WARSAW, Ind., Nov 23, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH; SWX: ZMH) has been named Medical Device Manufacturer of the Year by Medical Device and Diagnostics Industry Magazine. The magazine annually names a large and a small company for the award, and Zimmer was selected in the large company category.
According to the publication, "Strong management, relentless innovation, sensible acquisitions, and the ability to understand the needs of all stakeholders in orthopedic surgery are among the reasons MD&DI has chosen Zimmer as one of its Medical Manufacturers of the Year."
Zimmer's Centerpulse AG acquisition and its leadership in Minimally Invasive Solutions(TM) (MIS(TM)) Procedures and Technologies were cited as factors in driving Zimmer growth and increasing its market capitalization by almost $13 billion since becoming a publicly traded company in August 2001.
"We are pleased to be recognized for the hard work exhibited by our employees in building our business," said Ray Elliott, Zimmer's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We strive to be the company that best understands our customers' needs and then responds most quickly with solutions that absolutely hit the mark. As MD&DI correctly notes, we take innovation very seriously and have loaded our pipeline with 146 development projects -- many of which have landscape change potential."
With its 2003 acquisition of Switzerland-based Centerpulse, Zimmer became the world leader in orthopaedic reconstructive products, became Europe's largest orthopaedic company, gained a platform in the fast-growing spinal products segment and entered the adjacent market of dental reconstructive implants. In April, the company completed its acquisition of New Jersey-based Implex Corp., gaining full rights to the innovative orthopaedic material which Zimmer sells as Trabecular Metal(TM) Technology.
Earlier this year, Forbes Magazine named Zimmer among its Platinum 400 ("the Best Big Companies in America") and as one of the "Best Managed Companies in America." Zimmer's performance has been similarly recognized in other financial publications, including the December 2003 issue of MONEY Magazine, which selected Zimmer Holdings, Inc. as one of 20 "Next Generation" Blue Chip stocks, and the June 2003 issue of Business Week magazine, which profiled the company as one of its Top 100 "Hot Growth" companies.
View the full article at: http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/04/11/017.html
About the Company
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer is the worldwide #1 pure-play orthopaedic leader in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of reconstructive and spinal implants, trauma and related orthopaedic surgical products. In October 2003, the Company finalized its acquisition of Centerpulse AG, a Switzerland-based orthopaedics company and the leader in the European reconstructive market. The new Zimmer has operations in more than 24 countries around the world and sells products in more than 80 countries. As a result of the acquisition of Centerpulse, reported 2003 sales were $1.9 billion. Full-year 2003 pro forma worldwide sales of Zimmer and Centerpulse were approximately $2.6 billion. The new Zimmer is supported by the efforts of more than 6,500 employees.
Visit Zimmer on the worldwide web at http://www.zimmer.com
Zimmer Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 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, our ability to successfully integrate Centerpulse AG and Implex Corp., the outcome of the pending informal SEC investigation of Centerpulse accounting, price and product competition, rapid technological development, demographic changes, dependence on new product development, the mix of our products and services, supply and prices of raw materials and products, customer demand for our products and services, control of costs and expenses, our ability to form and implement alliances, international growth, governmental laws and regulations affecting our U.S. and international businesses, including tax obligations and risks, product liability and intellectual property litigation losses, 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 disclosure materials filed by Zimmer with the U.S. 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. Readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, since, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.
SOURCE Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
Media: Brad Bishop, +1-574-372-4291, [email protected] ,
or Investors: Marc Ostermann, +1-574-371-8515, [email protected] , or
Sam Leno, +1-574-372-4790, [email protected] , all of Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
http://www.zimmer.com
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