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‘Second-stage’ firm thrives in Port Huron
By ANN RICHARDS
PORT HURON, Mich. — Three years ago, BioPro Inc. was named one of Michigan’s “Companies to Watch” in recognition of its exceptional entrepreneurial leadership. The firm designs, manufactures and distributes biologically oriented joint replacement components.
Since receiving that honor, the Port Huron company has added five new products and will introduce three more this year. It has started distribution in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Latin America and Mexico. This puts its products in 19 countries, according to Stephen Erdner, director of sales and marketing for the 21-year-old company.
BioPro was founded by Dr. Charles O. Townley, an orthopedic surgeon and entrepreneur who pioneered new methods of joint replacement. He developed the world’s first anatomically oriented, artificial total knee, according to Patrick Pringle, the company’s CEO.
Once BioPro identified its niche — patenting several products for the lower extremities and marketing a toe joint first developed in the 1950s — the company’s sales began experiencing significant growth. It was averaged 15 percent growth annually for the past five years.
BioPro, which employs 21 full- and 3 part-time workers, is an example of the type of “second-stage” companies that could generate the bulk of new, sustainable jobs that are so important to Michigan’s future prosperity, says Mark Lange, executive director of the Edward Lowe Foundation. Lowe is a sponsor of the “Companies to Watch” awards program.
Valerie Kettlewell, a fourth-year co-op engineering student at Kettering University in Flint, is spending her second summer semester as an intern at BioPro to observe first-hand how the products she one day hopes to design are manufactured and marketed.
BioPro has supported Kettering’s co-op program for several years, according to Erdner, and has worked with the university on the development of several products.
BioPro also believes in investing in its own employees, says Eric Hubbard. He was hired to work in the company’s buffing department and has since — at the company’s urging — completed an apprenticeship in machining through St. Clair Community College.
“We’ve supported four of our employees in completing their college degrees and another four in obtaining their apprenticeship certification,” Pringle said.
Going forward, BioPro will continue to work to solidify relationships with its domestic and global distributors, Pringle says.
“We intend to continue to add products and expand our distribution. We want our customers to know we’re growing, and we’re here to stay.”