Two Minnesota device manufacturers combine to make Forj Medical

Two Minnesota manufacturers making medical devices and components for other companies are combining to command more stages of the medtech supply chain.

Altaris Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, is combining its Minnesota companies Minnetronix Medical and Intricon to create Forj Medical, offering system design, precision molding, microelectronics and advanced manufacturing services. Jeremy Maniak, who was CEO of Minnetronix, will helm the new firm as chief executive.

“Both businesses were in a good place — good customer bases, good growth prospects, doing well financially — and so the time really felt like it was right to find the next gear," Maniak said.

The companies did not release any financial terms of the merger.

The new firm, headquartered in Arden Hills, employs more than 900 workers spread across six facilities in the United States, Indonesia, Singapore and Costa Rica. The company isn’t planning or expecting any restructuring and workforce reductions, Maniak said. A lot of the teams and capabilities of the two companies are not overlapping but rather complementary, he added.

“What they did capabilities-wise, what we did capabilities-wise, we’re going to keep doing,” Maniak said.

The merger comes as tariffs continue to roil the medical device supply chain, with more potentially on the way. Large device firms rely on contract design and manufacturing companies such as Forj for stable manufacturing services, which in recent years have become more difficult following pandemic-related supply chain issues and now the extra import taxes.

“Forj Medical … will have a solid year. But I think it takes more work than it ever has to do that, because you’re solving tariff problems constantly,” Maniak said. “Things that came up once a month now come up every day.”

The transaction combines two firms with decadeslong histories in Minnesota.

Intricon was founded in 1977 with the creation of a hearing aid, and the company now makes small devices and components in the diabetes, neuromodulation, cardiology and orthopedics sectors for other firms.

Altaris acquired Intricon for $241 million in 2022. In 2024, Intricon sold its hearing business to a Chinese medtech company after its over-the-counter products failed to take off.

Minnetronix was founded in 1996 in St. Paul. Maniak said it is focused on building large and highly technical capital equipment powering devices and advanced medical technology systems. Altaris acquired a majority stake in 2021.