Equipment provider, HAHN Automation Group, levels up operations with cutting-edge MedTech facilities and a major rebrand
Automation and technology are transforming the way the world works. Built upon a long history of technical innovation and curiosity, the HAHN Automation Group (HA Group) uses the latest advances in automation technology to transform the medical device manufacturing process. As Noah Smith, Vice President of Commercial Management and Development at HA Group, reveals: “Originally founded as Invotec in 1993 by two engineers, we were intimately familiar with the challenges that manufacturers faced, particularly in complex applications that were previously being completed manually and wanted to provide reliable technical solutions. Over two decades later, Invotec joined the HA Group, and narrowed its focus from cross-industry applications to medical device manufacturing.
“Under the HAHN Automation Group brand, we serve as the global lead plant for MedTech solutions. Our team has over 30 years of experience providing custom automation, assembly, test, and inspection equipment to medical device manufacturers. We primarily specialize in applications with small components and intricate assemblies – finding strategies for scaling automation to meet the unique needs of medical device manufacturers. Our flexible approach allows customers to refine their product design while we engineer the equipment.
“Our core competencies in developing MedTech automation equipment include machine vision systems, mechanical assembly systems, micro laser processing, precision joining, process development, controls engineering, error proofing, and test systems.”
A recent rebranding brought the HA Group family together under one name for the first time in its history. As Noah discusses: “The group began in 1992 with HAHN Automation in Rheinbollen, Germany. When Invotec joined the group in 2017, they had over ten established brands operating around the globe. Maintaining individual brands within the group meant a high level of complexity, both internally and externally. Previously the brands each represented, like Invotec, very specific industries, technologies, or geographies within their respective economic regions. We decided that operating as one brand would provide a clear, united message and better allow for competitive advantages such as financial stability, increased capacity, and better support for global projects.
“For MedTech manufacturers, specifically, the group offers a large pool of resources and an international footprint of 1800 employees, 22 locations, and 120 service professionals. Any time you introduce change to long-standing customers and employees, there is a natural hesitancy. But overall, customers are excited to see our original company mission continuing long into the future with a larger pool of resources and an international footprint available to our organization under the new brand. And our employees are excited to have expanded growth opportunities both in automation technology as well as geographically.”
The rebranding has also allowed the HA Group to provide a more diverse range of products and services to its customers in the medical manufacturing industry. “The HAHN Automation Group overall offers industry-specific know-how, an extensive project portfolio, and a global organization with a focus on providing service all from a single source. The group offers customers relevant technologies and customized equipment solutions necessary to automate their production and make it more efficient.
“As the global lead plant for MedTech automation, we design and build custom equipment for automation, assembly, inspection, and testing. Within our core
competencies, we are best known for semi-automated systems that incorporate machine vision, robotics, and micro laser processing to help our customers shift from manual processes to more repeatable ones.”
Across 22 state-of-the-art facilities, HA Group boasts an unparalleled range of automation equipment. “The headquarters for our global MedTech lead plant is in Miamisburg, Ohio. It offers over 60,000 square feet, including a full 3D printing lab, vision lab, and laser lab to help with feasibility and prototyping. In 2019, we added a second MedTech location in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota,” Noah explains.
“Both facilities offer space for design, engineering, build, runoff, and testing. On any given day, we will have 30-to-60 customers on site, engaging with their equipment and our teams. It’s an incredibly collaborative environment that is unique in the manufacturing world,” he affirms.
Working at the cutting edge of automation technology requires ongoing investment into equipment and facilities. “Last summer, the HA Group announced another major MedTech expansion – this time with a second location in Miamisburg, Ohio. The building is located just five minutes from our headquarters and adds 34,000 square feet to our site. Together this gives the company a total footprint of 119,000 square feet across all three MedTech locations in the US,” Noah details.
Vice President of Operations at HA Group, Jamie Rice, reports on the reasoning behind the expansion: “We’ve seen a growing demand in our customers for more capacity, larger project spaces, and more engineers. The addition of our new site will allow us to accommodate these needs at our main headquarters by relocating some of our internal teams and inventory.”
As the company’s footprint continues to grow, so does its vision for the future. In-between breaking into the Irish market and expanding its facility network in Germany, Noah and his team also have big plans for growing the business over the next five years. “We plan for our business to have more than doubled in the next five years, both in the North American region as well as globally. This will be supported by our highly skilled staff within the HA Group, as well as developing technologies across the medical technology industry,” Noah concludes.