PIERCETON - An acquisition by a Pierceton company is expected to bring more than a dozen jobs to the community.

Paragon Medical Inc. announced Monday its agreement to purchase the Sterion Sterilization Container Division and intellectual property from Johnson & Johnson Medical Inc.

The asset purchase agreement was signed July 22 and operation control will take effect in October.

"It's really big news for us," said Tobias Buck, president and CEO of Paragon. "It's also a good step for the community and will bring 12 to 20 new jobs locally."

Sterion is based in Jacksonville, Texas, where Paragon plans to continue manufacturing. Sales, marketing and related infrastructure for the Jacksonville and Pendleton operations will be centralized at the Pierceton facility.

Paragon designs, develops, manufactures and distributes metal and polymer products - known in the medical market as open containers - used to protect, transport and deliver surgical instruments into sterile healthcare settings. The company also develops and distributes software designed to manage surgical instrument delivery systems by automating the central processing operations of healthcare facilities.

The Sterion system is a closed container designed to protect and ensure the integrity of the sterilization process. According to a press release from Paragon, the integrated use of open and closed containers can reduce hospital costs and medical waste, and is a growing trend in the healthcare market.

The acquistion of Sterion by Paragon brings an additional $10 million to Paragon's revenue base, Buck said, "and we pick up a significant clinical client base in the process."

Buck said that the acquisition is consistent with the strategic direction of the company and Paragon's objective to be a total instrumentation management company.

Paragon is an Indiana intrastate private entity with more than 200 outside shareholders, the bulk of which are in Kosciusko and Elkhart counties. [[In-content Ad]]