Opportunities for medical device manufacturers in motorsport
industry
5 August 2011
There are many shared values in the production
of components for the medical and motorsport industries, from the
highest degree of engineering integrity to the paramount value of
reliability.
The considerable cost of in-house manufacturing facilities mean many
race teams rely on external sub-contractors to produce key parts, which
opens up the possibility for firms in the medical industry to break into
the lucrative motorsport market, worth £4.6 billion to the UK alone.
Whether producing printed circuit boards (PCBs) for heart monitors or
telemetry systems for Formula One, the processes put in place by
standards such as ISO13485 and ISO90001 ensure high calibre end products
in both motorsport and medicine, with key quality control systems such
as batch traceability, design validation and operator logging common to
both industries.
One company already leveraging the technology crossover between
sectors is St Cross Electronics, a leading manufacturer of wiring
solutions. St Cross Electronics’ current clients include medical
suppliers such as Texas Instruments and Phillips, as well as the
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) series in the
USA.
“Medical and military projects probably make up about 80% of
our business,” says Dax Ward, Managing Director of St Cross
Electronics. “However having processes in place such as stock bonding,
stock lifing and the ability to produce large production runs makes us
ideally placed for supplying series such as NASCAR. The standards that
the medical and military industries require give us a real advantage
over our competitors who only serve the motor racing sector.”
St Cross Electronics has developed its motorsport customer base by
exhibiting at Autosport International, Europe’s largest dedicated
motorsport trade show, which takes place at the Birmingham NEC, UK, from
12-15 January 2012. The event provides a networking platform for businesses
in complimentary sectors such as medical manufacturing looking to expand
into new markets. In 2011, 28,900 trade visitors from 50 countries
attended the event, generating £800 million of business across four
days.