Bihler of America Brings Supplier Diversity and Innovative Skill to Its

Bihler of America Brings Supplier Diversity
and Innovative Skill to Its Customer Network
What’s better than finding a needle in a haystack? Finding a
services and innovations.” Bihler is one of Johnson & Johnson’s
diverse supplier that designs, innovates and efficiently
largest diverse medical-component manufacturing suppliers.
manufactures surgical suture needles for Ethicon Inc.—a
Johnson & Johnson company—and its customers.
Employing 180 people at a 250,000-square-foot plant in
Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Bihler does more than make surgical
Bihler of America is a woman-owned supplier of millions of
suture needles and other products; it also designs and builds the
surgical suture needles for products produced by Ethicon Inc.
equipment to manufacture those products. This expertise gives
and sold to Owens & Minor, a major distributor to hospitals.
Bihler a unique and valuable position as a supplier.
Patients benefit from innovative suture technology used in
everything from wound repair to major surgery. Ethicon Inc.
“Contract manufacturing and machine design/systems-building
has been a leader in surgical sutures for nearly 70 years.
complement each other,” explained Bihler CEO Maxine
Nordmeyer. “By running a production facility 24/7, there are
“There are few diverse suppliers that manufacture medical
lessons learned that we would never experience if we only built
products—and it is very important to have one as a supply
systems. By doing both, we incorporate learnings into the next
chain partner,” Veronica Manuel-Gilbert, Director, Enterprise
system design. It’s a continuous circle that lets us keep improving
Supplier Diversity at Johnson & Johnson, said. “Diverse
products and services for our customers.”
suppliers best reflect our patients and consumers across the
world, and help us to better meet the need for products,
Bihler of America opened in 1976 when Barry Littlewood
(Nordmeyer’s father) partnered with Otto Bihler Maschinenfabrik
of Germany. Bihler’s relationship with Ethicon Inc. began in 1987,
building a machine for Ethicon Inc. to manufacture needle blanks.
In 1998, Bihler began manufacturing needle blanks and
designing other needle-making equipment used at both Bihler
and Ethicon Inc. facilities.
Breakthrough Innovation
In 2007, Bihler presented an innovative bid to significantly reduce
needle-making cost. With Ethicon Engineering, it developed a
game-changing process that allows product quality and control
while maximizing efficiency with longer production runs, less
downtime and higher output. The result? Lower production costs.
Devon Ray, Senior Supply Management Analyst, Owens & Minor;
Linda Harvey, Buyer, Baltimore, Owens & Minor; Maxine
Nordmeyer, CEO, Bihler of America; Angela Wilkes, Director,
Supplier Diversity & Sustainability, Owens & Minor; Michael
Barone, General Manager, Baltimore, Owens & Minor.
“Bihler has an open-door policy for Ethicon Inc.,” Nordmeyer said.
“We share our technology and procedures for tooling, setups and
programs,” said Larry Chiappetta, Johnson & Johnson Health
Care Systems Corporate Account Director. “I’ve seen
firsthand how both companies strive to build relationships like
that with Bihler, to better serve customers and communities.”
Bihler gives back to the community throughout the year,
supporting the Center for Educational Advancement, the
Raritan Valley Community College Foundation, the Make-aWish Foundation® and numerous other small groups.
The partnership with Ethicon has created other production
opportunities for Bihler in the medical device industry. Its sister
company in the UK, JEB Engineering Design, provides the
same engineering capabilities as Bihler of America, working
with Ethicon’s Gynecare line in Europe.
“Supplier diversity is a crucial way for us to drive economic
inclusion and growth in the communities in which we live and
work,” Manuel-Gilbert said. “We are very pleased to have a
global partner that can help us innovate—and is able to grow
with us.” ♦