A US industrial giant has snapped up this Longford medical-supplies maker
Finesse Medical, which makes products to treat skin conditions, has been sold to Avery Dennison.
A LONGFORD-BASED medical-device manufacturer has just been snapped up by a US industrial giant.
Irish firm Finesse Medical develops and manufactures a range of technologies used for the management of a variety of wounds and skin conditions. Its products include the likes of skin-barrier films and protective creams.
Avery Dennison Corporation, which is based in California, announced that it had acquired Finesse. The company is a US multinational that is active in several industries, including consumer packaging, logistics and healthcare.
The firm had sales of about $6.1 billion (€5.4 billion) in 2016 and employs around 25,000 people across 25 different countries. Finesse, which was established in 2004, employs 79 people and had revenues of about €15 million last year.
The financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Finesse Medical manufacturing facility
‘Key supplier’
In a statement, Avery said that Finesse is a “key supplier to global healthcare-product OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and also provides contract manufacturing and product development services”.
“Finesse Medical is a top-quality manufacturer with a strong track record for developing and commercialising effective, high-value products in the medical sector,” said Avery Dennison’s president and CEO Mitch Butier.
“This acquisition will accelerate our long-term strategic and financial goals for our industrial and healthcare materials segment.”
Martin Dowd, the director of marketing and business development at Finesse Medical, said that the deal “is a strategic win for both organisations”.
“Our companies share a strong commitment to quality and innovation,” he said.
“Avery Dennison brings important new strengths to our business, including key relationships in the US healthcare industry, new global sales and distribution channels for our products, and coating and roll-manufacturing expertise”.
Expansion
According to Finesse’s most recent annual report, directors Dowd and Kevin Creighton each own a 30% stake in the company.
Ann Dowd, as well as directors Odette Lynch, Caroline Creighton, Daire Lynch, all hold 10% of the business. All of the shareholders are either based in Leitrim or Roscommon.
According to its latest set of accounts, Finesse made a loss of about €30,000 in the year to the end of December 2015.
However, the company made a profit of about €1 million the year before, and had accumulated profits of €2.7 million as of the end of 2015 and about €500,000 cash in the bank and at hand.
The number of people employed by the firm rose from 64 to 79 during the year, with staff costs rising from €2 million to €3 million.
