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Advance of the bionic man

Deal weds aesthetics and engineering

Kathy Kahn

Jun-01-08, 07:00 PM

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Topics: Technology, Mergers & Acquisitions

Two companies – one on this side of the Atlantic, the other in Scotland – have joined hands to make prosthetic devices that are workable works of art.

In May 2007, Hudson Valley Business profiled Aesthetic Concerns Prosthetics Inc., the parent company of Livingskin, headquartered in Newburgh. It is one of three major companies in the world to specialize in constructing lifelike prostheses. Newburgh artisans create fingers, toes, hands and feet that look and feel just like the real thing.

The niche business caught the attention of Touch Bionics, based in Livingston, Scotland, last year and two weeks ago Touch Bionics announced it had acquired the Hudson Valley company. Together, the two should make a formidable team.

Touch Bionics has the technology to create the prostheses; Livingskin, as ACP is better known, has the technology to give those artificial limbs a more human touch and feel. For Touch Bionics, it means a competitive advantage in the prosthetics market. For Livingskin, it means advancing to the next level of prosthetic care for patients.

Tom Passero, president of Livingskin, told the media that Livingskin had been in negotiations with Touch Bionics for an extended period of time and sees the merger as a win for both companies. In the acquisition, Touch Bionics gets the skilled artisans to create lifelike prosthetics, and Livingskin gets the capital needed to grow and to hire more Hudson Valley craftspeople.

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