RF Welder Partners with Medical Grade Film Supplier and TPE Compounder


Genesis Plastics Welding Collaborates with O'Sullivan Films and Teknor Apex in Latest Efforts to Provide Phthalate-Free Films to Medical Device Industry

INDIANAPOLIS - Nearly a year after Genesis Plastics Welding and Teknor Apex announced a breakthrough in PVC-free manufactured medical bags and pouches, O'Sullivan Films joins in the collaboration to offer medical device, equipment and supplies companies a medical grade, PVC-free film.

O'Sullivan Films, a leading producer of medical grade films used in the healthcare industry, is now able to mass-produce this USP class I-VI film using Teknor Apex's Medalist® medical elastomers. This film, using Genesis' proprietary ecoGenesis(TM) technology, can be radio frequency (RF) welded using no additives or adhesives, to manufacture a variety of medical supplies and equipment, including fluid delivery, storage and drainage bags.

Genesis Plastics Welding, Teknor Apex Company and O'Sullivan Films are jointly announcing this breakthrough at MD&M East, where ecoGenesis(TM) RF plastics welded samples of fluid drainage and storage bags from Medalist-based film are on display at the exhibits of Genesis (Booth 631), Teknor Apex (Booth 1123) and O'Sullivan (Booth 753).

"While PVC still has its place in many industries and applications, eliminating or reducing PVC in the healthcare sector is a major focus for many hospitals and healthcare systems," said Tom Ryder, president and CEO of Genesis Plastics Welding, a leading RF plastics welding contract manufacturer. "With the collaboration of our companies, hospital groups such as those that have recently joined the Healthier Hospitals Initiative can now provide patients with PVC-free medical bags, thereby reducing potential exposure to dioxins."

Using a high purity Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) Medalist® MD-500 Series product from Teknor Apex, a leading custom compounder, O'Sullivan was, for the first time, able to manufacture this PVC-free alternative film. "Medalist medical elastomers offer manufacturers of fluid delivery, storage and drainage bags several important advantages over widely used PVC," said Elliott Pritikin, senior medical market manager for Teknor Apex's Thermoplastic Elastomer Division. "Besides being free of halogens and phthalates, Medalist elastomers are available at lower hardness ranges, provide a broader processing window, exhibit greater elasticity and superior low-temperature flexibility, have a wider range of service temperatures, and save weight because of their lower density. Like PVC, Medalist elastomers are available in fully transparent grades."

O'Sullivan films are made from FDA approved raw materials, manufactured under current GMP and meet ISO Certification 13485 standards.

For medical device manufacturers with existing RF heat sealers, ecoGenesis can be licensed as a bolt-on technology. Or, Genesis can be used as a contract manufacturer of the medical devices, supplies or equipment, using the Medalist-based O'Sullivan film to cleanly weld fluid delivery, storage or drainage bags for hospitals or healthcare systems.

About Genesis Plastics Welding

Genesis Plastics Welding is one of the industry's leading contract manufacturing companies that specializes in radio frequency (RF) plastics welding of thermoplastic products and components for industries including medical, military, automotive, marine and consumer products. As a full service medical device plastics welding contract manufacturer, we feature medical clean room RF heat sealing, impulse sealing and ultrasonic welding, along with complete assembly and packaging within our ISO 13485 compliant Class 7 medical device clean room. Genesis' proprietary heat sealing technology, ecoGenesis(TM), allows RF plastics welding of polyethylene, polypropylene and nearly any low-loss polymer in film, foam and fabric layers. The technology is an ideal replacement for Polyvinylchloride (PVC) and Polyurethane with "green" phthalate-free plastics as it causes polymers with low dielectric loss factors to respond to RF plastics welding just like PVC. Available for private licensing to manufacturers, ecoGenesis can be quickly integrated into any existing RF heat sealing machine. Contact Genesis Plastics Welding, headquartered near Indianapolis in Indiana, at 317-485-7887 or visit GenesisPlasticsWelding.com.

About O'Sullivan Films

O'Sullivan Films, Inc® is a leading producer of medical grade films used in the healthcare industry. With more than three decades of experience in making quality medical grade films, we have met or exceeded our customers' requirements for their medical device applications. We offer a broad range of materials that meet stringent requirements for applications such as transfusion blood bags, drainage bags, nutrition bags and medical mattresses. O'Sullivan Films' range of medical products are custom formulated to meet USP Class III-VI requirements as well as your manufacturing specifications. They have been assigned Drug Master File Status by the U.S. FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Contact us at (540) 667-6666, Ext 402, Ext 469 or Ext 412 or visit our website at http://www.OSUL.com/healthcare.

About Teknor Apex Company

Teknor Apex Company is a diversified plastics compounder that sells in 90 countries and operates manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The Thermoplastic Elastomer Division's Medalist® high-purity medical elastomers are available with hardness from Shore OO 25 to ductile Shore D 85, include clear, translucent, and opaque formulations, and have applications ranging from film and tubing to molded components and wire and cable. An expandable registered binder with a wealth of test data on Medalist products and resources for designers and processors is available to qualified OEMs, designers, and plastics processors in the medical device and healthcare product industries. It can be requested from the Medalist website at www.medalistmd.com or by emailing Teknor Apex at medalist@teknorapex.com. Other Teknor Apex plastics businesses include the Bioplastics, Nylon, Specialty Compounding, and Vinyl Divisions and Teknor Color Company. www.teknorapex.com.

Media Contacts

For Genesis: Becky Polston, APR

317-205-9690 ext. 226, becky@synergy-mg.com

For O'Sullivan Films: Chuck Stronach

616-401-8282, chuck.stronach@osul.com

Contact This Company

All Topics