Company Outranks Rivals in 10 of 11 Categories
WARSAW, Ind., May 21, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- In an independent survey of U.S. orthopaedic surgeons, Zimmer was ranked as the number one company in 10 of 11 categories related to products and service and the number one company overall serving the joint replacement surgeon. The company's sales force was once again named as most responsive and most knowledgeable.
"Zimmer has established a unique position in orthopaedics by focusing our organization on helping the surgeon provide his or her best for orthopaedic patients," said Ray Elliott, Chairman, President and CEO of Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH). "Providing that confidence delivers a much broader mandate than just designing and making products, although surgeons clearly trust our products given that we were also seen as having the highest quality products."
The Zimmer sales force, which has won numerous awards, was ranked first in both the "sales rep responsiveness" and the "sales rep knowledge" categories.
"Surgeons place a great deal of trust in our sales force, and that's a tremendous advantage for us as we look to grow new product areas associated with our core strengths in reconstructive implants," said Elliott. "As we introduce surgeons to newer concepts such as Trabecular Metal and MIS Minimally Invasive Solutions, the trust we've earned is of critical importance."
Zimmer was also ranked as the number one company overall and the company most responsive to surgeon problems and frustrations, including clinical issues, OR problems and frustrations and administrative concerns.
The rankings come from a report entitled "Strategic Opportunities in Joint Replacement: The Surgeon's Perspective," based on surveys by Knowledge Enterprises, an independent, orthopaedics-focused market research and consulting company, in collaboration with the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation. According to Knowledge Enterprises, the survey results represent the largest single compilation of opinions from U.S. orthopaedic surgeons regarding joint replacement products, technologies, companies, and sales reps. Zimmer has ranked number one in several similar surveys.
Zimmer, based in Warsaw, Indiana, is a global leader in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of reconstructive orthopaedic implants and fracture management products. Orthopaedic reconstruction 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. For the year 2001, Zimmer recorded worldwide revenues of approximately $1.2 billion. Zimmer was founded in 1927 and has more than 3,400 employees worldwide.
Visit Zimmer on the worldwide web at www.zimmer.com and at www.pacewithlife.com
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. Forward- looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "targets," "forecasts," and "seeks" or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. 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.