A Medical Device Daily

Micro Therapeutics (MTI; Irvine, California) reported the consolidation of its global manufacturing operations into a single manufacturing location at its headquarters in Irvine, as well as the closure of its facility in Bochum, Germany. The consolidations were effective Dec. 30.

As part of the consolidation, MTI said it has given notice of termination to about 60 employees in Germany.

The Irvine facility will now supply global demand for all MTI products, including its expanding line of embolic coils.

MTI anticipates that it will record total charges in the 2004 fourth quarter of between $2.5 and $3.5 million, which includes $1.8 to $2.5 million related to employee severance costs, contract terminations and project management, and non-cash charges of $700,000 to $1 million related to the impairment of assets that will not be transferred to Irvine.

“This move is an important and necessary step in our efforts to achieve operating profitability,“ said Thomas Wilder, MTI's president and CEO. “We anticipate that the consolidation of our operations to the Irvine facility will yield benefits in terms of manufacturing costs, overhead expense structure and customer service.“

MTI manufactures minimally invasive medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disorders. The company's focus is catheter-based technologies and products for the interventional neuroradiology market. Company products include the Sapphire and Sapphire NXT lines of embolic coils, the ONYX liquid embolic system, and a broad line of micro catheters, guidewires and occlusion balloons used to treat of cerebral vascular disorders.