Medical Device Coatings Blog

Myths vs Facts word blocks

Myths vs Facts: PTFE, PFAS and the Drive for PTFE-Free Medical Coatings

Fluoropolymers are used nearly everywhere, in almost every major manufacturing sector. Those of us who formulate and apply the coatings, and our medical device manufacturing customers, understand the unique benefits they bring to everyday life, but most others do not. They have come under fire for allegedly causing harm to people and the environment.  In…

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Cook Medical Procurement gives Supplier of the Year Award to SSG

SURFACE SOLUTIONS GROUP HONORED AS COOK MEDICAL SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR

Surface Solutions Group (SSG) is proud to announce that we have been awarded Cook Medical’s (Cook) prestigious Supplier of the Year for Direct Excellence in Innovation. This recognition highlights our longstanding partnership and mutual commitment to advancing the medical device industry through continuous innovation. Juan Cortes, Cook Medical Direct Category Procurement, announced SSG’s selection at…

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GlideMed PTFE-free coating, Coated Medical Wires

Anatomy of Developing a New Sustainable, Compliant PTFE-Free Coating

What goes into developing coatings for medical devices? What drives the process? Understanding the factors that motivate manufacturers to seek out new and better coatings – such as our new GlideMed™ PTFE-free coating – and the processes that bring them to fruition can help medical device manufacturers and design engineers appreciate the big picture. Many…

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Dry (solid) Lubricants

Answering Your Common Medical Device Coating Questions

With more than six decades of coating expertise, the Surface Solutions Group team is often asked questions about medical grade PTFE coatings their application to a variety of medical devices and components. Here are the answers to some of the more common medical device coating questions we hear. Q: What is PTFE coating? A: PTFE, or…

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GlideMed™ sustainable, compliant medical device coating

SSG to Introduce Sustainable, Compliant GlideMed™ Medical Device Coating at MD&M Minneapolis

CHICAGO, September 26, 2023 – ISO 13485 certified Surface Solutions Group, LLC, (SSG) a leading provider of coating technologies for the medical device industry, today announced that it will be showcasing its GlideMed™ sustainable, compliant coating along with its 12 other coating solutions in Booth #3226 at the Medical Design & Manufacturing Conference & Expo…

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SSG Completes ISO 13485:2016 Audit with Zero-Findings, 3 Years in a Row!

As an ISO 13485:2016 certified company, Surface Solutions Group strives to constantly meet or exceed our customer’s requirements in quality, service and delivery. We monitor and maintain all of these and other critical operational statistics daily. SSG participates in routine Quality Management System audits, independently conducted by NSF ISR.  The last audit concluded on July…

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George Osterhout & Kevin Hess headshots

SSG Announces Retirement of George Osterhout, Welcomes Kevin Hess to Lead Company

CHICAGO, June 30, 2023 – Surface Solutions Group, LLC (SSG), a leader in the applied medical device functional coatings industry, today announced the retirement of George Osterhout, the esteemed president and visionary leader of SSG and its sister companies Orion Industries, Ltd. (Orion) and Dimension Bond, Inc. (DB), and the appointment of Kevin Hess as…

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Reel-to-Reel Continuous Wire

Advantages of Coating Reel-to-Reel, Continuous Wire

For medical OEMs in need of precision application of coatings for reel-to-reel, continuous wire, Surface Solutions Group (SSG) has the experience, know-how and equipment to make it happen. Whether the application involves continuous round wire, tubing, or cables, our team takes care to apply Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coatings to reel-to-reel wires at 0.0001- 0.0003 inches per…

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PTFE Coated Guidewires with PTFE Banding

Trends in PTFE Coated Guidewires

Surface Solutions Group contributed editorial content to a recent Medical Product Outsourcing (MPO) magazine article about the thrombectomy device market. Our subject matter expert, George Osterhout, SSG President, focused on trends in PTFE coated guidewires. Here is a summary of our contributed content, as well as other guidewire coating trends we’re observing. With cardiovascular disease…

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Medical device mandrels

PTFE Coated Mandrels

A mandrel is a stiff wire that is inserted into a catheter or other medical tubing. Mandrels provide hollow tubular structures with support and rigidity. Since mandrels play such an essential part in the production of many medical devices, it’s important that their performance is reliable and consistent. This is why Surface Solutions Group offers PTFE coated…

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Coronavirus Update

To our valued and trusted business partners, I want to advise you that Surface Solutions Group will remain open during the Illinois “Shelter in Place” Executive Order 2020-10 issue by Illinois Governor Pritzker as of 5:00 PM Saturday, March 21, 2020. Surface Solutions Group qualifies to remain open under the “essential services” category and is…

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SSG Acquires ISO 13485:2016 Certification in Zero-Findings Audit

Surface Solutions Group participated in an independent audit, conducted by DQS, Inc., which concluded on August 8, 2018. It was determined that all the requirements were met for the ISO 13485:2016 Certification. The audit included a survey of Surface Solutions Group’s quality control, coating processes, production, employee relations, safety, and purchasing systems. The 3rd-party auditing…

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