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Pall Gelman to Get More Business

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Parent Issue
Day
4
Month
September
Year
1998
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

Pall Gelman to get more business

SEP 4 1998

By MARY MORGAN

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

A recent restructuring of Pall Corp.’s medical subsidiaries will bring more business to Pall Gelman Sciences, the Scio Township manufacturer.

Pall has formed a new umbrella organization called Pall Medical. Within that division are three groups: Hospital, Blood Processing and Critical Care. The Critical Care Group, with operations worldwide, will be headquartered in Ann Arbor and led by Mark Sutter.

Sutter, who has worked for the local business since before Pall acquired Gelman Sciences in late 1996, was promoted in May, said Sam Wortham, president of Pall Medical. Sutter could not be reached for comment.

The change is a big deal for the local operation, Wortham said.

“It’s a commitment to grow the business,” he said. “It’s a commitment to the Ann Arbor facility.”

Only a portion of Pall Gelman Sciences will be part of the Critical Care Group, Wortham said in a phone interview from his East Hills office.

When Pall bought Gelman Sciences, the critical care business accounted for about 25 percent of the firm’s $112 million annual sales, Wortham said.

Pall does not release information on employment, revenues or profitability for specific sites, he said. Revenues from all Critical Care Group units - in Ireland, Europe, Puerto Rico and California - total about $100 million, he said.

The part of Pall Gelman Sciences that’s now in the Critical Care Group makes filters used in surgical equipment, drug delivery devices and other medical applications.

And as part of the restructuring, Pall Gelman Sciences will pick up some new manufacturing business, too. The local firm will make filters for intravenous, breathing circuits and cardiovascular surgery - products formerly made by Pall Biomedical Products Co., an East Hills firm that’s now part of Pall Medical’s Hospital Group.

Sales from those products will more than double revenues from the Ann Arbor unit, Wortham said.

Researchers at Pall Gelman Sciences also have developed a new microfilter used on dental equipment, Wortham said. It will filter out bacteria and other contaminants from water used during dental procedures. That filter will be unveiled at a trade show later this month, Wortham said.

Pall recently hired about a dozen new managers and sales people at the Critical Care Group in Ann Arbor, Wortham said.

These business changes will eventually double the number of people working for that part of the Ann Arbor business, he said.

The bulk of business at Pall Gelman Sciences is grouped with Pall’s processing division. That portion makes filters and membranes.

Some of that work - production of cartridge filters used by pharmaceutical labs to remove bacteria and other organisms from drugs - was shifted last year to Pall's manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico. Company officials would not comment on how local employment was affected by that change.

Mary Morgan can be reached at (734) 994-6861; e-mail at mmorgan@aa-news.com