in the US like hydraulic fracturing has significantly decreased energy costs, making it more affordable to reshore your medical device manufacturing processes.
Lowers Shipping Costs
Reducing the distance medical devices have to travel shortens the product life cycle and time to market, resulting in healthcare providers getting their equipment faster. All parties involved can also save money because it’s cheaper to transport and distribute goods locally.
Explore the Advantages of Domestic Manufacturing With Remington Medical
At Remington Medical, we complete all medical device manufacturing processes in-house at our Georgia facilities. With more than 90,000 square feet of production space, we handle projects of all sizes, big and small. By holding ourselves accountable for all aspects of your device’s manufacturing, Remington experts have complete control over your product’s quality and efficiency from prototyping and packaging to product launch and lifecycle management.
Medical device manufacturing is a journey, and we account for tweaks along the way. When our process engineers need to make adjustments, our machinists get real time feedback that allow our shop experts to implement the required changes immediately, ensuring your device makes it to market as expected.
With our team handling your medical device manufacturing processes, you get:
- A high-quality product
- Streamlined distribution
- Reduced shipping costs
- Lower production costs
- A single-source vendor
Contact us today to learn more about the benefits of reshoring your medical device manufacturing processes with Remington.
