PA Governor Visits Secant Medical Expansion in Quakertown

Local Implantable Textiles Manufacturer Hiring, Bucks Trend in Nation's Slow-to-Recover Textile Industry

Perkasie, Penna. – March 22, 2011 –In his recent visit to Secant Medical®'s new manufacturing site in Quakertown, Governor Tom Corbett talked about how emerging industries spawn economic growth for the state and local communities through new hiring and recognized Secant’s role in this effort. "Pennsylvania is changing; we have to look for new industries," Governor Corbett stated. "Secant Medical is clearly on the front line of doing that. It is so very important for us to grow our companies."

Secant Medical^®, the industry leader in the custom design, development, and manufacturing of implantable textiles used in a variety of advanced medical devices, has announced an effort to add technicians, operators, and professionals to support current and future business growth. The expansion contrasts with the current economic climate of “cautious optimism” across the state, and with the tepid employment numbers in the nation’s textile manufacturing sector.

Secant Medical is a wholly owned subsidiary of Prodesco, Inc., a leader in the design, development and manufacture of engineered fabric structures for the industrial and aerospace markets since 1943. The company has locations in Perkasie and recently in Quakertown, where its new manufacturing site was acquired to accommodate the increased capacity for manufacturing.

According to an article from the February 15th online edition of Textile World, “During the past 12 months…mill job numbers dropped by only about 1.5 percent…far below the average annual percentage decline noted over the previous 10 years.”⁽¹⁾By contrast, Secant Medical expects to add additional staff to reflect sustained growth in market demand and company revenue.

The local company’s plans are encouraging given moderate expectations for job growth in the Quakertown area, which lies squarely between the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia metropolitan employment markets. In a report from March 15^thciting information from the state’s Department of Labor & Industry,the Lehigh Valley’s jobless rate fell to 8.9 percent in January, the first time since May 2009 that local unemployment was reported under 9 percent.⁽²⁾ According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Philadelphia metropolitan area’s unemployment is slightly less, at 8.4 percent.⁽³⁾

“With so much written in the past about the demise of textile manufacturing in Pennsylvania and other parts of the nation, Secant Medical is one company happy to do its part to reverse the trend. We have deep roots in the area through our parent company, Prodesco, and possess a unique blend of engineering and materials expertise and traditional textile-forming technologies to develop advanced biomedical textiles for use inside the human body,” states Steve Chadwick, President.

Secant Medical is actively recruiting workers within the Quakertown area with experience in weaving, knitting, and small precision inspection.

About Prodesco and Secant Medical:
Prodesco, Inc., headquartered in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, is the leader in the design, development and manufacture of engineered fabric structures for the medical, industrial and aerospace industries since 1943. Secant Medical®, LLC, its subsidiary, is the leader in custom-developed biomedical textile structures for medical devices, helping customers meet challenges to bring device solutions to market quickly and effectively. Using constantly evolving high-performance metallic and polymeric biomaterials, the company designs the textile structures that client innovations require in developing the next generation orthopedic, cardiovascular, tissue-engineered and neurological devices, and new general surgery resources. In 2008, Prodesco became part of Fenner PLC, a worldwide leader in reinforced polymer engineering headquartered in Yorkshire, England. For more information, contact Joannie Anthony, at 215-257-8680, extension 199; email [email protected], or visit secantmedical.com/release-entry.php.

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