surface solutions group Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Surface Solutions Group introduces sustainable, compliant GlideMed medical device coating

NEWS RELEASE: Surface Solutions Group to Introduce Sustainable, Compliant GlideMed™ Medical Device Coating at MD&M Minneapolis

CHICAGO, September 26, 2023 – ISO 13485 certified Surface Solutions Group, LLC (SSG), a leading provider of coating technologies for the medical device industry, today announced that it will be showcasing its GlideMed™ sustainable, compliant coating along with its 12 other coating solutions in Booth #3226 at the Medical Design & Manufacturing Conference & Expo (MD&M) in Minneapolis on October 10-11, 2023.

MD&M attendees are invited to meet with SSG’s team and learn more about GlideMed™, a water-based, low friction coating for medical devices. Available in No PTFE and Low PTFE formulations, it is free from any PFOS, PFOA, solvent and hexavalent chromium (hex chrome) compounds. Developed using established, proven coating technology, it is a biocompatible, environmentally friendly coa…

Surface Solutions Group names successor for retiring president

George Osterhout is retiring as president at Surface Solutions Group (SSG). [Photo courtesy of SSG]

Medtech coatings supplier Surface Solutions Group (SSG) recently announced the retirement of President George Osterhout and named his successor.

Kevin Hess, formerly an SSG VP, now serves as president of SSG and sister companies Orion Industries and Dimension Bond.

Osterhout is retiring after a 48-year career in the functional coatings industry, including 25 years with SSG. The company credited him with playing a “pivotal role in the formation of SSG to focus exclusively on serving the medical device market” and said he was “instrumental in taking SSG to new heights, fostering strategic partnerships with customers and suppliers, and driving continuous growth.”

With Osterhout as president, the company said, SSG secured ISO 13485 certification, …

Sustainable coating demand is changing medical device design and manufacturing

Coated needles [Photo courtesy of Surface Solutions Group]

‘Forever chemical’ replacements are on the way thanks to sustainable coating research and collaboration.

By George Osterhout, Surface Solutions Group

Fluoropolymers are getting a bad name.

For more than a decade, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) used to manufacture polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coatings for the medical device industry have been highly scrutinized by regulatory agencies including the EPA and the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR).

In 2010, the EPA recommended the elimination of PFOA in all PTFE coatings by 2015, including those used for medical devices. PTFE coatings are used for guidewires, mandrels, hypotubes, coil wires and needles. Since then, PTFE manufacturing companies have turned to short-chain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as an alternati…