Medical part designer, new Plastics Hall of Fame member Mike Cude passes away

Jon Michael “Mike” Cude. Photo Credit: Plastics Hall of Fame

Medical plastics industry veteran Jon Michael “Mike” Cude, who was recently selected as a member of this year’s Plastics Hall of Fame induction class, died on Feb. 14 at age 67.

Cude, a resident of Tennessee, was one of 17 people announced earlier this month as being part of the newest class for the Hall of Fame. In his 40 years in the sector, Cude developed numerous medical device innovations, and he also led the startup and operation of nine medical plastics manufacturing plants in the U.S., Mexico, and Ireland.

Cude started his career as vice president of manufacturing for Hospital Disposals in 1979 and became president of Atlantic Molds Inc., a moldmaker based in Portugal. He was vice president of DeRoyal Plastics Group starting in 1989, where he improved and expanded a product line of plastic medical devices used to administer contrast media during diagnostic procedures in the Cardiac Cath Lab and Interventional Radiology. He also patented a guidewire bowl design that solved procedural issues in the imaging labs. “All these products continue to have significant market share worldwide today,” his nomination to the Hall of Fame reads.

In 1999 he joined medical part maker Coeur Inc. In 2012, Coeur was sold to ITW, and Cude became Global Director of Innovation and Engineering, responsible for the operations and engineering of six plants in three countries.

Cude left ITW to form his own consultancy firm, Cude Advising, in 2019.

In total, Cude holds nineteen patents. “[Cude] has been a driving force in the medical plastics industry for more than 40 years,” his Hall of Fame nomination said.

No cause of death has been given, but a death notice posted by Crestview Funeral Home in Gallatin, Tenn., indicates donations in Cude’s memory can be made to either the National Brain Tumor Society or The Medical College of Wisconsin’s glioblastoma research program.