Australian allied healthcare provider Healthia (ASX: HLA) has taken its industry-leading 3D printing technology to the world with the launch of an orthotics manufacturing lab in Astoria, New York, capable of printing 30,000 pairs annually.  

The new facility will be operated by iOrthotics USA, which Healthia owns a 58% stake in, and has been secured on a 5-year lease. 

In operation immediately, the lab has one HP Fusion Jet 3D printer up and running which is able to deliver up to USD $1 million in revenue when operating at full capacity, but the lab also has room for two additional printers. 

“Since being established in 2009, iOrthotics has grown to become Australia’s leading manufacturer of 3D printed orthotic devices so this new facility in New York gives us an opportunity to bring our innovation to one of the world’s largest healthcare markets,” said Healthia CEO Wesley Coote. 

“Our Chief Technology Officer, Dean Hartley, has done a terrific job setting up the new facility and we look forward to replicating iOrthotics industry-leading technology on a much larger scale.” 

Whilst iOrthotics supplies a significant amount of their products to Healthia’s Australian network of 80 podiatry clinics and outside clients, the lab in New York will supply to North American manufacturing labs prior to reaching end patients. 

iOrthotics Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Healthia, will receive an intellectual property licence fee for each orthotic printed by iOrthotics USA.

Using Healthia’s proprietary 3D printing technology, iOrthotics can produce orthotics at much greater scale and lower cost than traditional hand-crafted means. Doing this, they are able to reduce manufacturing waste by >95% (2kg per pair) compared to milled polypropylene orthotic devices.

In 2017, it was estimated that the foot orthotics insoles market in the United States was valued at USD $1.2 billion annually, or approximately 40% of the global foot orthotic insole market of USD$3.1 billion. 

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