Take a Virtual Tour of our factory in Cirencester, England
 

All Corin’s products are manufactured and dispatched from our Headquarters in Cirencester. Set in the heart of the beautiful Cotswolds in South West England, our factory occupies 52,000 sq ft, and over 200 people are based there.

The production facilities have been constantly updated since we moved here in 1993, and modern production principles are used to ensure that Corin products are manufactured efficiently – keeping us price-competitive and ensuring we can deliver the right products when they are required.

Research and Development

Our own in-house Research and Development Department is responsible for the creation of new products, and the ongoing development of existing products and instruments, ensuring they meet the exacting demands of our Surgeon users around the world.

Dr Simon Collins, our Technical Director, heads up a team of nine engineers and scientists, who work on products for all the Corin Group companies. They have access to the latest Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Rapid Prototyping facilities, and use Finite Element Analysis to screen products prior to mechanical testing.

Raw Materials

Most of the Raw Materials used in the manufacture of orthopaedic implants are metals – including stainless steel, Titanium and Cobalt Chrome alloys. Some of our products, and many of our instruments, are machined directly here at our factory.

Other implants require shaping to the approximate dimensions of the finished product before they are machined and finished. This is done by forging or casting the materials to our own specifications and technical requirements.

In conventional hip and knee replacements, these metals are used in conjunction with high-density polyethylene components. The Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene is shipped to our factory in large rods, and is machined into the finished components

Casting and Forging

For many of our joint replacements, the components are either cast or forged – processes that are carried out for us by leading companies throughout Europe.

In the case of casting, precision wax moulds are produced to our specifications, and the molten metal poured into the moulds, and cooled. The moulds are then broken off the casting, leaving the raw implant ready to machine and finish.

The raw castings and forgings are then shipped to our factory here in Cirencester, ready for processing as they are required

Machining

The raw materials, forgings and castings, are issued from our stores department, and enter the shop floor area for processing.

The initial process will involve machining the components to approximately the correct dimensions, using various types of lathes and mills. These sophisticated machines are computer-controlled, with individual programmes for each part. All these machines are linked via a computer network, so that new programmes can be generated off-line, minimising non-productive times on the actual equipment.

The complexity of each machine varies according to its use, operating in anything from two axes to 12 axes. A state-of-the-art digital mill is used for producing polyethylene components. These machines minimise set-up times and increase productivity.

Polishing

The components are then polished in a variety of ways, some manually and some using automated technology.

Knee components, for example, are polished manually – the complex curves and shapes being almost impossible to achieve by machine. The polishers who work on these implants are highly experienced operators, many of whom have been with the company for more than ten years. These people are craftsmen in their own right, and take great pride in knowing that their handiwork will be used to help relieve patients of the crippling pain of arthritic joints.

In the case of Cormet Hip Resurfacing components, the final polishing is done using unique multi-axis automated polishing machines that have been developed by Corin specifically for this purpose. The surface finish and sphericity of these products is critical to their long-term effectiveness once implanted in the patient. These unique production techniques ensure that this specialised product, an area of orthopaedic implant development in which Corin has literally led the world, are manufactured to the highest possible standards.

Coatings

Certain implants (some hip and knee components, including the Cormet Hip Resurfacing cup) require special coatings to aid their integration into the bone surrounding the implantation site. These include a “rough” Titanium micro-coating for bone to grow into, and Hydroxyapatite, which actually encourages bone growth around the implant. These are specialised processes that are carried out offsite.

These coatings can be as thin as 30 microns – less than half the thickness of a human hair - and are applied in a vacuum at temperatures of up to 12,000⁰C. Once coated, these products are sent to Quality Control for final checking before packaging.

Quality Control

In most cases, every single implant of any given type is carefully Quality Controlled by our Inspection Team. Dimensions are checked against the specification sheets for that device, surface finishes are confirmed, and the product is certified as being suitable for implantation.

In the case of some hip components, including the Cormet Hip Resurfacing device, a state-of-the-art computer-controlled Co-ordinate Measuring Machine uses a ruby tip to check sphericity and surface finish to a very high level of precision and accuracy.

Packaging

Final cleaning and packaging takes place in a controlled clean air environment. Metal products are washed in de-ionised water at high temperature prior to being sealed in special “blister” packs, which allow theatre staff to open the products without compromising their sterility. Each box is then labelled and shrink-wrapped.

Sterilisation

All products for implantation must be sterilised to ensure that the patient cannot in any way become infected by the use of the implant. This is done offsite, where the whole package is exposed to gamma irradiation, causing a special label on the box to change colour. This shows the operating theatre staff that the contents of the box are sterile and safe to use.

Warehousing

Back at Cirencester, our products are sent to a new unit, opposite the main factory, which houses warehousing, distribution, the instrument cell, Customer Services and Marketing. Finished products are now stored in a revolutionary new computer-controlled “Vertical Storage Unit”. Orders received by our Customer Services Team are entered on our computerised Order Processing system, and the correct products to meet that order are then issued automatically by the Vertical Storage Unit. Laser bar-code readers are used to confirm that the correct items have been collected, and the order is packaged ready for despatch.

Distribution

UK Customers are sent their orders by next day courier – orders received before 4 o’clock can usually be delivered before 9am the next day if required.

Overseas orders for our subsidiaries and distributors around the world are manufactured and shipped to order – an efficient system that ensures that we do not hold unnecessary stock.

The Team

More than 200 people work at our Cirencester Headquarters, and the factory is currently operating 24 hours a day, allowing us to meet the increasing demand for Corin’s products around the world. Many of our team have been with the company for many years – some indeed since the company was formed in 1985.

Customer Services

Our Customer Service Department includes eight people dedicated to looking after our Customers around the world. Supervised by Customer Service Managers for the UK and Export markets, each member of the team has a high level of product knowledge, and has spent time in operating theatres so that they understand the needs of their Customers and the pressures they work under.

It is this team that processes all orders for Corin products and ensures they are shipped and delivered on time across all five continents.

Our Commitment

Dedication and enthusiasm for the work we do is one of the reasons why Corin has consistently won awards, and has become one of the great British success stories of the last decade. Corin’s commitment to orthopaedics encompasses:

• Manufacturing and production techniques which ensure products that meet only the highest quality standards

• Ongoing research and development to develop the new and innovative products demanded by Surgeons and patients alike

• An unparalleled level of service to the orthopaedic community