Minnesota Micromotors, Inc

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Professor Das Narayandas of Harvard Business School and Heide Abelli (MBA 1993) prepared this reading for use with the Marketing Simulation:

Managing Segments and Customers (HBP No. 7018).

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The Orthopedic Motor Market: Minnesota Micromotors, Inc. and Brushless Motor Technology

Minnesota Micromotors, Inc. (MM), based in Minneapolis, was a manufacturer of brushless, direct current (BLDC)1 motors used in orthopedic medical devices. Devices utilizing MM’s motors were typically used by orthopedic surgeons in large bone surgery, reconstructive surgery, trauma surgery, and sports medicine procedures. MM sold approximately 97,000 motors a year and had a 9% share of the $137 million U.S. medical motor market for orthopedic and neurosurgery devices. (See Exhibit 1A.)

MM was a division of privately held Fractional Motors Limited, which had revenues of $350 million (just over $12 million, or 3%, generated by MM) and 1,300 employees (45 employed by MM). MM’s revenues had been growing in line with the industry average rate of 5.5% over the prior three-year period; however, the most recent quarterly financial data showed a decline in revenue. Although senior management was pleased that MM had just turned a modest profit after several years of losses, there was concern about recent potential market share loss.

The BLDC motors in which MM specialized offered several advantages over brushed DC motors, including greater efficiency and reliability, less noise, longer lifetime (no brush erosion), and relatively lower electromagnetic interference. Given that a BLDC motor required no airflow for cooling, its internal components could be entirely enclosed and protected from dirt. BLDC motors were better suited to applications needing a wide speed range — for example drill systems, used in orthopedic bone surgery that must perform at 10,000 to 95,000 revolutions per minute. Fractional Motors viewed MM as a strategic division in its corporate portfolio because of the long-term growth potential in high-end medical and orthopedic devices markets.

The segment of the motor industry in which MM operated was highly competitive, with over 100 participants. Manufacturers were divided into three tiers: vertically integrated, multinational tier 1 companies that produced many types of motors; tier 2 companies that specialized in either brushed DC, BLDC, or universal motors technology; and small, privately held tier 3 companies that were niche providers like MM and that produced only BLDC motors for orthopedic uses. Smaller motor manufacturers like MM sought to distinguish themselves from their competitors by offering original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers domain knowledge, customer service, product functionality, and compatibility with other automation products. In 2009, one of MM’s major tier 3 competitors introduced a high torque, BLDC motor line. These multilayer coil BLDC motors were precision-engineered to reach higher temperatures without compromising motor function. The industry average net price of the competitors’ motors was $118.

Orthopedic OEM Market and Purchasing Criteria

1 MM produced fractional horsepower motors, which had a power (machine strength) rating between 1/200 and one horsepower (1 HP). The fractional horsepower DC motor market was divided into brushed and brushless DC motors. Brushed DC motors used a mechanical system of stationary metallic contacts (“brushes”) to transfer electrical energy. By contrast, brushless DC motors used an electronically controlled commutation system.

APRIL 25, 2012

Simulation Foreground Reading—The Business-to-Business Orthopedic Motor Market

2 ONLINE SIMULATIONS | HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING

Orthopedic devices, used to treat musculoskeletal disorders of the human body, constituted the third largest global medical equipment market and were forecast to grow to over $20 billion by 2012. Among the 1,300 U.S. orthopedic OEMs, Zelting, Di Preto, and Stemper Corporation were the leaders in joint reconstruction, with a combined market share of 64%; Syphone and Stemper Corporation were the leading OEMs in trauma fixation, with a combined market share of 57%.

The selection of motors for use as components in medical devices such as orthopedic products was an involved process, usually requiring electrical engineers at the OEM to consult with application engineers from the motor manufacturer in order to get a customized design specified to their parameters, including physical-size constraints. Given the complex nature of designing and building small-but-sophisticated orthopedic power tools, these “value-add” customer service features were just as important in the OEM decision-making process as the technical features of a motor. The most critical OEM purchasing criteria included the following:

Thermal (heat) resistance. A common cause of motor failure was when the expected load (the turning torque) exceeded the motor’s rating, causing the motor to heat up quickly and break down. Usually it was desirable to select a motor that would not reach its maximum operating temperature (measured in degrees Celsius) in the specific orthopedic device use setting. A high level of thermal resistance was especially important for motors that were frequently sanitized at high heat (autoclaving).

Power-to-size. In BLDC motors, the ratio of torque (measured in watts) delivered to the size of the motor (measured in cubic inches) was higher than in brushed DC motors, making BLDC motors useful in applications where space and weight were critical factors. In demanding orthopedic procedures such as hip resurfacing, small and light handheld power tools facilitated precise maneuvering by surgeons. Furthermore, powerful surgical tools that did the job quickly limited both the surgeon’s hand fatigue and the potential for repetitive stress injuries.

Cost. Because BLDC motors contained permanent magnets and a complex electronic controller, they cost more up front than brushed motors. However, BLDC motors with a smaller power supply could often be a less expensive long-term solution, because they could last up to three times longer than a brushed motor.

MM’s Product Line and Customer Base

MM’s main product line was the Orthopower Micromotor™, which was over 75% shorter

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