2024 marks the 10-year anniversary of Arthrex Manufacturing Inc. (AMI) manufacturing suture products in-house, a milestone that celebrates innovation, growth and dedication to Helping Surgeons Treat Their Patients Better®.
“Arthrex was obviously very successful before I was hired to lead the Suture team,” said Senior Director of Operations Colin Baker, “but we didn’t yet have internal suture manufacturing capabilities. We sold some suture products outsourced from a third party, but the products AMI made were very different from what is included in our current portfolio.”
Among Colin’s first orders of business was hiring engineers to help build the foundation for this new team: Manufacturing Engineering Senior Manager Chris Liebler and Manufacturing Engineering Senior Manager Maya Alfonso.
“When I first started,” Chris said, “we were working out of what was then called AMI South, where the Orthopedic Research lab is today. Needing space to start up our production facility, we were given a building the company was leasing on Trade Center Way in Naples, [Florida], which we still refer to as TCW.”
TCW was home to Arthrex’s first Sutures Assembly Clean Room, Arthrex’s first braider – a FiberWire® braider – and it was there that the Suture team began its pace of near exponential growth. The plan was for the team to work out of TCW for three to five years, but they outgrew the space in less than two. Textile Manufacturing Supervisor Lead Jorge Diaz, Senior Suture Engineer Technician II Marilyn Oliva and Suture Engineering Supervisor Lara Ellis White were among those early hires.
Product Development Senior Engineer I Mishka Lambcke also joined the Suture team during its time at TCW. She’d already been at Arthrex for about a year at that point but saw the perfect opportunity to put her education – and her passion – to good use.
“My goal was to work in clothing design after receiving a master’s [degree] in textiles” said Mishka, who only learned about Arthrex because she saw the sign one day when she was dropping off a letter at the post office. “Without a medical background at that time, I thought the Arthrex logo looked similar to scissors, and thought maybe it was a textile company”.
Twelve years and six promotions later, Mishka says she enjoys – and is proud of – the creativity and innovation she’s part of every day at Arthrex.
From TCW, the team moved into AMI North, which occupied the area where Arthrex One now stands. It was from AMI North, in 2014, that the Suture team launched its first AMI made suture product, the AR-7200, a FiberWire with a needle on it – a product that is still sold today.
In need of more space for all of Arthrex Manufacturing, discussions began on building a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Ave, Maria, Florida – Arthrex Manufacturing Inc. East (AMIE).
“Original plans for AMIE didn’t include a Sutures Clean Room,” Colin recalled, “but our Facilities partners helped convert a small corner of the plant to meet our needs.”
After Suture operations’ explosive growth at AMIE, the team once again doubled in size with the addition of Arthrex Manufacturing Inc. South Carolina (AMISC), which now includes an entire 200,000-square-foot building dedicated to the manufacture of suture products.
“We went from having no equipment at all to having 237 braiders in the works,” Colin said. “We started with four employees and now we have more than 1,500 people dedicated to Sutures. We’ve had months in which we’ve manufactured more than 1,000,000 meters of braid, we recently celebrated our 5,000th suture prototype request and our growth continues to accelerate as we experiment with different materials and constantly develop new ideas.”
In recognition of 10 years of in-house suture manufacturing, AMIE recently hosted a celebration to honor the individuals who were part of the founding Suture team.
The event was kicked off by presenting Colin with a framed Suture Star, a certificate given to individuals within Sutures who have gone above and beyond in performing their jobs.
“Colin signs every Suture Star certificate,” Quality Engineering Supervisor Carmen Labonte explained in her welcome message to everyone in attendance as well as to everyone watching online at Inc. and AMISC. “Today we’re presenting him with a Suture Star he doesn’t have to sign - because we’ve all signed it for him.”
“I wasn’t expecting this,” Colin said. “I thought I was coming here to celebrate all of you.”
In keeping with the theme of Suture Stars, Carmen had the idea to present Galaxy Awards to 15 current Suture employees who were part of the first production work orders that laid the foundation for 10 years of suture manufacturing.
Separately, Chris, Maya, Lara, Mishka and Engineering Senior Manager Tara Swanlaw were recognized for their early involvement turning intangible ideas into the tangible – and sustainable – processes that led to AR-7200 and everything beyond.
“They are the individuals between the vision and the execution,” Carmen said.
Lara was also presented with a Loctite Award for being the glue that holds the Suture team together. And, continuing with the galaxy theme, Colin was presented with the Protostar Award, likening the term for the earliest stage of a developing star to Colin laying the foundation for the team.
Maya, who just two days before was surprised by being recognized with one of the Making People Better Awards at the annual Leadership Reception, said that Colin hinted to her that she should plan on coming down to Naples from AMISC for the week.
“He wanted to make sure I was in town to receive that award, but I already had plans to be in Florida for this celebration for him,” she said. “I think we both thought we were really pulling something off.”
With more than a decade worth of growth, innovation and memories, the Suture team’s stories radiate with a sense of Arthrex Proud. From sharing a laugh about shopping for beauty supplies at Target in search of a product that might aid in the dyeing process to traveling to England to purchase a needle attaching machine from a shed in someone’s garden.
“It was a father/son company that we still do business with,” Chris said. “They’ve grown over the years, too.”
“I’m proud to say that I’ve touched every suture product Arthrex has ever manufactured,” said Suture Engineer Technician Principal Yaidel Hernandez Mendoza, who has worked in Suture Training and Product Development from the very beginning. “I remember the first few times I saw Colin walking around, and I didn’t know who he was or what he was doing. Now, sometimes I’m walking through AMIE, and people don’t know who I am. One day someone stopped me and asked if I knew much about sutures, and I was like, ‘Yeah, a little bit.”
“The Sutures team has always stepped up to the challenge,” Chris said, “and we will continue to do so. Our team is accustomed to tremendous growth, and we’re all eager to support the continued success of Arthrex.”
“What we’ve done as a team is incredible,” Colin confirmed. “It’s one thing that we’ve grown to what we are today, but I feel so much pride in how we’ve done it and the camaraderie and culture we have fostered along the way. Only in a company like Arthrex could this be done.”
