The new Ayabe Plant (Perspective drawing)
News
Gunze to Invest 1.7 Billion JPY to Expand of Main Plant in Japan for Growth of Medical Business
Position medical business as a growth business and establish it as a new business segment
Osaka-Gunze Limited (Headquarters: Osaka, Japan, President: Toshiyasu Saguchi) [TOKYO: 3002] is pleased to announce that Gunze will invest in the expansion of its main plant with a target completion date of March 2025 to support the growth of its medical business. The company is also pleased to announce that the medical business has become an independent segment as a growth business in FY2023.
Gunze has decided to invest 1.7 billion JPY in the construction of a new building and facilities at the Ayabe Plant, which will enable expansion of production scale and strict product quality control, with the aim of strengthening the foundation of its medical business and further accelerating its growth. This investment will enable the company to maintain and increase its leading domestic market share by expanding sales of absorbable reinforcement felt and artificial dermis and its product line of bone fixation devices.
Our medical business began with research and development of bioabsorbable sutures and successfully marketed the first bioabsorbable sutures in Japan in 1986. And then the company began a full-scale entry into the medical market, and launched an absorbable reinforcement felt "NEOVEIL" in 1992, which has now captured a large share of the domestic market. Since then, the company has been researching and developing a variety of products to meet the needs of clinical sites. At present, the company is expanding our product line beyond our own products and has launched a helmet for infant positional skull deformation "ReMO baby" and dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane (dHACM) allograft for wound care "EPIFIX" and so on to meet a variety of needs of clinical sites.
In addition, Gunze transferred part of its medical business to its wholly-owned consolidated subsidiary, Gunze medical, effective April 1, 2023, and established the new organizational structure dedicated to comprehensive medical devices from R&D to sales.
Gunze decided to separate its medical business, which was included in the Functional Solutions segment, into the Medical segment in order to clarify its position as a growth driver to achieve the goals of its medium-term management plan "Vision 2030".
As a result, Gunze now has four business segments: Functional Solutions, Medical, Apparel and Life Creation.
About Gunze Medical
- Established
- April 1986 (a consolidated subsidiary of Gunze Limited)
- Headquarters
- JRE Dojima Tower 5F, 2-4-27 Dojima, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka
- Representative Director
- Shojiro Matsuda
- Business
- Plastic surgery, neurosurgery, oral surgery, cosmetic surgery, pediatric surgery, cardiovascular surgery, dermatology, and other related medical equipment Sales, consulting on opening a business Development and sales of medical equipment
- Website
- https://gunzemedical.co.jp/about-us
About Gunze
Gunze was founded in Kyoto, Japan in 1896, and today operates diverse businesses as a leading developer and manufacturer of Medical Devices, Plastic Films, Engineering Plastics, Electronic Components, Apparel, and various other segments. Gunze employs more than 5,200 people worldwide throughout 10 countries.
The Medical Device business, established in 1985, has a substantial footprint in over 35 countries. Its head office and manufacturing facility are located in Kyoto, Japan, and has subsidiaries in the U.S., EU, and China. By applying innovative fiber and polymer processing technologies, Gunze manufactures a comprehensive range of medical products focused on bioabsorbable and biocompatible materials such as skin substitutes, tissue reinforcement felt, bone fixation devices, dural substitutes, and suture thread. Gunze’s mission will continue to be centered on advancing the quality of life of patients by providing innovative solutions to improve clinical outcomes.