Sandvik Asia, the Indian subsidiary of Swedish engineering major Sandvik AB has launched the Medical Technology Division in India and will offer both raw materials and manufacture of medical devices for OEMs.
The new MedTech division will undertake contract manufacturing of implants for orthopaedic, cardio vascular and dental applications at Sandvik’s facility in Pune where test runs began a year ago.
The speciality materials required for the purpose will presently be imported, but their manufacture may also be considered in the future, Mr Hakan Kingstedt, President and Managing Director, Sandvik Asia said. He added that the company is already scouting for around 50 acres of land for its expansion programme and this could include making materials for medical devices down the line.
Mr Stephen Cowen, global head, Sales and Marketing, Sandvik MedTech said that Sandvik’s India strategy was to support local medical device OEMs both for the domestic market and export. “We are trying to be a one-stop shop from materials to manufacturing,” he said, adding that the market opportunity for implants worldwide was around $ 2 billion, with India’s share ranging from 4-5% of this.
Sandvik MedTech will begin manufacturing implants for knees and hips and has identified partners for the purpose.