British Manufacturer Breaks Into Chinese Market

A Yorkshire, United Kingdom, healthcare company has marked its 45th year in business by breaking into the Chinese market.

JRI Orthopaedics Ltd has won a contract to produce hip replacement implants in its Sheffield manufacturing facility for a Beijing-based medical company to sell into the Chinese market.

Keith Jackson, managing partner, said, “We are now manufacturing products in Sheffield that were designed in China and will be used to treat Chinese patients. Despite the fact that China leads the world in low cost manufacturing, our manufacturing capabilities and efficiencies have allowed us to defy conventions.”

Jackson said that his Chinese partner believes that being able to offer quality British manufactured products at competitive prices will give them a significant advantage over both other Chinese companies and the U.S.-based multi-nationals currently selling into the hip replacement segment of the rapidly growing orthopedic implant market in China.

JRI became the first in the world to use a hydroxyapatite ceramic (H-A.C) coating on hip replacements, according to the press release. H-A.C is a synthetic version of the natural mineral present in bones and, by perfecting the coating process, JRI was able to produce an implant that, company officials say, bonds biologically with the patient’s own bone. Jackson said, “Over 250, 000 patients have benefited from this technology giving the recipients the real prospect of a hip for life.”