MEDTRONIC NAMES EXECUTIVES TO HEAD VASCULAR ORGANIZATION AFTER MERGER WITH
Facilities to be Streamlined in Drive for Market Leadership
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/-- Officials of Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced executive appointments and restructuring plans for the new vascular organization created yesterday after shareholders of Arterial Vascular Engineering, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVEI), approved its merger with Medtronic, Inc.
Scott Solano, former chief executive of AVE and now president of Medtronic Vascular, appointed Andy Rasdal, AVE's former vice president of global marketing, to head coronary activities in the new organization as vice president and Mel Schatz, formerly vice president of Medtronic's vascular organization, as vice president of the combined peripheral vascular activities. Solano reports to Arthur D. Collins, Jr., president and chief operating officer of Medtronic.
Medtronic's coronary vascular sales force will be combined with the coronary sales force of AVE, and headed by Glenn Foley, formerly AVE's vice president of sales for North America and Europe. Solano said the business will move expeditiously to streamline operations to capitalize on synergies between the two organizations in developing "best in class" coronary vascular and peripheral vascular products for physicians worldwide.
"The merger of Medtronic and AVE provides a unique opportunity to leverage AVE's leadership position in coronary stenting with the strength of Medtronic's longstanding position as the pre-eminent medical technology company in the world," Solano said. "We will use the best products, technology, patents and marketing expertise of both companies to develop a world-class organization that is dedicated to the delivery of quality healthcare. Combining the distribution capabilities of our organizations into a single unit will enable us to make significant gains in global market share."
Both companies have designed and manufactured minimally invasive solutions for the treatment of coronary artery and peripheral vascular diseases. Prior acquisition by AVE of the USCI interventional cardiology business of C.R. Bard and World Medical Manufacturing Corporation will contribute additional capabilities in coronary and peripheral stents, balloon catheters, guidewires and stent grafts. Highlights of the combined product line include:
-- Two coronary stent families-- modular and tubular. In modular stents, the company will soon launch the GFX(TM)2 stent system in the United States, the S670 stent system (formerly GFX 3) in Europe this summer with U.S. release expected this fall; and the new S540 stent system (small diameters) in the United States and Europe this spring. Tubular stents will be based on Medtronic's beStent(TM) design. Launches will include the Paseo(TM) rapid-exchange system in Europe this spring and the Contura(TM), an over-the-wire delivery system in the United States in early 2000. Additionally, U.S. clinical evaluations for a perfusion single-operator-exchange stent delivery system are underway.
-- A broadened line of coronary balloon catheters-- The Achiever balloon catheter remains in the marketplace and a next-generation product, the D114S, is in development in the over-the-wire category. In the rapid exchange segment, the NXT balloon catheter will be marketed in Europe and the LTXII catheter will soon be marketed in Japan.
-- Enhanced coronary guide catheters-- In guide catheters, new sizes in the Zuma(TM) guide catheter family will be introduced soon.
-- Various guidewires-- The company will continue to develop and market AVE guidewires.
-- Two stent grafts for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms--
The combined organization will complete clinical evaluations of the
stent grafts from both Medtronic AneuRx and World Medical.
Implementation of a comprehensive plan to streamline worldwide
manufacturing operations will begin immediately. As a result of product
synergies, several manufacturing sites will be closed, resulting in the
displacement over the next year of approximately 1,600 current
positions. This will be achieved through a combination of job attrition
and layoffs.
The new organization will close five of its 10 facilities. The AVE facility in Santa Rosa, Calif., will serve as the new Medtronic Vascular headquarters and will expand its manufacturing operations in stents and stent delivery systems. AVE's Galway, Ireland facility will also expand its activities in balloon catheters and accessories. Medtronic Danvers will continue as the guiding catheter facility and will be expanded.
Operations in Vancouver, BC, Canada; a stent research facility in Israel, and a stent-graft operation in Sunnyvale, Calif., will close. The San Diego, Calif. operation will be converted to a manufacturing-only facility and will be phased out within 12 months. As a result, operations in Santa Rosa and Galway will be expanded. Additionally, AVE's guiding catheter and diagnostic catheter operations in Billerica, Mass. will be closed. Assembly operations in Tijuana, Mexico, will continue.
As previously noted, Medtronic will take one-time transaction-related and restructuring charges in its current quarter, which ends January 29, 1999.
Medtronic, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is the world's leading medical technology company specializing in implantable and interventional therapies. Its Internet address is http://www.medtronic.com
Any statements made about the company's anticipated financial results
and regulatory approvals are forward-looking statements subject to
risks and uncertainties such as those described in the company's Annual
Report on Form 10K for the year ended April 30, 1998. Actual results
may differ materially from anticipated results.
SOURCE Medtronic, Inc.
1/29/99 /CONTACT: Dale Beumer, Investor Relations, 612-514-3038, or Jessica Stoltenberg, Public Relations, 612-514-3333, both of Medtronic/
/Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/551393.html or fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 551393/
/Web site: http://www.medtronic.com/ (MDT AVEI)
CO: Medtronic, Inc.; Arterial Vascular Engineering, Inc. ST:
Minnesota, California IN: MTC SU: PER