WARSAW, Ind., July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. , a leader in the orthopaedics industry, announced today that it has entered into a five-year agreement with Brasseler USA that allows Zimmer to sell and distribute Brasseler-manufactured powered surgical instruments (large and small bone) and consumables in the United States.
“Zimmer was the leader in the powered surgical market with the Linvatec/Hall Surgical line of products until our former parent divested the product line, and we are pleased to be re-entering the market,” said Ray Elliott, Zimmer Chairman, President and CEO. “With Brasseler’s systems, we are once again in a position to address our customers’ needs with an excellent product line backed by exceptional Zimmer customer service. This is a natural extension of our leadership in joint replacement implants.”
Brasseler recently released a new large bone surgical power equipment system -- the Brasseler Orthopaedic Power System, which will be marketed by Zimmer under the Brasseler brand. The system utilizes a unique power module to drive all the handpieces. This power module, which incorporates a battery, drive motor and system electronics, is not sterile processed, but rather is aseptically transferred to the handpieces. Eliminating the intense autoclaving cycles increases battery life and overall reliability of the power tool system.
A premium line of disposable blades fitting Zimmer implant systems will be marketed under the Zimmer brand. A broader range of blades not specific to Zimmer implant systems (large bone and small bone) will be sold under the Brasseler brand.
Brasseler also manufactures the PneuMicro Small Bone Power System, a pneumatic-powered system for use in orthopaedic, oral, maxillofacial, podiatric and otology procedures, which will be distributed by Zimmer.
About the Company
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer is the worldwide #1 pure-play orthopaedic leader in designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing reconstructive and spinal implants, trauma and related orthopaedic surgical products. Zimmer has operations in more than 24 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries. Zimmer’s 2005 sales were approximately $3.3 billion. The Company is supported by the efforts of more than 6,700 employees worldwide.
Visit Zimmer on the worldwide web at http://www.zimmer.com .
Zimmer Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics industry, management’s beliefs and assumptions made by management. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “assumes,” “guides,” “targets,” “forecasts,” and “seeks” or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, the outcome of the Department of Justice investigations announced in March 2005 and June 2006, price and product competition, rapid technological development, demographic changes, dependence on new product development, the mix of our products and services, supply and prices of raw materials and products, customer demand for our products and services, control of costs and expenses, our ability to form and implement alliances, international growth, governmental laws and regulations affecting our U.S. and international businesses, including tax obligations and risks, product liability and intellectual property litigation losses, reimbursement levels from third-party payors, general industry and market conditions and growth rates and general domestic and international economic conditions including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see our periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be set forth in our periodic reports. Readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, since, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward- looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.
Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
CONTACT: Media: Brad Bishop, +1-574-372-4291, bradley.bishop@zimmer.com ,Investors: Sean O’Hara, +1-574-371-8032, sean.f.ohara@zimmer.com , or SamLeno, +1-574-372-4790, sam.leno@zimmer.com , all of Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
Web site: http://www.zimmer.com/
