Thuasne has just fallen below the symbolic bar of 50% activity in France. France represents 45% of the medical textile specialist’s sales, which nevertheless remains its largest market by country, ahead of the United States. To reduce exposure to its domestic market, the industrialist from Saint-Etienne (Loire) made its fifth acquisition in 12 years in the United States by taking over Corflex, an SME with 130 employees distributed between the head office in Manchester (New Hampshire) and a second factory in the Dominican Republic. This manufacturer of high-end soft knee braces and orthopedic devices “opens the doors of military clinics where we were not present», Enthuses Delphine Hanton, general manager of Thuasne, a family business founded in 1847 and chaired by her mother, Elizabeth Ducottet.
A quarter of activity in the United States
This establishment across the Atlantic began in 2011 with the acquisition of Townsend Design, then Quinn Medical in 2016, Lantz in 2019 and finally Knit-Rite in 2021. The medical device manufacturer thus finds itself in a position of strength in stores orthopedics and medical equipment in the world’s leading healthcare market, where it generates 25% of its sales. Then follow Europe, which represents around 10%, then the rest of the world for 20%.
To develop this last segment, the French ETI seized “an opportunity» in Australia, explains Elizabeth Ducottet, taking over Medical Rehab this winter, a small Australian player in tailor-made devices. “Our presence in the Pacific region makes sense, because it is a fast-growing market. As our profession is very dependent on doctors’ prescriptions, this requires local work that is difficult to carry out from France.», Compares the president.
With its international acquisitions, Thuasne aims to become one of the leading global players in the medical devices sector. © Thuasne
This internationalization has a cost. That of acquisitions of course, which Thuasne does not reveal, but also that of a policy of innovation and permanent technological monitoring, which the industrialist manages from his laboratory in Lyon. “Like us, Corflex has cultivated this capacity for innovation which differentiates its products in a highly competitive market, giving it solid recognition on a global scale.», adds Elizabeth Ducottet.
The advantage of the American health market is that it allows the marketing of products with high added value, while the French market remains subject to Social Security reimbursement scales. Another long-term fight that Thuasne is waging with Snitem, the professional union of medical device manufacturers.
Thuasne now relies on 16 factories by adding the two from Corflex. It is present in 110 countries and employs 2,600 people. In France, the family business relies on a workforce of 800 people, including 400 in production in the main factory in Saint-Etienne and on another site in Eyrieux (Isère). It achieved a turnover of 281 million euros last year, an increase of 9% compared to 2022. For 2024, Thuasne expects an increase of around 10% on a global scale, but to a stagnation of activity in France.
