Trelleborg boosts its healthcare business with acquisition, investments

Photo Credit: Trelleborg AB

Swedish medical products maker Trelleborg AB is making two investments aimed at growing its position within the health care and medical space.

Through its business area Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, Trelleborg has signed a US$300-million deal to acquire Baron Group, an Australian-Chinese company in the manufacturing of advanced precision silicone components. “This acquisition strengthens [our] application expertise, manufacturing capacity and positions [us] as a global partner for medical technology products, in areas such as sleep apnea, respiratory care and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” Trelleborg officials said in a Feb. 6 news release.

Once finalized, Trelleborg will take on a headquarters facility and two manufacturing locations in Australia as well as two additional facilities in China.

Supporting the Baron Group deal, Trelleborg is also investing approximately US$21 million in a new 10,000-square-metre production facility in Costa Rica for medical technology solutions. Company officials say the new facility will be established close to a number of international customers with operations in the region. On completion, the facility will offer a full product suite of engineered polymer solutions within healthcare and medical.

The production facility will be Trelleborg’s first in Central America and is expected to be completed in 2025.

“Costa Rica has evolved into a medical technology hub in Central America and the facility therefore represents an important step in both increasing our capacity and broadening our geographical footprint in healthcare & medical,” said Trelleborg president and CEO Peter Nilsson. “The facility is being built for customers with global sales, and the capacity it will add will also benefit Baron Group, the Australian-Chinese company we recently signed an agreement to acquire. [Our] know-how combined with Baron’s technology will provide the basis for the new facility.”

The state-of-the-art facility is being built in the city of Grecia, close to the port and an international airport, and a half-hour drive from the main cities in western Costa Rica. It will feature cleanroom production, Trelleborg said, and be designed to meet stringent industry-specific standards for medical device manufacturing, as well as ensuring efficient and sustainable production processes.