Northfield Automation Announces Wholly Owned Subsidiary to Diversify into Medical Device Market

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Northfield Automation, a leader in roll-to-roll process equipment for thin-material handling applications, announces the formation of Northfield Medimation, a wholly owned subsidiary that will diversify the company into the medical device market. The subsidiary provides advanced automation and robotics for applications such as cardio-vascular devices and fabrication of transdermal patches, test strips and related diagnostic materials.

The company also announces the appointment of Jahn Stopperan as the subsidiary’s general manager. Formerly principal of Technasport, a new product development company, Stopperan brings more than 20 years of experience in business management, marketing, sales, and product development to his new role at Northfield Medimation.

“The medical device industry is a stable market with many new opportunities for automation that can benefit by having FDA validation completed by the equipment provider,” according to Brett Reese, chairman and chief executive officer of Northfield Automation. “In addition to medical, we are diversifying into the thin solar cell, electronic display and flexible battery industries to help us reach our growth goals of 25 percent per year,” he says.

Customization, reliability and validation are Northfield Medimation’s competitive advantages based on its design-intensive focus and engineering expertise of its parent company.

Customized automation solutions are engineered to meet complex medical manufacturing requirements for single machines or integrated systems. Many applications are automated to reduce process variability, limit risk and reduce manual content.

Complete validation services include documentation materials designed to meet each customer’s specifications and regulatory requirements. By outsourcing the validation task, medical device manufacturers can save post-production time as well as improve consistency and quality. It also frees up engineering resources to focus on other production ramp-up areas. This customized service increases the customer’s go-to-market confidence and guarantees equipment functionality.

Reliability of Northfield Medimation’s processes and equipment is based on shared technical and manufacturing resources with its parent company. The company’s market niche is middle-tier medical device manufacturers and divisions of larger med-tech companies, with needs ranging from small development projects to high-end, turnkey systems. Many of these customers may not have in-house validation capabilities.

Established in 2000, Northfield Automation Systems, Inc. designs, engineers and fabricates automation machinery for OEMs and high-volume, custom manufacturers. Its engineers provide consultative support for streamlined manufacturing processes with turnkey, integrated equipment. The company’s vision is to become the global leader in web-based, high-precision, roll-to-roll processing of thin-film applications, including flexible electronics, display, solar, flexible battery, and organic electronics. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Northfield Medimation, focuses on advanced automation and robotics for the medical device industry. Both companies are located in Northfield, Minn., which is 35 minutes south of Minneapolis. For more information, visit www.northfieldautomation.com and www.northfieldmedimation.com.