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CONTACT
INFORMATION
FMMC
325 John Knox Rd,
Suite
L103
Tallahassee, FL 32303
866-437-6534
phone
850-222-3019 fax
info@FlaMedMfg.org
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Chairman's Message
The March FMMC Report brings news of much activity in
the medical device industry. The FMMC has two events planned to
discuss issues of great importance for medical device
manufacturers. The Executive Briefing will examine the
paradox that successful companies must protect their
intellectual property while at the same time learning all they can
about the strategies and tactics that their competitors are
undertaking or planning. The Medical Device Symposium
scheduled in early April is our premier event that
brings members in contact with industry experts, FDA regulators,
and their peers in a unique opportunity to become informed of
the latest requirements and opportunities facing the industry.
And let us not forget that with a new
administration at the Federal level and the State Legislature now in
session, there are a myriad of activities taking place
at all levels of government that directly affect our industry
and the economy. Fortunately for those in the medical device
industry the economic doom and gloom being reported daily is, to a
large degree, being rebuffed by the continuing strong
performance of the medical manufacturing sector. Let's all
hope and work together to assure the continuing success and
prosperity of our industry.
Geary A. Havran
FMMC Chairman
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Florida
Medical Device Symposium
The Annual Event Presented by Florida Medical
Manufacturers' Consortium, Inc.
April 7-8, 2009
Early Bird Deadline Extended!
Florida's premier event for medical device companies
includes presentations by nationally recognized speakers, industry
panel discussions on regulatory issues and outsourcing, legislative
updates and networking opportunities.
Be sure to mark your calendar and reserve your room as
this is an event you will not want to miss! FMMC is excited to bring
you exemplary educational sessions, dedicated networking time, and
vendor displays!
Hotel Reservations
To make a reservation, call Marriott Tampa Waterside
Hotel & Marina at 800-228-9290 and request a room for the Florida
Medical Device Symposium to receive the special room rate of
$199.00. To receive this special rate, reservations must be
made by Friday, March 13, 2009.
Click
Here To Register Today!
For more information on the Symposium click www.flamedmfg.org/symposium.cfm
Click here to
visit Tampa Marriott Waterside
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Membership News
The FMMC welcomes the following new members:
A global
electronic product solutions company that provides comprehensive
electronics design, manufacturing and product management services to
companies across the globe. Jabil serves customers in a broad range
of industries, helping to bring products to the market faster and
more cost effectively by providing complete electronics product
supply chain management worldwide.
Jabil is
strategically structured with three core business divisions: EMS,
Consumer and After-Market Services. Each division has full ownership
and accountability for design, operations, supply chain and delivery.
Jabil also has a
unique, customer-centric structure for its largest customers, who are
assigned dedicated business units that combine highly automated
manufacturing with advanced electronic design. These business units
are dedicated to one customer and are empowered to formulate
strategies tailored to individual customer needs. Each business unit
has dedicated production lines and direct responsibility for
manufacturing results to ensure a sense of individual commitment and
ownership.
Visit Jabil at:
H & S Swansons' Tool Company
H & S Swansons' Tool Company was founded in Chicago
in 1953. Following the successful move of a portion of the operation
to Florida in 1978, the remainder of the company was relocated in
1983 into our current facility 58,000 square feet of air-conditioned
manufacturing and office space.
Our vertically integrated operations provide unified control of
quality and delivery:
- Two
Hi Speed Flexible Machining Systems. Three machines with 15,000
RPM Spindles, large capacity Tool Magazines, Renishaw Probing,
are loaded and unloaded with rail-guided-vehicles.
- State-of-the-art
4-Axis CNC horizontal, vertical and turning machining centers.
- High-tech
CAM programming system and CAD assisted fixture and gage design.
IGES data communications of drawings by telephone modem.
- In-house
finishing operations including chromate, MIL-Spec painting,
marking and impregnation.
- Mechanical
assembly and testing of complete units ready for final use by
our customers.
As of 2005, our Corporation was awarded a
"Certificate of Registration for ISO 9001:2000" and a
"Certificate of Registration for AS 9100:2004." SPC is used
to monitor process capability and part accuracy. Sophisticated gaging
equipment includes Direct Computer Controlled Coordinate Measuring
Machines.
Our job management system provides each customer with a
Project Manager whose in-depth knowledge of machining, tooling,
programming and quality considerations supports the requirements for
the manufacture of precision components. Each job is assigned to a
Manufacturing Engineer who develops a detailed manufacturing process
and follows the job through each production step.
We offer our customers a working relationship based on
our long standing record of integrity and fair dealing, supported by
our quality oriented personnel, modern production equipment,
innovative methods, integrated operations and the high reliability
attitude that is the cornerstone of our success.
Visit H & S Swansons' Tool Company at:
To find out how to benefit
from a membership in the FMMC or to join FMMC online click
www.FlaMedMfg.org/membership.htm.
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Capitol Notes
by John Ray
John Ray Consulting,
LLC
The 2009 regular session of the Florida Legislature
gaveled into action this week, amid a looming $5 billion deficit and
a colossal budget debate about where to make cuts and how to use the
available $8 billion in federal stimulus dollars. Both chambers have made it
clear that significant, additional reductions will be made to balance
the budget, and that new revenue sources will be considered -
including the elimination of some long-standing tax exemptions. Other major issues that will
likely dominate the 60-day session include property insurance
availability and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund ("Cat
Fund"), growth management reforms, and (hopefully for Florida's
Medical Manufacturers) legal reform within our workers' compensation
system.
Both the House Finance and Tax Council and the Senate
Finance and Tax Committee have launched comprehensive reviews of Florida's 200+ sales tax
exemptions (worth $12.3B).
While the Senate is grouping and reviewing these exemptions in
categories and applying broad public policy criteria in its review,
the House has decided to examine the exemptions one-by-one,
individually examining their worthiness. This week, the House panel
winnowed their list down to 51 exemptions targeted for closer
scrutiny and possible repeal.
(Read the House list here.)
Thus far, none of the current sales tax exemptions of acute
importance to Florida medical manufacturers appear to be in
jeopardy. These include:
- Manufacturing machinery and equipment
bought by new and expanding businesses
- Electricity used in manufacturing
- R&D machinery and equipment
- Labor, parts and materials used in
repair of manufacturing machinery and equipment
- Components or ingredients of processed
or manufactured goods
- Items fabricated for use in research and
development activities
The FMMC will
continue to monitor this review process in both chambers and will
keep members apprised of any important developments.
Legislation
sponsored by Senator Thad Altman and Rep. Dean Cannon (SB 1112/HB
459), fixing the bonus depreciation
glitch in Florida law, has quickly and unanimously advanced to
the House and Senate floors.
The Florida Senate overwhelming passed their bill on the first
day of session, and the House is expected to pass the legislation
later this week.
Presumably to reduce its fiscal impact, the bill requires
taxpayers to add back 100% (instead of the original 80%) of their
"bonus depreciation" to taxable income and then amortize
that amount over seven years.
Lastly, it
appears that the Governor is recommending the merger of parts of two state agencies - the Department of
Health and the Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees
hospitals, nursing homes and the Medicaid program. Few details are available
regarding this developing proposal and legislation. We will have an update on this
issue next week.
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FDA Law Blog
Obama 10-Year
Budget Blueprint Includes Initiatives For Medicare, Medicaid, FDA
By Cassandra A. Soltis & Alan M. Kirschenbaum
Today the Obama Administration released a summary of its 10-year
budget proposal entitled "A New Era of Responsibility -
Renewing America's Promise." The document provides a
high level outline of priorities - details reportedly will be
released in April. For FY 2010, the budget includes $76.8
billion for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Highlights of the HHS budget include the following:
· Health care reform: The budget establishes a
reserve fund of over $630 billion over 10 years to finance reform of
the health care system to bring down costs and expand coverage.
The document acknowledges that this amount is a "down
payment," and additional funding will be needed to expand
coverage to the uninsured.
· Lowering drug costs and improving safety of food and
medical products: The budget would establish a new regulatory
pathway for generic biologics, and strengthen FDA's efforts to ensure
the safety of food and medical products, including those imported
from other countries. Over $1 billion will be included for
FDA's food safety efforts.
· Federal healthcare program integrity: The Budget
will dedicate additional resources to improve oversight and program
integrity of the Medicare prescription drug benefit (Part D),
Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid. The Budget will also
"strengthen[] the Medicare program by encouraging high quality
and efficient care, and reducing excessive Medicare payments."
· Medicare and Medicaid research agenda: New
funding will be allocated to demonstration and pilot projects to
evaluate payment reforms, ways to provide higher quality care at
lower cost, and beneficiary education.
· Comparative effectiveness research: Building on
the $1.1 billion included in the recently passed stimulus bill for
comparative effectiveness research, the budget will continue to fund
research comparing the effectiveness of medical treatments.
This, combined with electronic health records, will "distill[]
all available evidence on the outcomes of different treatment options
into user-friendly pop-up alerts for physicians at the point of
care."
· Cancer and AIDS: Over $6 billion will be
allocated to the National Institutes of Health for cancer research to
develop innovative diagnostics and treatments for cancer.
Increased resources will also be devoted to the detection,
prevention, and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Reprinted with the
permission of
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Other Events & News
2009 FMMC
Calendar of Events
April 7 - 8, 2009
Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Feather
Sound Country Club - Clearwater, Florida
7:30 am -
8:00 am - Registration and Networking
8:00 am -
9:00 am - Breakfast and Presentation
Log-on to www.FlaMedMfg.org or email meetings@FlaMedMfg.org
for more information.
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