Even as the U.S.-China trade war shows no signs of ending, American medical device companies are increasingly manufacturing in China for China as the country’s middle class expands and demands higher-quality healthcare. Tekni-Plex (Wayne, Pa.) reports that demand for locally sourced medical grade tubing — made at Tekni-Plex China’s Suzhou facility — is rapidly growing.
In China, there’s an increased need for silicone tubing used for patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps and peristaltic pumps for IV therapy, according to Tekni-Plex. Precision fluid delivery requires tight tolerance tubing made from medical-grade silicone.
Tekni-Plex’s Suzhou plant makes silicone tubing with diameters ranging from 0.2 to 25 mm (0.008 to 0.984 in.) and wall thicknesses ranging from 0.1 to 3.0 mm (0.004 to 0.118 in.). It can produce tubes with tolerances as low as +/- 0.03 mm (+/- 0.001 in.).
At Medtech China, Tekni-Plex also plans to show off its precision, melt-extruded tubing used for endovascular and other IV applications. Three-layer PEBA/bond/PE tubing used for rapid-exchange balloon catheters provides cardiovascular catheter companies a local source for critical tubing used to track the guidewire during interventional procedures. Tekni-Plex will also tout radiopaque striped thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) used for IV cannulas.
“Precision extruded silicone, thermoplastic and thermoplastic elastomer tubing is critical for the most advanced medical devices. The China medical market is growing rapidly, and sourcing high tolerance tubing from local suppliers is increasingly important. Our strategic focus on these applications underscores our manufacturing capabilities at our Suzhou facility,” said Michael Luo, general manager of Tekni-Plex China, in a news release.
