ACT Medical Inc. and MedSource Technologies Inc. Enter Into an Agreement to Merge.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 14, 2000

ACT Medical, Inc. and MedSource Technologies, Inc. announced today that they have entered into an agreement to merge, creating the largest global integrated medical device design and manufacturing services company. The combined company will retain the MedSource Technologies, Inc. name. Richard Effress, MedSource's chairman and chief executive officer, will continue in his current position. Stuart Randle, president and chief executive officer of ACT, will assume a senior management role in the new company. The merger is scheduled to close by the end of December.

The companies have worked together on previous projects, and both Effress and Randle agree that combining the companies' areas of expertise will create significant benefits to customers. Additionally, both companies are ISO 9001 and EN 46001 certified and QSR compliant. The combined company will have 1,300 employees based coast-to-coast and in Mexico.

"We believe this is a significant event, not just for ACT and MedSource, but also for all medical device OEMs that are seeking strategic development and supply-chain partners to help reduce time-to-market and provide a virtual extension of their development and manufacturing processes," said Effress. "This combination creates the first true global provider of integrated services from product design to complete device assembly. As a company, we continue to strive to bring a single-source solution to the market, and ACT's expertise in new product introduction and extensive assembly capabilities will allow us to more effectively provide innovative and seamless solutions for our customers."

"The merger of these two companies allows us to bring enhanced supply-chain management capabilities to our customers, from seed-stage businesses to leading multinationals," said Randle. "Our value proposition will continue to drive strategic outsourcing in the medical device industry, much like the transformation that occurred in the electronic manufacturing services industry where companies such as Flextronics and Solectron drove change by providing clear benefits to customers around the world. We will effectively be the single-source solution to medical device OEMs, leveraging our complementary capabilities in design engineering, component manufacturing and finished device assembly to accelerate the product development cycle for our customers. Additionally, we are very excited that together we will have the most experienced and dynamic management team in the medical manufacturing services industry."

Founded in 1990, Newton, Mass.-based ACT Medical is a leading provider of integrated outsourcing services to the medical device industry, specializing in new product introduction and manufacturing assembly services. The company is particularly strong in product design, and employs over 50 full-time engineers. ACT also has expertise in custom extrusion services of single-lumen and multi-lumen tubing. In addition to its facility in Newton, ACT has engineering and manufacturing operations in Santa Clara, Calif., and assembly capabilities in Navojoa, Mexico, giving MedSource a presence on the West Coast and in Mexico.

MedSource was founded in March 1999 and is the leading provider of manufacturing services and supply-chain management solutions to the medical device industry. The company offers functional design and prototyping, project management, manufacturing, assembly, packaging and sterilization. As a single integrated company, MedSource delivers high-quality precision metal and plastic components, subassemblies and completed devices on a global basis.

For more information about MedSource Technologies, Inc., free of charge via fax, dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and use the symbol "MSTI9." Or visit the company's website at www.medsourcetech.com

For more information about ACT Medical, Inc., visit the company's website at www.actmedical.com