By seeing new regulatory changes as an opportunity, medical device manufacturer Enztec has gone from being an order-taker to order-maker, leading to exponential global growth.
The company, which designs and manufactures orthopaedic instruments used by surgeons worldwide for hip, knee, spine, and shoulder procedures, has seen its revenue increase by 290% in recent years. It has also grown its team from 26 staff in 2017 to over 90 employees, under the leadership of ‘new’ Chief Executive Iain McMillan.
“Enztec is a supplier of innovative orthopaedic instruments for the world’s best implant companies,” says Mr McMillian. “I describe it as if you wanted to run skirting boards up a staircase, you could buy a really cheap drop saw and use lots of filler, or you can buy the Enztec version of that saw that allows you to make really careful, precise cuts, giving you more control.
“In theatre, it’s about precision, so our job is to provide the best quality tools for the surgeons to do the best job they can and achieve what they need to for a patient. We have the ability to make a huge impact to the outcome of the surgery and the quality of life of a patient.”
He attributes the growth under his leadership to a shift in business strategy, with a focus on innovative product development as well as embracing regulatory compliance as a competitive advantage. “Over the last few years we have diversified our product offerings, moving from primarily contract manufacturing to developing our own product lines. This shift has allowed us to scale our operations and target larger contracts with major medical device companies.
“With the introduction of the Medical Device Regulation (MDR) in Europe, we were one of the first in the market to achieve accreditation, enabling us to take on projects that other companies weren’t equipped to handle. We’ve effectively weaponized regulation – by saying we’re going to own regulation and achieve more than some of our competitors have achieved in that space, it’s seen as a key point of differentiation and innovation in the market.”
Enztec has positioned itself as a premium brand in the industry, with 98% of its sales coming from exports. The United States accounts for about 60% of the company’s market, followed by Europe at 20% and the UK at 12%, with the balance into Asia Pacific. The majority are multinationals, with a smaller number to distributors and surgeons.
Earlier this year, Mr McMillan celebrated his 20-year anniversary with Enztec, but his association with the company predates that, having completed his PhD at the University of Canterbury in conjunction with an industry sponsored project at Enztec. During his tenure, the company has seen a handful of ownership changes, with the most recent change back to New Zealand ownership offering Mr McMillan the opportunity to step into the role of Chief Executive – a very different role from when he first started at the company as a Design Engineer.
“Over the years, my role has evolved and changed. It hasn’t been a deliberate decision, but I still turn up every day knowing that I can do something to make a difference for our business, for our people and our products, in a market which I enjoy. It’s very rare that you can say that after 20 years. When this role came up, I felt I knew what the business needed to be doing. It wasn’t an easy ride, it never will be, but I think we still haven’t achieved what we’re truly capable of as a company in terms of our impact financially, for our staff, our region, or for patients. We can do a lot more.”
Surprisingly, Mr McMillan isn’t the staff member with the longest tenure, which he puts down to fostering a positive work culture. “One of our factory workers recently also marked her 20-year anniversary at Enztec, and she talked about how she leaves home to come to her second home to work with her brothers and her sisters. That’s something to be really proud of.”
Looking ahead, Mr McMillan says the company is focused on scaling their success while maintaining their core values. This includes investing heavily in R&D to develop the next generation of products and telling their story more effectively through sales and marketing. There is also a strong internal focus on evolving their process and leadership structures to support continued growth.
Mr McMillan says he is optimistic about the future, projecting 30% growth for next year. A key part of this is continuing to embrace market opportunities, including in emerging technologies such as surgical robots and changes to make healthcare more affordable.
“Surgical robots – which are essentially just robotic arms – are about increasing precision in theatre. The intent of the technology is to replicate the skill set and the precision of a high-end surgeon and allow more surgeons to achieve the same outcomes for patients. A growing part of our business is manufacturing accessories for these robots, which we see as a developing market – particularly in the US where they have a much higher adoption of technology than in New Zealand.
Despite its global reach, Enztec remains committed to its Christchurch base. “Christchurch is a really good place within New Zealand in terms of manufacturing and technology. There’s a great network of suppliers and other medical device manufacturers around us, a good talent pool and it’s a really vibrant city. It’s also a highly sought-after place to live, which helps us with recruiting nationally and internationally for our highly specialised roles, including engineers and machinists.
“When we think about why New Zealand versus the rest of the world, there is a huge advantage to the mindset we bring in terms of outside of the box thinking and our ways of doing business also translate really well across the globe. I believe that is what has got us this far – and what will enable us to really make our mark in what is a huge global market.”
