German conglomerate Freudenberg (Weinheim; www.freudenberg.com) is continuing its foray into medical technology. Just a few weeks after subsidiary Helix Medical Europe (Kaiserslautern / Germany; www.helixmedical.com) opened its first production facility in Europe – see Plasteurope.com of 24.02.2010 – the group bought half the shares of VistaMed (Carrick-on-Shannon / Ireland; www.vistamed.com).

Founded in 1997, the Irish company’s 85 employees manufacture medical technology components, including complex tubing systems and precision parts, at two clean room sites. Processing techniques range from extrusion to blow- and injection moulding, followed by a system assembly. Pointing to its extensive expert knowledge, VistaMed considers itself to be a development partner. Typical applications produced by the company include catheters for minimally invasive surgery and components for endoscopies.

Freudenberg said VistaMed’s management would continue to run the business, sharing its know-how with the group as a whole. The German group hopes the new joint venture will yield benefits in the fields of product and service development, while simultaneously broadening the portfolio of materials and products. The ultimate aim, the group says, is to better serve customers and to enlarge order activity and handling for complete catheter systems built according to individual customer specifications.