Acumed

Acumed
Company typePrivate
IndustryHealth care
Medical technology manufacturing
Founded1988; 36 years ago (1988)
HeadquartersHillsboro, Oregon, USA
45°33′49″N 122°53′51″W / 45.5635°N 122.8974°W / 45.5635; -122.8974
ProductsMedical devices
orthopaedic implants
Number of employees
475 (2014)
Websitewww.acumed.net

Acumed, LLC is a privately owned medical device manufacturer based in Hillsboro, Oregon in the Portland metropolitan area of the United States. Founded in 1988, the company employs nearly 500 people domestically and internationally who design, manufacture, and market orthopedic implants and surgical devices. The company is a subsidiary of Colson Associates, a spin-off of the Marmon Group, a Berkshire Hathaway company.

History

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Randall and Mary Huebner started Accurate Machine and Design in 1988 in New Jersey.[1] Then in 1990 the couple moved the company west to the state of Oregon.[1] After being renamed as Acumed, the company was later one of four nominees from Oregon for the National Blue Chip Enterprises' 1996 award for small business who had faced and overcome challenges.[2] In 1999, Acumed was sold to the Marmon Group.[3]

By April 2001, the company was based in Beaverton, Oregon, and employed 90 people at a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) facility after adding 30 people to the payroll in a years time.[4] That month the company purchased 8.2 acres (3.3 ha) in Hillsboro off Cornelius Pass Road and Jacobson Road for $2.3 million in order to continue expansion.[4] In 2001, the Portland Business Journal ranked Acumed as the ninth largest bioscience and medical technology company in Oregon based on the number of employees.[5] The next year the Marmon Group split off Acumed and its other medical companies into Colson Associates, headed by Robert Pritzker.[6]

Acumed headquarters

Acumed partnered with Oregon Health Sciences University to fund start-up Acute Innovations in 2006 to refine thoracic surgical procedures.[7] Acute operated out of Acumed's Hillsboro facilities.[7] Due to sales growth, largely on the international side, the company hired an additional 45 people in 2006, bringing total employment at the company to 195.[8] Alan Kozlowski was the president of the company at that time.[8]

Acumed's plant suffered a small fire in May 2007 when a titanium lathe caught fire, which only damaged the $350,000 machine.[9] A jury found that Stryker Corporation willfully infringed on Acumed's patent on a shoulder fracture treatment in a September 2005 verdict.[10] After a mostly unsuccessful appeal by Stryker to the Federal Circuit, judge Anna J. Brown of the federal district court in Portland issued a permanent injunction in December 2007 that prevented Stryker from selling its humeral nail.[10][11] The Federal Circuit court then affirmed the permanent injunction a year later.[12][13]

The company's facility on Brookwood Parkway in Hillsboro, Oregon

In 2007, machinists at the company built a custom motorcycle that the company approved of as a marketing tool.[1] Costing $20,000 to build, the blue-colored motorcycle featured the company's logo and products, but was not street legal.[1] The bike's unique features included titanium humeral stems sold by Acumed and used on the motorcycle as the clutch lever and hand brake.[1] As of October 2004, Acumed employed 130 people at its facilities in Oregon, which totaled 55,000 square feet (5,100 m2) in space.[14] That year the company announced plans to expand by adding 37,000 square feet (3,400 m2) to their existing facility in Hillsboro and hire an additional 140 employees over five years.[14] The expansion was estimated to cost nearly $23 million, with $200,000 coming from the state of Oregon's Strategic Reserve Fund in the form of working training.[14]

In November 2009, the company purchased a 52,807-square-foot (4,905.9 m2) building and 9 acres (3.6 ha) of land located along Brookwood Parkway in Hillsboro for $4.9 million.[15] The building had been used by Hansen Architectural Systems Inc., with Acumed purchasing the building for a planned expansion of their business while keeping their headquarters off Cornelius Pass Road.[15] At that time, Acumed employed 295 people and sold products in 30 countries.[16]

Alan Kozlowski stepped down as company president in 2008 and was replaced by David Jensen.[17] Jensen left the company in July 2013.[17] Acumed appointed Robert Johnson as president in September 2013.[18]

Products

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Acumed designs and builds orthopedic medical devices that are implanted into patients, as well as surgical devices.[1][4][5] Implant products are used for reconstruction and repair from trauma injuries.[1] These include screws and plates that attach to feet, ankles, fingers, arms, and shoulders.[1][4][14] The products are manufactured at Acumed's Hillsboro facility.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Prince, Seth; John Foyston (October 6, 2007). "Bionic bike". The Oregonian.
  2. ^ Nelton, Sharon (March 1996). "Deciding to succeed". Nation's Business. 84 (3). U.S. Chamber of Commerce: 38.
  3. ^ "Member Success Story: Randall Huebner, Executive Vice President, Acumed LLC" (PDF). OrthoKnow. OrthoWorld Inc. April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-28.
  4. ^ a b c d Brenneman, Kristina (April 27, 2001). "Commercial Real Estate: Acumed buys Hillsboro site". Portland Business Journal.
  5. ^ a b "Top 25 bioscience and medical technology companies". Portland Business Journal. Vol. 18, no. 51. December 2001. p. 102.
  6. ^ Turitto, Vince T. (2007). "Who Is Robert Pritzker?". BMES Bulletin. 31 (4). Landover, MD: Biomedical Engineering Society: 9. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  7. ^ a b Moody, Robin J. (November 3, 2006). "OHSU turns out a smaller batch of bioscience startups". Portland Business Journal.
  8. ^ a b Moody, Robin J. (December 22, 2006). "Diverse medical cluster". Portland Business Journal.
  9. ^ Friesen, Sarah (May 15, 2007). "Fire damages machinery at Acumed in Hillsboro". The Oregonian.
  10. ^ a b "Acumed wins fight against Stryker Corp". Portland Business Journal. December 12, 2007.
  11. ^ "Acumed LLC v. Stryker Corporation, 483 F.3d 800 (Fed. Cir. 2007)". United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. April 12, 2007.
  12. ^ Acumed LLC v. Stryker Corp., 551 F.3d 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2008).
  13. ^ Alderson Jr., Robert E.; Connuck, Paul Dennis (April 1, 2009). "Acumed v. Stryker. injunctions in patent infringement actions".
  14. ^ a b c d "Acumed to expand in Hillsboro". Portland Business Journal. October 11, 2004.
  15. ^ a b Culverwell, Wendy (November 6, 2009). "Real Estate Roundup: Acumed buys former Hansen building for $4.94M". Portland Business Journal.
  16. ^ a b Fuller, Kathy (June 22, 2010). "AcuMed expands to second building". The Hillsboro Argus.
  17. ^ a b Thompson, Dennis (July 24, 2013). "President, other top execs, out at Acumed". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  18. ^ "Zoning In with Robert Johnson". BoneZone. March 7, 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
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