A third plan to grow their spend in this area and a further 41% plan to match last year's budget.
According to the new research by the organisers of the Medical Device Technology Exhibition & Conference (MDT), this renewed emphasis on packaging reflects the buoyant and forward-looking mood within the medical device sector.
At least 63% of the 150 medical device and in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) manufacturers studied have produced an innovative product or service in the past 12 months, and over half are planning to increase their r&d spend. Moreover, 19% of those studied would like more innovation from their packaging suppliers and 70% would benefit from more innovative materials.
Almost half will be buying plastics/elastomers over the next 12 months, 46% will be buying packaging materials and 43% will be buying labelling. Some 81% of medical device and IVD manufacturers said they are looking for new suppliers and many more are looking to outsource their packaging – 26% currently outsource their product packing but this is set to rise to one third.
The Medical Device Technology 2005 Exhibition & Conference takes place on February 16 and 17 at Birmingham's NEC. Visitors pre-registering will gain free entry and will also be able to visit its co-located shows: 3C (Contamination Control & Cleanroom Products), Electronic Information Displays, Industrial Networks, IPOT (Image Processing and Optical Technology), Machine Vision, Machine Building, MTEC (Sensors, Measurement & Instrumentation) and Practical Vacuum.
