WARSAW, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2001--Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ZMH) announced today that it has received Frost & Sullivan's 2001 Market Engineering Award for Sales Strategy Leadership. The award was based on the findings of Frost & Sullivan's U.S. Orthopaedic Joint Implants Market report, which was recently issued.
"This is further confirmation of our belief that the Zimmer sales force is one of our strongest competitive weapons and one of the best sales teams in any industry," said Zimmer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ray Elliott. "Our strategy for Zimmer growth includes an emphasis on the customer focus and technical expertise of our sales force for continued growth in our core reconstruction implant areas, as well as for penetration of high growth adjacent markets."
In a 1999 survey published in Selling Power magazine, the Zimmer sales force ranked second among all health care companies. No other orthopaedic companies were listed. Of more than 7,000 sales forces across all industries considered in the survey, Zimmer ranked in 20th place. Also that year, the Zimmer sales force was named by an independent market intelligence firm, Knowledge Enterprises, as the most responsive in orthopaedics, topping the charts in 11 of 17 service categories.
"We have placed a major emphasis on technical expertise, medical education support, and responsiveness, and the results speak for themselves," said Bruce Peterson, Zimmer president, Americas. "What we hear from our customers is that our people are there for them all the time, with answers and solutions to their day-to-day needs as well as their most challenging problems."
According to Frost & Sullivan's report, "Zimmer's sales force is recognized by manufacturers and orthopedic surgeons as one of most informed and effective in the industry. Zimmer's sales force is known to have great knowledge and skills to provide extensive technical support to orthopedic surgeons and nurses around the world."
Frost & Sullivan, a global leader in international strategic market consulting and training, presents Market Engineering Awards to companies that demonstrate the diligence, perseverance, and dedication required to develop a successful business plan and excel in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. Frost & Sullivan rigorously analyzes specific criteria to determine Market Engineering Award recipients in a variety of regional and global market landscapes. Founded in 1961, Frost & Sullivan is headquartered in San Jose, CA with offices located worldwide: New York, San Antonio, Toronto, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur. For further information, visit http://awards.frost.com.
Zimmer, based in Warsaw, Indiana, is a global leader in the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of orthopaedic reconstructive implants and fracture management products. Orthopaedic reconstructive implants restore joint function lost due to disease or trauma in joints such as knees, hips, shoulders and elbows. Fracture management products are devices used primarily to reattach or stabilize damaged bone and tissue to support the body's natural healing process. Zimmer also manufactures and markets other products related to orthopaedic and general surgery. Zimmer was founded in 1927 and has more than 3,200 employees worldwide. For the year 2000, Zimmer recorded worldwide revenues of more than $1 billion. Zimmer became an independent, publicly traded company on August 7, 2001, when it was spun off from Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY).
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This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics industry, management's beliefs and assumptions made by management. 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, price and product competition, rapid technological development, demographic changes, dependence on new product development, the mix of our products and services, customer demand for our products and services, our ability to successfully integrate acquired companies, control of costs and expenses, our ability to form and implement alliances, international growth, U.S. and foreign government regulation, 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 the reports filed by Zimmer with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Zimmer disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.