VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation
The Strategic Partner for Healthcare Innovation

VSMPO-AVISMA is not only the world's largest vertically integrated manufacturer of titanium and titanium alloy products but is also one of the most customer-friendly enterprises in the world. With close to 300 quality certifications across 40 countries, this Russian company provides titanium products, from ingots to semi-finished parts, designed to meet exacting client specifications. VSMPO-AVISMA's commitment to process efficiency, technological prowess, and eco-friendly production has borne fruit as the company has gone on to expand its significance across industries. Having an enviable market share in the global aerospace industry, the company is making deeper inroads in the medical technology innovation expanse.

With the ability to produce medical-grade products that meet stringent compliance and regulatory requirements, VSMPO-AVISMA has emerged as the trusted partner to a number of large Orthopedic OEMs in the US and around the world. The company's materials and semi-finished products are used to develop implants for knees, hips, and shoulders and other medical instruments and devices.

"Focus on quality is ingrained in every employee of VSMPO-AVISMA, and this shows in our excellent track record in product quality and customer service," says Vincent Rocco, Vice President – Eastern Sales, VSMPO-AVISMA. "To reinforce our commitment to quality, we have a dedicated technical team in our Russian headquarters." The team plays a crucial role in developing products that are calibrated to different medical-grade tolerances, chemistries, and specifications and is capable of collaborating with customers in developing new titanium alloys.

The company separates itself in the market with its unique go-to-market strategy. It has control over the ore bodies in Russia from which the raw materials for titanium metal are extracted and also over alloying products that are added to titanium to provide enhanced metallurgical properties.

Its centralized titanium production unit in Russia manufactures titanium products from ingots, bars, billets, plates, sheets, rings, forgings, and machined parts.

The company offers predominant medical titanium grades such as Ti 6Al 4V, Ti 6Al 4V ELI, Ti 6Al 7Nb, and CP Titanium. VSMPO-AVISMA stresses working closely with the clients to understand their unique vision and goals and offers them competitive and stable pricing for extended periods. This provides customers cost certainty and gives them a tremendous competitive advantage. VSMPO-AVISMA allows for maximum flexibility to adjust to changing market conditions and industry trajectories, minimizing any friction in the process.

To keep the supply chain/logistic concerns of its global clients at bay, VSMPO-AVISMA has built distribution centers across the world, including: Frankfurt, Germany; Birmingham, the UK; Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, the US. "Our distribution center in Pittsburgh helps us better serve our clients from the medical device industry in the US due to its convenient location," says Rocco. The company has presence in China as well.

Medical device OEMs dread the challenges of handling a global supply chain to meet their business goals. To alleviate these fears, VSMPO-AVISMA has developed several client-centric strategies. It has tailored stocking programs and adopted a competitive, stable pricing strategy. "We don't think twice to hold the inventory and hold the price over extended periods of time if that will benefit our clients," says Rocco. Moreover, the company does not typically engage in index-based pricing where pricing fluctuates based on a raw material market index. When COVID-19 hit the global supply chain hard, VSMPO-AVISMA made bold decisions to keep up production to ensure that no supply disruptions occurred while implementing precautionary measures for employee safety.

VSMPO-AVISMA has strong relationships with professional associations in the Orthopedic domain through which it keeps itself updated with the recent developments and market trends. In the future, VSMPO-AVISMA aims to improve the manufacturing efficiency of small diameter and precision ground medical bar. The strategy is to develop internal rolling capabilities at the Russian primary manufacturing location, thus eliminating the reliance on outside processors currently used to make this product. Streamlining these operations will improve product quality and reduce overall costs for this critical segment of the medical titanium market.