Hip joint venture ignores recession
Christchurch-based Enztec and US-based Omni Life Science have also set their sights on a public listing of the new company, Orthopaedic Synergy, as it grows.
"We're ignoring this recession. We're pretending it's not there and getting on with it," Enztec general manager Stephen O'Neill said.
He said Enztec had worked with Omni in the past and it was a logical move to form the new company.
They were both partly owned by Auckland investment firm Birnie Capital Partners, whose managing director is Bill Birnie, a former executive at 1990s high-flying investment bank Fay Richwhite. Birnie Capital Partners was formerly FR Partners till mid 2003.
Omni Life Science makes hip and knee implants, while Enztec specialises in making surgical instruments used in hip and knee replacement operations.
Orthopaedic Synergy would be the first New Zealand majority-owned full-service orthopaedic company in the Australian market.
Mr O'Neill said it was a substantial undertaking for the company and millions of dollars were involved in setting up Orthopaedic Synergy. The money was coming from existing shareholders and new investors.
Enztec would become a division of Orthopaedic Synergy, which would sell products made by Enztec, Omni and other companies directly to surgeons. In the past, Enztec has sold through other orthopaedic companies.
Mr O'Neill said Enztec had tripled its turnover in the past year and he expected to top that with the Orthopaedic Synergy joint venture.
"We are in a demographic and an industry that are growing fast."
Enztec has 36 staff in Christchurch and was created in 1993 by Paul Morrison and orthopaedic surgeon James Burn, who still own the firm along with Birnie Capital.
The move would enable both companies to gain more direct access to the market and capture more value from it, Enztec chairman David Boyd said.
"We believe there is a real opportunity for a regional orthopaedic company in Australasia, one that can respond to surgeon's needs faster, smarter and more flexibly," Mr O'Neill said.
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