“This difficult decision was made only after thorough deliberation and careful consideration of our current circumstances,” Norwood Medical said in a statement.
The company said the layoffs represent 6% of its workforce. It said it does not anticipate any further actions in the foreseeable future.
“While the number of employees affected represents a relatively small percentage of our workforce, we recognize the significant impact that even one departure can have,” the company said. “We truly value the contributions of every individual and are grateful for their dedication.”
The action was taken “in response to a temporary decline in customer demand,” Norwood Medical said.
“However, the markets we serve continue to grow, and we are optimistic about resuming our growth trajectory sometime in 2025,” the company said. “While this was a painful but necessary step, it ensures our ability to sustain long-term growth and continue driving innovation in our field.”
The company said the layoffs affected a variety of positions across its workforce.
Norwood Medical, which was founded in the Dayton area in 1927 as a tool and die manufacturing operation. was acquired in 2021 by Heraeus Holding, a German company whose roots stretch back to 1660.
“With approximately 16,400 employees in 40 countries, Heraeus is one of the top 10 family-owned companies in Germany and holds a leading position in its global markets,” the company says on its website.
Heraeus announced at the time that Norwood Medical would continue to operate as a standalone business and retain its company name and management team. The company had nearly 1,200 local employees.
The company has added five new buildings to its Dayton facilities in the past decade.
In October 2022, Norwood Medical bought property on Webster Street for $2.1 million, just to the north of the company’s campus at 2122 Winners Circle. It broke ground in March for the construction of its 11th building, a 72,000 square-foot manufacturing facility, aimed at focusing on producing components for minimally-invasive, robotic-assisted surgeries and orthopedics.
This February, the company announced that a new CEO, Jim Kircher, would be taking the helm, succeeding Dr. Frank Stietz, a member of the Board of Managing Directors of the Heraeus Group.
In March, Norwood Medical appointed Gregg Olson its new vice president of sales and marketing “to accelerate the company’s growth.” In October, it appointed Kristiyan “Kris” Delev as its new chief financial officer.
Norwood Medical went by various names in its history, including the “Dayton-Norwood Tool Co.” or the “Dayton Tool Shop.” Customers over the decades included Dayton stalwarts such as NCR, Frigidaire, Huffy and others.
By the 1970s, the company was branching into components from tooling, producing bicycle and auto parts and components in other areas.
In time, the decision was made to focus solely on medical device contract manufacturing, with the name of the company changed to “Norwood Medical” by about 2005.
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