The Healthia Ltd (ASX: HLA) share price has gone up another 7.5% today after announcing it would be expanding into North America with iOrthotics.
iOrthotics is described by Healthia as a world leader in 3D printing, delivering custom-made foam rubber and 3D-printed orthotic devices to more than 100 podiatry clinics throughout Australia from its Queensland facility.
Healthia announced that iOrthotics would be expanding to the USA with the launch of a 3D printed orthotics manufacturing laboratory in New York.
The New York facility is located in Astoria and has been secured with a 5-year lease agreement is operational immediately with one HP Fusion Jet 3D printer which has the capacity to manufacture up to 30,000 pairs of orthotics annually.
Once printed from the new facility, orthotics will then be supplied directly to other orthotic manufacturing laboratories in North America before finally reaching the patient.
The facility will be operated by iOrthotics USA, which Healthia owns a 58% stake in, with the other 42% being owned by Hersco Orthotics Labs of Long Island City New York.
Healthia has estimated that potential annualised revenue from one printer at fully capacity is around US$1 million with capacity to install another two printers at the New York facility.
iOrthotics Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Healthia, will receive an intellectual property licence fee for each orthotic printed by iOrthotics USA.
Healthia's capital expenses attributed to setting up the new facility have been funded from existing cash reserves.
Using 3D printing technology, iOrthotics is focused on reducing the environmental impact of plastic and rubber-based materials traditionally used in the manufacturing process. iOrthotics 3D printed orthotics reduce manufacturing waste by more than 95% compared to milled polypropylene orthotic devices.
Healthia CEO Wesley Coote said: "Since being established in 2019, iOrthotics has grown to become Australia's leading manufacturer of 3D printed othotic devices so this new facility in New York gives us an opportunity to bring our innovation to one of the world's largest healthcare markets."
Foolish takeaway
This is an exciting development for Healthia. The North American market is a very large market. Healthia is still a small cap but increasing its total addressable market is a good move and definitely expands the company's growth runway. It's certainly more interesting this week compared to last week.
