Hi-tech polymer solutions Nolato

HI-TECH POLYMER SOLUTIONS

The Nolato Group is a global leader in moulded polymer components and product systems designed for pharmaceutical, telecommunications and industrial applications. Philip Yorke talked to Christers Wahlquist, the president of Nolato Medical and a member of the group management, about its latest products and plans for further expansion.

Nolato Medical is part of the Nolato Group which is a global, high-tech developer and manufacturer of polymer components and products systems for the pharmaceutical, telecoms and industrial products sectors. Nolato was founded in Sweden in 1938 as Nordiska Latexfabrieken i Torekov AB with the trademark ‘Nolato’, which has since 1982 been the company’s trading name. Today Nolato is a global group with its head office based in Torekov (Sweden) and with production facilities in Sweden, China, Hungary, Romania, the UK the USA and India. The company also has sales offices in France, Norway, Germany, Taiwan and the Czech Republic.

Today Nolato employs around 5,500 people of which around 85 per cent work outside Sweden. The majority of Nolato’s customers are large, global companies that work within areas such as medical technology, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, white goods, automotive, construction and forestry. The Nolato Group is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic market stock exchange.

Developing customer- specific systems and components

As a major contributor to the Nolato Group, Nolato Medical is a fast growing company that specialises in the development and manufacture of injection moulded polymer components and systems for the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries. The company works in close collaboration with its customers and has over fifty years of experience in delivering advanced medical technology systems and devices. This in turn has given Nolato Medical a firm foundation based on cutting-edge technology and product development expertise.

Wahlquist said, “We work in close partnership together with our clients to deliver new technologies and systems and therefore are able to provide optimal solutions. We do the development and manufacturing in-house, which means that we can be not only innovative, but can guarantee consistent quality in all that we accomplish.

“We operate three key divisions, the Medical division, the Telecom division and the Industrial division. In the industrial sector our focus is on the automotive industry, as well as white goods, hygiene, construction and forestry etc., whereas in the telecommunications division we bring more than 20 years experience to bear as a leading developer and manufacturer of mechanical modules

for the mobile phone industry. Our approach here is to balance the requirements of materials, usage, technology and production features to deliver complete solutions rather than just isolated components.”

Wahlquist added, “We plan to continue to grow both organically and through acquisition and currently we are seeing strong growth in our medical division where we have recently acquired a leading UK company: Cope Allman Jaycare, which specialises in pharmaceutical packaging and has sales of approx SEK270 million. This latest acquisition gives us a local presence in the UK, which is an important part of the global pharmaceutical industry and in addition, opens the door to a large number of leading international pharmaceutical companies.”

Expanding global reach

Nolato continues to invest in its manufacturing capabilities worldwide and is constantly looking for new plant and production sites that are located close to its growing portfolio of international clients. In Hungary for example, the plant has been extended to meet the growing demand for medical devices, with a further major investment in Romania one year ago which is designed to support its customers with products in that region.

Nolato Medical is also expanding its pioneering technology centre in southern Sweden to meet the increased demand for more complex product development. Nolato Medical has a professional reputation as one of the best companies in the business of creating smart solutions, that combine different polymer materials, technologies, functions and design. “What sets us apart from our competitors is our Swedish heritage – of developing ingenious solutions based on quality and attention to industrial design detail, as well as a commitment to deliver when we say we will,” said Wahlquist.

“We create true partnerships through honesty and a straightforward dialogue with our customers. By keeping our customers informed of the progress throughout the development and production process, they can plan capacities and sales efforts accordingly. This has now led us to increase our efforts in customer development projects to meet requests to provide simple solutions to some complex projects.”

For many years Nolato Medical has been successfully developing and manufacturing products for the world’s leading medical device companies. Recent examples include diabetes care products, asthma treatment devices, external catheters and complete operative sets for blood salvage and transfusion, as well as made-to-measure packaging solutions and latex-free anaesthesia breathing bags.

In addition, Nolato Medcal’s pharmaceutical packaging division develops and manufactures speciality packaging from polymer materials in the form of its own products as well as specially designed packaging for individual pharmaceutical and dietary supplement companies. Production involves the use of advanced injection moulding and injection blow-moulding equipment in the company’s specially adapted manufacturing facilities, all of which comply with stringent European safety and quality standards. n